directorate general for administration and public employment

unemployment

Protection in unemployment aims at ensuring work income substitutive benefits in situations resulting from total and involuntary inexistence of employment of public employees with capacity and availability for work.

Currently, the unemployment eventuality convergence has not been made, but public employees framed in the social protection convergent scheme are entitled to unemployment protection:

  • By applying the social protection general scheme related regulation as from 2008. Therefore, it is incumbent upon public employers (services) where employees with a public employment relationship (under the forms of appointment, employment contract in public functions and tenure) fulfilled functions to grant and pay the corresponding unemployment benefits during the entire unemployment situation period;
  • By registration in the social security general scheme exclusively for this eventuality regarding state education infant, primary and secondary teachers and military staff on a contract or voluntary basis.

Employees fulfilling public functions admitted as from 1 January 2006, including teachers and military staff above mentioned, were framed in the social security general scheme for all eventualities in 2009.

Protection in unemployment situation is materialized through unemployment benefit and unemployment social allowance (initial or subsequent to the unemployment allowance) granting.

The right to the allowance shall depend upon compliance with a waiting period, that it to say, a minimum contributions period for social security institutions:

  • 360 days of fulfilment of functions in a public employer with compensations register within a 24 months period immediately prior to the unemployment date – in the case of unemployment allowance;
  • 180 days of fulfilment of functions within a12 month period immediately prior to the unemployment date as well as meeting the resources requirements, i.e., household income level of the unemployed person - in the case of unemployment social allowance.

These waiting periods may not be completed with the period of time of fulfilment of functions subject to the convergent social protection scheme.

The unemployment benefit amount shall correspond to 65% of the reference compensation (RC), and shall not be higher than 75% of the RC gross value that served as calculation basis for this benefit and may not also exceed twice and a half times the social support indexation (SSI) amount – (2.5xSSI). In any case, it may not be higher than the RC gross value that serves as calculation basis for the unemployment benefit.

The reference compensation (RC) is established on the basis of gross compensation values registered in the 12 calendar months that precede the 2nd one former to the dismissal date.

The unemployment social allowance amount shall be indexed to the value of the Social Support Indexation (SSI).do ao valor IAS.

The period to grant the allowance is variable according to the employee/beneficiary’s age and the number of months with compensations registered in the period immediately former to the unemployment date.