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Whether
you are looking for work abroad as an older person or you
are young and want to live in the sun there are plenty of
options for you.
Even though you live in Portugal people still want services
like they have in England and want to speak to people that
are English. We are simply less trusting to people we don't
know and this is when you can make sure especially as an
older person that you have sound employment.
I am not going to lie to you here it is no fairytale world
as far as employment is concerned in Portugal. In season you
are simply spoilt for choice as there is so many jobs on
offer but in winter unless you are fluent in Portuguese you
have got no chance of finding a good job.
I would advise anyone planning a new life in Portugal to
either have employment set up or plan their own
self-employment. At the end of the day it's so much easier
to work for yourself out here than it is to use an employer.
For example -
If you are skilled workman there is a huge niche available
to you in Portugal just by advertising in expat newspapers.
This could include services such as:
*Electrician
*Gas Fitter
*Plumber
*Joiner
*Sky Television Installer
*Decorator/Plasterer
*Hairdresser/Beauty Therapist
*Medical Profession
There is a lot of other options to you too - even if you are
the guy with the white van you have a trade waiting for you.
Or a taxi driver for the expats that trust you more than the
locals.
The women have a lot of options too - there is all kinds of
income opportunities for them from being a full time Avon
lady to selling prams on the market. There is a serious lack
of baby items in Portugal and the costs of them are very
high.
Please don't waste your money opening a restaurant unless
you are experienced in this as there is a lot of competition
in this niche and the majority of you will fail. You have to
remember that the Portuguese are not driven by money so they
will offer restaurant food at a very low price. You would
have to be red hot to be able to be better than them and
earn money from it. Not to mention the hours of work
involved in achieving this after all I am sure you haven't
decided to move to Portugal to work even longer hours than
you did in England.
Here are some interesting facts about employment in
Portugal:
If you are from the UK or any of the other countries that
make up the 25 member states of the EEA and you are
interested in working in Portugal then you will be pleased
to know that you have exactly the same rights as the
Portuguese nationals.
To help with your job applications it is highly recommended
that you take the time to have your qualifications
translated to into the Portuguese's equivalents in advance
of applying for jobs as this will make the task of getting a
job far easier. This can be done by the National Academic
Recognition Information Centre.
When you have been successful in finding a job in Portugal
you will be required to pay income tax and you will require
a Carta de Contribuinte which is a tax number and you can
get one of these by applying to your local tax office in
Portugal.
When you have sorted this out and start paying tax it will
amount to deductions of around 25% of your gross pay which
will also include national insurance contributions.
There are several important issues to bear in mind regarding
employment in Portugal. You cannot legally work for more
than 40 hours per week but on saying that the working day
can be extended due to the fact that that there is often a
longer lunch break or even a siesta in the afternoon.
The average annual leave entitlement is 22 days but as well
as that there are 13 public holidays. You find that many
companies, especially those that are factory based end up
shutting down for the whole of the month of August.
There is a minimum wage in Portugal and this was increased
by 5.6% in 2009 to 450 Euros per month.
Whilst admittedly that seems like a low wage it should also
be remembered that it is Portuguese custom to receive a
bonus which is the equivalent to one months salary in June
and December so that in fact equates to the average employee
in Portugal receiving 14 months pay per year.
It has always been assumed that the only type of work
available in Portugal was in the Tourism and agriculture
industry but nothing could be really be further from the
truth.
Whilst that may have been the case in the past there are now
opportunities available in the information technology sector
as well as manufacturing industry amongst many others.
It should be remembered that when you find a job in Portugal
it will go along way with your fellow Portuguese workmates
if you try and make an effort to speak in their language and
pay respect to their customs. The Portuguese population as a
whole are extremely friendly but when they see that you are
at least making an effort their respect for you will
increase greatly and you will also have the added benefit of
learning another language.
How to find work in Portugal
There are many ways to find work in Portugal and a good
place to start is to look in the English speaking newspapers
which include The News, APN and the Algarve Resident.
There are a wide range of jobs advertised in these
newspapers from teaching jobs to sales representatives. I
would also recommend looking in the Portuguese newspapers
such as the Diario de Noticias and the Correio da Manha. You
will find that the vast majority of jobs advertised here are
placed by Portuguese companies and they are well worth a
look.
In the larger cities you will find job agencies who always
have a wide selection of employment opportunities. For
instance, Manpower, an agency that is extremely well know in
the UK has offices in Lisbon.
It would be wise to mention at this point, to get good
quality copies of your CV, qualifications and references in
advance so as not to cause any delays in the job application
process. |
