How to handle the absences and credit of hours of workers' representatives

What is it for?

It keeps the mandate of whoever represents the employees and the absences for those duties. Month by month, fiscaldoo counts the hours inside the credit, which are paid, and the hours above it, which are not paid. Without notice in time, the absence becomes unjustified.

When to use it?

• When an employee is elected or appointed union delegate, union officer or member of a workers' committee.
• For each absence for those duties.
• When the mandate ends: fill in Up to.
• Do not use these lists for other absences: those go in Absences.

Where to find it?

• Mandates: Payroll › Prepare › What is there to do this month?, in the Trade unions and representatives group, or Payroll › Prepare › Worker files › open the file › ⋮ › Mandates of workers' representatives.
• Absences: in the list of mandates, the Absences button on the line.

Before you start

• Your profile is Payroll Administrator or HR.
• You have the structure and the start date of the mandate.
• Find out whether the collective agreement (IRCT) gives a larger credit than the law.

How to use it

1. On the employee's file, click ⋮ and choose Mandates of workers' representatives. Click New: the Worker is already filled in.
2. In Structure, choose Union delegate (art. 467.º), Union delegate in an inter-union committee (art. 467.º), Member of the board of a union (art. 468.º), Workers' sub-committee (art. 422.º), Workers' committee (art. 422.º) or Coordinating committee (art. 422.º).
3. Fill in From and, if you already know it, Up to. Tick Micro-company if the company is one. If the IRCT gives more hours, fill in Monthly credit set by the CCT (hours) and CCT clause. Click Save.
4. On the mandate line, click Absences and then New. With no records, the list says “The absences of the workers' representatives appear here; register one with “New”.”
5. Fill in Day and Hours. In Communicated at, enter the date of the written notice. Tick Unforeseeable if it could not be foreseen. Click Save. fiscaldoo fills in Inside the credit (paid), Above the credit (not paid), Unjustified and Late notice of the credit (credit used with less than two days' notice, without a valid reason).
6. On the month's payslip, click Calculate. The lines are added automatically.

Example. A union delegate has a credit of 5 hours a month. In November 2026, part-time, with 800.00 € and 4 hours a day:

Day	Hours	Communicated at	Inside the credit	Above the credit	Unjustified
05/11/2026	3	02/11/2026	3	0	No
12/11/2026	4	10/11/2026	2	2	No
19/11/2026	2	19/11/2026	0	2	Yes
26/11/2026	3	(no notice)	0	3	Yes

The payslip ended up with:

• Representative's credit of hours (paid): 5 hours, 33.33 €, for information only. These hours are already in the base remuneration.
• Representative's absence above the credit (not paid): 7 hours × 6.67 € = −46.67 €. The hourly value comes from the daily value chosen by the company (800.00 € ÷ 30 ÷ 4 hours).
• How was it calculated? says: “Of these, 5.0 h were not communicated in time (art. 409.º/3-4): unjustified.”

Expected result

• The mandate is in the list, with the Absences button.
• Each absence shows the hours inside and above the credit, and whether it was unjustified.
• The payslip shows both lines. How was it calculated? states, on the absence line, “IRS: subject. Social Security: subject.”

Important notes

Structure	Credit per month	Law
Union delegate	5 hours	Labour Code (CT), art. 467.º, no. 1
Delegate in an inter-union committee	8 hours	CT, art. 467.º, no. 1
Member of the board of a union	4 working days	CT, art. 468.º, no. 1
Workers' sub-committee	8 hours	CT, art. 422.º, no. 1
Workers' committee	25 hours	CT, art. 422.º, no. 1
Coordinating committee	20 hours	CT, art. 422.º, no. 1

In a micro-company, the credit of the workers' structures is halved (art. 422.º, no. 2). Source: Labour Code (Código do Trabalho), arts. 408.º, 409.º, 422.º, 467.º and 468.º, text read on PGDL on 16/10/2026.

• Notice of the credit. The credit requires written notice at least two days in advance, unless there is a valid reason (art. 408.º, no. 3). An absence above the credit requires notice one day before or, if unforeseeable, within the following 48 hours (art. 409.º).
• More than one structure. The credit does not add up (art. 408.º, no. 4). fiscaldoo counts the highest one.
• fiscaldoo does not keep the evidence of the notice. Keep it in the employee's file.

Pending validation by a certified accountant: the method for the hourly value on the line of the absence above the credit, in part-time contracts, and the effect of the unjustified absence on holidays and seniority.

Common problems

The CCT credit is refused

• Message: “The credit of the CCT of … is lower than the law. What happened: only a more favourable collective agreement may set another credit (art. 250.º). How to fix it: enter a credit equal to or higher than the one of the law, or clear it.”
• Cause: the value is lower than the legal one for the chosen structure.
• What to do: correct the value, or clear the field.

The whole absence is above the credit

• Symptom: Inside the credit (paid) shows 0.00.
• Cause: the earlier absences of the month have already used up the credit.
• What to do: nothing, if that is right. The credit starts again the next month and does not carry over from one month to the next.

The absence is unjustified

• Symptom: Unjustified ticked.
• Cause: Communicated at empty, or late.
• What to do: if there was notice, enter the right date. If it was unforeseeable, tick Unforeseeable and calculate the payslip again.