The national minimum wage on the Continent will rise to 920 euros from January 1, 2026, after the Government published Decree-Law No. 139/2025 this Monday in the Official Gazette, which sets the new value and also creates an exceptional regime linked to public contracts with an indexed salary component.
The update represents an additional 50 euros compared to the 870 euros in force in 2025, an increase that the diploma fits into a trajectory agreed in social consultation.
According to Notícias ao Minuto, the decree-law explains that the measure implements the Tripartite Agreement on Salary Valorization and Economic Growth 2025-2028, signed on October 1, 2024, which points to successive annual increases and a target of 1,020 euros in 2028.
Who is covered and what changes in January
In practice, from January 1, 2026, no employer on the mainland can pay a monthly base salary of less than 920 euros to full-time workers.
It is important, however, to distinguish base salary from other amounts that may appear on the receipt: food allowance, daily allowances or bonuses do not replace the obligation to guarantee the guaranteed minimum monthly remuneration, except for specific and duly framed rules.
The published diploma applies to the continental territory, which means that in the Autonomous Regions the values can be defined by specific legislation, normally with reference to the national minimum wage and regional increases.
Impact on public contracts and essential services
The least talked about new feature of the decree is its “collateral” effect on multi-year public contracts. The Government admits that the increase in minimum wages could unbalance prices in services where labor indexed to the minimum wage was decisive — such as cleaning, security and human surveillance, maintenance of buildings/equipment and cafeteria services.
Therefore, the diploma creates an exceptional regime to allow the extraordinary updating of the price of these contracts, to the extent strictly necessary to replace the value of the contracted benefits, when there is a proven impact resulting from the entry into force of the new minimum wage.
The concrete procedures (circuits, deadlines and terms of authorization) depend on an ordinance to be defined within 10 days after the decree-law comes into force.
What to expect until 2028 and what to do now
The increase to 920 euros in 2026 is part of the line agreed for 2025-2028, which foresees annual increases of 50 euros, until reaching 1,020 euros in 2028, according to the tripartite commitment celebrated in October 2024.
For workers, the essential thing is to confirm on the January receipt whether the base salary has been updated (if it is below the new minimum) and, if there are doubts, ask the employer for clarification in writing before proceeding with formal complaints.
According to , Decree-Law No. 139/2025 comes into force the day after publication and takes effect on January 1, 2026, thus closing the legal calendar for raising the minimum wage at the start of the new year.
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