Being on sick leave or on parental leave can mean, for many workers, the total or partial loss of holiday and Christmas benefits. What not everyone knows is that there is a specific mechanism to compensate for this drop in income. These are called compensatory benefits, cash compensation granted by Social Security under certain conditions.
According to Notícias ao Minuto, this request can be made by workers who, in 2025, have been prevented from receiving those benefits due to prolonged periods of absence from work, as long as the legal criteria are met.
What are compensatory benefits
According to official Social Security information, compensatory benefits correspond to financial support paid to workers who did not receive, in whole or in part, holiday and/or Christmas benefits due to illness or parenthood.
In practice, this mechanism serves to overcome situations in which the employment contract was suspended or in which the employer had no legal obligation to pay those subsidies.
Who can ask for this support
The support is essentially aimed at two groups. On the one hand, to employees who have been on sick leave or on parental leave for prolonged periods. On the other hand, to members of statutory bodies, as long as the right to the respective subsidies is proven and the remaining conditions set out in the law are met.
According to , the determining element is not just having been on sick leave, but the fact that this absence had a direct impact on the payment of subsidies.
Conditions in case of illness
In the case of illness, there are three fundamental requirements. The worker must have been receiving sickness benefit and, for that reason, not have received, or only partially received, holiday or Christmas benefits. Furthermore, the duration of the leave must have been sufficient to suspend the employment contract, in accordance with the Labor Code.
It is also necessary that the employer has not paid the subsidies because it is not legally obliged to do so, whether by law or a collective labor regulation instrument.
What if the absence was due to parenting?
In parenting situations, the general rule is different. During parental leave, holiday and Christmas bonuses must be paid by the employer. However, as Social Security explains, if these benefits are reduced in proportion to the period of leave, a compensatory benefit may be required.
In other words, even if the subsidy has not been completely eliminated, a reduction could open the door to this support.
How much can you receive
The value of the compensatory benefit is not fixed. It varies depending on the type of benefit the worker has been receiving, whether sickness benefit or parental benefits.
According to the same source, this support can be accumulated with other Social Security benefits, and is not incompatible with benefits already in payment.
In what specific situations does it apply
Compensatory benefits apply when the employer did not pay, nor had a legal obligation to pay, in whole or in part, holiday or Christmas bonuses.
This happens, for example, when the worker received sickness benefit for 30 or more days, leading to the suspension of the employment contract, or when he received parental benefits for the same period in the year in which those benefits were due.
How and when to order
The request must be made to Social Security, preferably through Social Security Direct. It is important to gather documentation that proves the situation of sick leave or leave and the absence of payment of subsidies by the employer.
This is little-known support, but it can represent a significant difference in annual income. For those who have been away from work for long periods, it is worth confirming that you meet the conditions and not leaving this right unexercised.
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