Mário Cruz / Lusa
The lack of updating of the employee’s contribution history by employers leads to cases in which employees on leave receive amounts below what they are entitled to in compensation for holiday and Christmas bonuses.
Last year, more than 126 thousand people benefited from compensatory benefits paid by Social Security to compensate for the loss of holiday and Christmas benefits during periods of sick leave. According to data revealed by the Social Security Institute, the expenditure on this support was around 16.4 million euros in 2025.
Despite the size of the investment, the total value could be higher. According to information provided by the institute to , there are situations in which beneficiaries do not request the benefit to which they are entitled. In other cases, the amounts initially allocated fall short of the amount actually due, forcing users to submit complaints so that the processes can be reviewed.
One of the reported cases revealed a significant difference between the value automatically calculated by the system and the amount subsequently recognized by Social Security. Initially, the beneficiary would be entitled to just 25 euros, according to data presented on the institution’s portal. After complaining and reevaluating the process, the value was corrected to 291 euros.
When asked about these discrepancies, the Social Security Institute points out two main reasons. The first is related to the existence of contribution history not yet updated by employers in the Social Security computer system at the time the request is made.
The second concerns collective work regulation instruments that can predict different amounts of those considered in the automatic calculation. In these situations, the institute only becomes aware of these specificities when workers or companies present the corresponding documentation.
The entity also clarifies that the applications made available to beneficiaries appear pre-filled, but are not mandatory acceptance. Users can correct or supplement the data before submitting the request, ensuring that the information used in the calculation corresponds to their employment and contribution status.
The Social Security Institute also ensures that all complaints submitted are analyzed and that processes are re-evaluated and values recalculated whenever there are legal grounds for doing so.
