New law on employment and training of young people

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In March 2002, new rules were introduced in Portugal on the employment of young people who have not completed compulsory schooling or do not possess any vocational qualifications, providing new flexibility in recruitment for companies but obliging them to provide training. The new legislation comes within the context of an intersectoral agreement on employment and training signed by the government and social partners in 2001.

On 15 March 2002, Decree-Law No. 58/2002 and Executory Decision No.16/2002 were published. Both aim to regulate the recruitment of minors aged 16 years or above who have not completed compulsory schooling or have no vocational qualifications resulting from training. The legislation was drawn up in collaboration with the social partners represented on the monitoring committee for the implementation of the February 2001 intersectoral agreement on 'employment, the labour market, education and training' (PT0102134F), and was subject to public debate.

According to the preamble, this new legislation will implement some of the training objectives of the February 2001 agreement, which was signed within the Economic and Social Council (Conselho Económico e Social, CES) by the the government and all of the central social partner organisations - the Confederation of Portuguese Industry (Confederação da Indústria Portuguesa, CIP), the Confederation of Portuguese Services and Commerce (Confederação do Comércio e Serviços de Portugal, CCP), the Portuguese Agricultural Confederation (Confederação da Agricultura Portuguesa, CAP), the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (Confederação Geral de Trabalhadores Portugueses, CGTP) and the General Workers' Union (União Geral de Trabalhadores, UGT).

The new legislation

Decree-Law No. 58/2002 amends the previous legislation on contracts of employment for young persons aged 16 or above who have not successfully completed compulsory schooling or who do not possess vocational qualifications. It is not applicable to contracts relating to employment in the school holidays for young people who are in education. The new legislation:

• subjects the signing of the employment contract to the condition of attendance by the young person in question on a training course that confers compulsory schooling credentials and vocational qualifications;

• establishes a minimum period of working time to be used for training. The period set aside for training within normal working hours should be at least 40% of the maximum working time limit established by law (40 hours per week) or collective bargaining for the relevant category of full-time employee in the company; and

• defines for fixed-term contracts a minimum contract duration that guarantees a minimum period of training. The contract's length may not be less than the total duration of the training if the latter is the responsibility of the company, or it must allow a minimum period of training to take place if another body is responsible.

Employers' responsibilities and incentives

Under the terms of Executory Decision No. 16/2002, training for young persons aged 16 or above who have not successfully completed compulsory schooling or who do not possess vocational qualifications will be carried out in close collaboration with the company, which must employ a tutor and operate according to the following criteria:

• training must last for no less than 1,000 hours;

• training must correlate with the educational levels and qualifications provided for in law (primary, preparatory or lower secondary levels), and in particular 'socio-vocational', vocational and technological courses in 10th-year vocational qualifications or the apprenticeship system. This means that the training provided should incorporate high levels of schooling and vocational upgrading in the area being pursued by the young person; and

• the work experience arising from the contract of employment is considered as practical training in a work context.

The company may opt to assume complete responsibility for training or use public accredited or approved training bodies. Training must begin within a period of one month counting from the conclusion of the employment contract.

Companies are compensated for the training costs of minors through the following incentives and financial supports:

• a subsidy of 40% of the remuneration and employment-related costs for employing the young worker;

• priority access to public support funds for the training of minors;

• the provision of financial remuneration for tutors; and

• priority access to continuing training for the company's workers and tutors.

Wherever possible, the legislation encourages communication and links between the training programmes developed for minors on one hand, and schools, employers' associations, trade unions and local or regional associations on the other, in order to maximise the benefit of the facilities and human and material resources used in the training.

Commentary

In Portugal, the number of young people who leave education without completing compulsory schooling is one of the highest in the European Union (PT0009114F). On the other hand, the problem of child labour has also been the subject of a significant number of measures in Portugal (PT0012124N). This new legislation is one way to bridge some of the gaps that exacerbate the consequences of child labour, and allow the space that exists between education and training to be bridged. (Maria Luisa Cristovam, UAL)