The Portuguese Government presented a preliminary draft proposal for the transposition of the Platform Work Directive in July 2025 called ‘Work XXI’. The proposal would significantly weaken the current legal presumption of employment in the platform economy in Portugal, which was introduced in 2023, as the criteria to trigger the presumption is changed and is significantly harder for the platform worker to meet. It is questionable whether it would be compliant with the Platform Work Directive as a result.
The UGT union in Portugal has criticised the proposal, stating all of its proposals “favours the employers side” and includes “cuts in rights in central areas for workers and their representatives”.
A revised Work XXI proposal was submitted by the Government to the Parliament in May 2026. The draft law states that it is a “partial” transposition of the Platform Work Directive. The concerns of UGT have been dismissed by the government.