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Running
a business in Portugal is not always
the easy prospect many may think it is. Crippled by
heavy handed legislation and employee sided rights,
Portugal
is currently a place where running a business,
successfully, can be very, very difficult.
So, if you are
considering transferring your business
interests from your home country to
Portugal
it is
advisable to think long and hard, consult professional
organisations and prepare yourself for battle, prior to making
the final decision.
Portugal
is not a third world country and many companies do succeed. Current
employment legislation is such though which does not
makes free enterprise easy or encourages entrepreneurial
spirit to flourish.
Realms of paperwork, governmental
bodies hell bent on unannounced inspection visits to
inspect the back end of a bidet and
ever changing employment laws, heavily biased
towards employees ensure
running a business in Portugal
is one of the hardest things to do in the European
Union.
The last
vestiges of a dictatorship regime, where no one could be
trusted, or a country where it's people are not willing
or able to benefit from the full force of 21st century
economy? It is a difficult conundrum and one the modern
day entrepreneurs must seriously consider before
thinking about
running a business in Portugal.
Only the most
determined business persons will succeed in
Portugal
once they have created their companies.
This is mainly due to the due the sometimes
crippling legislation governing small, medium and large
employers. Legislation which favours employees to
the point of incredulity with little or no disciplinary
procedures favouring employers.
Legislation which forces companies to employ on full
time basis' accountants to ensure tax returns and
governmental levies are paid in full and timely. For
larger companies in need of their own accountants this
is no major worry, however for small and medium sized
businesses this cost can be crippling on a monthly basis.
And then
then there are company costs. Depending upon how you
formulate the company you run depends upon the capital
assets you can declare, the assets you can accrue and
the deductible assets you are allowed to hold in a
calendar year without initiating a full scale audit.
Before
you can consider expanding your company you will have to
consider the employment ramifications. What if the
employee you are currently paying decides to go absent
without authorised holiday for 15 days? What if a
different employee is not able to complete the tasks
within their remit and starts costing the company
business?
These
are relevant questions and ones you would think could be
handled internally within your company with swift
action, usually termination of employment or retraining.
However in
Portugal
this is not always the case and it
is well worth speaking with an employment attorney to
fully uncover the pitfalls of being a boss in
Portugal
before you start being one as you may be surprised by
the negatives of becoming one.
In
Portugal for example if an employee does not turn up for
work without communication for less the 15 days you
cannot terminate their employment. In fact you are
forced to continue paying them.
Employees in Portugal
have far more rights than employers and that in itself
is scary situation if you are even contemplating
starting a business in Portugal. |
