Civil servant with a side activity: when you need authorisation

Beatriz is an officer at a municipal council and has been invited to give some short training sessions at weekends. Rui works at a State body and wants to do IT consultancy on green receipts in the evenings. They both ask the same question: “can I, as a civil servant?”.

The answer is “yes, but” - and the “but” is different for each. The general rule is that public-sector work is carried out on an exclusive basis, but the law opens exceptions. Knowing which one you fit into avoids a serious disciplinary problem.

The base rule: exclusivity

The General Labour Law in Public Functions (the LTFP, Law 35/2014) starts from a principle: the public worker is dedicated to public service and does not freely carry out another activity - there are incompatibilities and impediments (arts. 19.º and 20.º), except in the accumulation cases the law itself provides for and authorises (arts. 21.º to 24.º). The aim is to avoid conflicts of interest and guarantee impartiality.

From there, there are three boxes your side activity can fall into. Working out which is yours is the point of this article.

Box 1: activities that tend to be authorised

Careful: nothing is automatic - the rule is to always ask for prior authorisation (art. 23.º of the LTFP). And there are two distinct regimes: combining with other public functions (commissions, teaching, conferences or short-duration training) requires a manifest public interest (art. 21.º); a private activity on your own account (artistic creation, consultancy) follows art. 22.º. The activities below are the ones most likely to be authorised - but always confirm yours:

This is where Beatriz fits: short training sessions tend to be authorised, but she still confirmed with her service before going ahead.

Box 2: activities that DO need prior authorisation

Any other self-employed activity - consultancy, programming, design, translation on green receipts and so on - requires prior authorisation (art. 23.º). The law outright bars competing, similar or conflicting activity (art. 22.º n.º 1); otherwise, authorisation is only granted if the activity meets the conditions of art. 22.º n.º 3:

• isn’t legally incompatible;
• is carried out outside working hours;
• doesn’t affect your independence and impartiality;
• doesn’t harm the public interest or citizens’ legally protected rights.

This is where Rui falls: his IT consultancy is an ordinary provision of services, so he really does have to ask for authorisation before starting.

Box 3: forbidden activities (incompatible)

Some situations are barred even with authorisation - the specific prohibitions in art. 24.º of the LTFP. It isn’t a blanket ban on having a business: it stops you putting yourself in conflict with what you decide at work. Specifically, you can’t:

• provide services to third parties (yourself or through someone else) in the study, preparation or financing of projects, applications or requests that will then come to you for appraisal or decision - or to services under your direct influence;
• take part in contracts, or improperly benefit from acts, whose formation involves services under your direct influence.

And mind the reach: for these prohibitions the law treats as you your spouse and close family, and a company in which you hold 10% or more of the capital (art. 24.º, no. 4). In other words, the 10% threshold doesn’t ban you from holding the stake - it defines when the company “counts as if it were you”.

Here no authorisation will do: if the activity falls in this box, you can’t carry it out.

How to request authorisation

The request follows art. 23.º of the LTFP and is simple to put together:

1. You address the request, in writing, to the competent entity (as a rule, the top manager of the service where you work).
2. You justify it with the essentials: what activity you’ll carry out and in what capacity (self-employed or subordinate), where and at what hours, the expected pay, the public interest justifying it (where applicable), and that it doesn’t clash with your functions - committing to cease it if a conflict arises (art. 23.º n.º 2).
3. You wait for the decision and only go ahead with the written authorisation in hand.

Warning: never start the activity without the written authorisation - don’t count on the service’s silence as a “yes”. Working without authorisation (or after a refusal) is a disciplinary offence, and incompatible activities are forbidden even with a request. When in doubt, check with your service’s HR before you open an activity at the tax office.

✅ In summary

1. The baseline rule is to ask for authorisation. The vast majority of freelance services needs prior authorisation (art. 22.º and 23.º of the LTFP); some activities (artistic creation, teaching) tend to be authorised, but always go through authorisation; and there are specific prohibitions for conflict of interest (art. 24.º).

2. The request goes in writing to the competent manager/entity (art. 23.º), justified. Don’t start without the express “yes” on paper - silence is not authorisation.

3. Once authorised, FIZ handles the self-employed side - green receipts, VAT and the quarterly Social Security declaration - so your side activity runs without piling bureaucracy onto your main job. See the plans.