Falsos recibos verdes: how to tell if you're one - and what's at stake

Marco has been working on recibos verdes (Portugal’s “green receipts”) for two years. In practice, he clocks in every day at 9am at an agency’s office, leaves at 6pm, uses the computer the company gave him, reports to a director who assigns his tasks, and receives the same fixed amount at the end of each month. He has only that one “client”.

Marco thinks he’s a freelancer. In the eyes of the law, he very probably isn’t: he’s a falso recibo verde (a “false” recibo verde - a disguised employee). And that, contrary to what most people assume, is a problem mainly for whoever hired him - not for him.

What a falso recibo verde is

A falso recibo verde is someone who invoices as a self-employed worker but actually works as an employee - with set hours, a boss and integration into the company, like any other member of staff.

It’s a way for the company to dodge the obligations of an employment contract: it doesn’t pay its share of Social Security, gives no holiday or Christmas bonuses, and avoids the rules protecting against dismissal. It saves money at the expense of your rights.

Portuguese law fights this with a powerful mechanism: the presumption of employment (presunção de laboralidade).

The presumption of employment (art. 12.º of the Labour Code)

Article 12.º of the Labour Code says something simple: if your relationship with whoever pays you has the typical features of a job, an employment contract is presumed - even if the paperwork says “provision of services”.

The law lists five signs. Just two are enough for the presumption to kick in:

What changes everything is the effect of the presumption: the reversal of the burden of proof. It’s no longer up to you to prove you’re an employee. If two of these signs are present, it becomes the company’s job to prove you were genuinely an independent contractor. In practice, that’s very hard for it to do.

Marco and Rita: who’s false and who’s genuine

Depending on a single client, on its own, does not make you a falso recibo verde - a real freelancer can have a main client. What decides it is the combination of art. 12.º signs (any two are enough); subordination to a manager is the underlying picture these signs help reveal. Compare:

Marco has four signs at once - a textbook case. Rita has none: she’s a genuine independent worker, even if one client gives her half her income.

What’s at stake - and what you gain

Here’s the part that surprises people: in this situation, the one with the most to lose is the company.

In other words: the scheme exists to save the company money, but if it’s recognised, it ends up costing far more than doing things properly from the start would have.

How to have the employment relationship recognised

If you recognise yourself in Marco’s case, you have two routes - and you can use the first without a lawyer:

1. A complaint to the ACT (Authority for Working Conditions). You can file it online, even anonymously (though it’s more effective if identified). The ACT inspects the company, checks the signs and, if it finds them, orders it to regularise your situation. If the company refuses, the case goes to the Public Prosecutor, who brings an action to recognise the existence of an employment contract on your behalf - at no cost to you.
2. The Labour Court, directly. With a lawyer, you bring the action yourself. Here you use the reversal of the burden of proof in your favour: you prove two signs, and it’s the company that has to dismantle the presumption.

Warning: having a client that accounts for more than 50% of your income does not automatically make you a falso recibo verde - that alone triggers something else (the contracting-entity Social Security rules, which is a different matter). What defines a falso recibo verde is subordination: hours, orders, integration into the company. Don’t confuse depending on one client with actually being a disguised employee.

✅ In summary

1. You’re a falso recibo verde if you work like an employee but invoice as self-employed - the company’s premises, hours and equipment, orders from a manager and a fixed monthly amount. Just two of the art. 12.º signs are enough for the law to presume an employment contract.

2. The risk lies mostly with the company: a very serious ACT fine, backdated Social Security contributions (23.75% + 11% + interest) and overdue employment rights. You gain recognition of the relationship, social protection and seniority. You can claim through the ACT (free) or the Labour Court.

3. If you’re a genuine freelancer, FIZ handles your obligations - invoices, VAT and Social Security, on time. If you suspect you’re a falso recibo verde, the route isn’t a tax one, it’s the ACT or the court - don’t sign the renewal blindly without understanding what you’re accepting. See the plans.