The Government has extended until the end of September the remuneration regime applicable to overtime worked by doctors in emergency services, according to the decree-law published today in Diário da República.
In the document, which takes effect on August 1, the Government points out the fact that negotiations with the union structures representing the medical profession are still ongoing, also underlining the need for human resources, especially in emergency services, which become “particularly evident during the vacation period”.
“It is important to ensure, in the immediate future, the response capacity of the National Health Service, extending the validity of Decree-Law no. 50-A/2022, of July 25, in its current wording, until the end of September 2023”, says the decree-law.
In addition to the response capacity of the SNS during this period, the Government says that, in this way, the necessary conditions are also guaranteed so that negotiations with the union structures “allow structural solutions to be reached that are recognized as essential and indispensable for the resolution of the problem in definitive terms, allowing an end to this transitional regime”.
The remuneration scheme for overtime work by doctors in emergency departments establishes that the costs associated with overtime work and the acquisition of medical services may not exceed, in each health service or establishment, the amounts paid for overtime work and the provision of medical services in 2019, corrected for the costs resulting from annual salary updates.
In the case of exceptional situations, “for duly substantiated reasons of urgency and absolute necessity” in which the limit is exceeded, entities must provide proof of the actual payment of amounts above the limit, detailing the effect associated with annual salary updates.
The hourly rate for overtime work carried out under this law is maintained for the most burdensome situations, namely for the night period and the weekend.
In emergencies that are more than 60 kilometers from Lisbon, Porto or Coimbra, and in metropolitan emergencies, the hourly rate is also maintained, regardless of the day or time.
The special regime will continue to apply to daytime and internal hospital emergency departments to promote the normal functioning of emergency services more generally.
In these cases, the exceptional payment scheme will be 75% of the hourly rate for night time and for emergency departments further away from large urban centers.
According to the decree-law that was initially approved in July 2022, the hourly rate to be paid could not exceed €50 from the 51st and up to and including the 100th hour of overtime work. Thereafter and up to the 150th hour of overtime (inclusive), it could not exceed €60 and from the 151st hour of overtime the hourly rate could not exceed €70.