Working Conditions in Portugal

Permits

Portugal is part of the EU. No special working permits (including for the Swiss) needed.

Working Hours

• Shooting week consists of 6 days (Mon-Sat).
• Sundays, National and religious holidays are charged twice the regular daily rate by most of the departments.
• 10 hours of work plus 1 hour lunch/ dinner break.
• There is a 10 hours lay-over time required between end of shooting and start of next shooting day.
• Between last shooting day of one week and first shooting day of the following week a minimum of 36 hours lay-over time are required
• If shooting takes place outside residence, travel time accounts to work time (depending on departments, it can be negotiated).
• Lunch break (or dinner): usually 60 min, but can exceptionally be reduced to 45 min. by production (some departments might charge though).
• Warm meal is expected (Lunch/ Dinner if not served by catering: € 12,50-15,00, depending on department).

Overtime

• Most departments charge from the 11th working hour on.
• The calculations vary between departments, for example camera assistants charge the hourly value x1,5 (900,00€ per week=150,00 per day=15,00 per hour=22,50 per extra hour).
• Sound department charges the hourly value x1,5 from the 11th to the 15th hour, and from then on x2 per hour.
• Grip and light deparment charge approximately x2 the hourly value.
• AD and continuity charge x1,5 the hourly value.

All this can be checked in the pdf-files.

Rates

For following departments (in Portuguese):

• AD & Continuity
• Camera Assistants
• Grip
• Light
• Make-up & Hair
• Production
• Sound

Unfortunately only a few production companies apply these rates. It’s very common to negotiate a package with rates below the ones you can find in the pdf-files, and as times are difficult and there’s little work, most people will have to accept. Yet about 10% is an acceptable reduction.

Social Benefits

At this moment there are no agreements in this field.

Allowances

• Production is expected to pay traveling days as working days, to provide single rooms for each crew member, laundry service and per-diems for meals.
• On a shooting day only one meal (after or before the shoot) is due to be paid, 15,00€ is the reference value. Breakfast is usually provided on the set or included in the hotel price, otherwise 5,00€.
• So on days off the value would be 35,00€.

Actors

Adult actors:
750-1000 €/ day (normal actor)/
Up from 10-day packages can be negotiated
known actors get as much as they ask for

Teenagers:
no established rates. Actors of minor age are supposed to be protected by law, but that law is not being respected, neither by production companies nor by parents.

Note:

In general, actors tend to see their participation in foreign films as a chance to get discovered abroad, and might therefore accept lower fees.

Extras

To be negotiated, reference value could be:
45 €/ person per day
100€/ person for featured extras

Useful Links

• www.ica-ip.pt/ Portuguese Film Institute
• www.mediadeskportugal.eu/
• www.apcinema.pt/ Association of Film Producers
• www.cpav.pt/ Film workers’ guild
• www.cineguiaportugal.com/en/main full listing of film professionals and technicians
• www.algarvefilm.com Algarve Film Commission