Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1995, published 82nd ILC session (1995)

Social Policy (Basic Aims and Standards) Convention, 1962 (No. 117) - Portugal (Ratification: 1981)

Article 12 of the Convention. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the explanations provided by the Government. The Committee recalls that section 95(2)(f) of the Act respecting Labour Contracts allows deductions from workers' wages by the employer to recover advances on wages and that section 95(3) limits the total amount of certain authorized deductions to be one-sixth of the worker's total wage at most. However, neither of these provisions of the Act specifies the maximum amount of advances on wages which may be granted to workers. Consequently, the Committee hopes that the Government will adopt, as it indicates in the report, the necessary measures to bring the legislation into line with practice and with this Article of the Convention, in particular (i) limiting the amount of advances, including that which may be made to a worker in consideration of his taking up employment, and (ii) establishing that any advance in excess of the amount laid down by the competent authority should be legally irrecoverable and may not be recovered by the withholding of amounts of pay due to the worker at a later date.