By Riccardo Florencio

I begin this memo with the same sentence I ended my April editorial with: “Every day that we put off making these decisions is a day wasted, and we let problems pile up.”
We tend to discuss what is incidental rather than what is urgent and important. Is it easier? Could it be for other reasons? Whatever they are, it’s wrong. A mistake that will cost us dearly. We really have to make decisions on urgent and important issues. Already listed four:
Lack of qualified competencies with the necessary skills: No matter how many numbers turn up, there’s no turning back – we really are short of the people we need. The solution is more training, to keep the good people who have been trained here (but nowadays go abroad) or to look for them in other countries. But here comes the second point.
Labor taxes: Do people in Portugal earn a poor income? On average, yes. But the biggest problem is that they receive little. Employment taxes are very high in Portugal, which makes it difficult to attract, retain and motivate employees. Take for example someone (single, without children) who earns the current average salary, i.e. 1335 € gross per month. From the start, without vacation or thirteenth month benefits, it represents a monthly cost to the company of 1,652 euros, taking into account the amount to be paid to social security. And if we take into account the deductions for the purposes of the Tax and Social Insurance Authority by the employee, he receives the net amount of 987 euros. In other words, out of the total company value of €1,652 to the company, the employee receives €987 – a difference of €665, and this is clearly an issue that needs revision.
Just like a file work law. It no longer makes sense to turn labor law into a kind of class struggle; Tool for conflict between companies and employees. Times are different, business models are different, and the relationships between companies and employees are different, including different interests and requirements for employees. Everything changed. Labor legislation must follow these changes.
Last but not least, all questions regarding Health problems. And not just mental health, but health as a whole. But that topic I will leave for a future note.

Editorial published in Human Resources Magazine Issue 149, May 2023