Employer of Record in Portugal (2026): 5 Temporary-Work Agencies Reviewed

Hiring your first people in Portugal raises a question foreign companies often get wrong: who can legally employ them if you have no Portuguese company yet? This ranking is written for a company from the US, the UK, another EU country or the Nordics that is looking for an employer of record in Portugal. I am Adrian, an SEO consultant in Wrocław, and I research and write every ranking on this site myself. The key point first: none of the Portuguese-headquartered companies I found markets a classic employer of record service. In Portugal, another company may employ staff who work for you through temporary work (trabalho temporário), provided by temporary-work agencies (ETTs), or through outsourcing, where the provider runs the work itself. So this list ranks five Portuguese temporary-work agencies, and for each one I read the NIPC (company number), legal form and registered seat in eInforma.pt and, where noted, nif.pt.

Employer of record in Portugal at a glance

If you only have a minute, these are the agencies I would shortlist for employer of record in Portugal – in practice, temporary assignment or outsourcing – as a foreign company, in the order I would contact them. Each is reviewed below, with its registry data on its company profile.

1. Clan – Home-grown Portuguese HR group, formerly Multipessoal: temporary work, outsourcing, RPO and recruitment.
2. Talenter – Temporary-work and recruitment agency of the Portuguese Wellow Network.
3. Vertente Humana – Independent Portuguese temporary-work, outsourcing and recruitment agency with four offices.
4. Timing – Algarve-born temporary-work agency for hospitality, industry and services, with 13 branches.
5. Algartempo – Long-running Algarve temporary-work agency.

How I ranked the agencies for employer of record in Portugal

I ranked the agencies for employer of record in Portugal by legal soundness and quality first, fit for a foreign client second and price third:

• Licence – an agency that employs workers and assigns them to you must hold a temporary-work licence from the IEFP, the Portuguese employment institute. All five are registered as temporary-work agencies, but I did not read their licence numbers, so check them in the IEFP list before you sign. I left out one young agency because I could not check its licence at all.
• Scale and reach – active workers, branches and regions covered. Clan and Talenter are the largest; Timing and Algartempo are strongest in the Algarve.
• Fit for foreign clients – an English website, outsourcing as well as temporary work, and national coverage. Talenter and Timing show English; Clan, Vertente Humana and Algartempo work in Portuguese.
• Reviews – none of the five has a Clutch profile or a Google review sample I could use, so I name the strongest other signal for each.
• Registration and ownership – NIPC, legal form and registered seat come from eInforma.pt and nif.pt, free sites that republish Portuguese register data. For Clan and Talenter I could not identify the shareholders of the holding companies, and I say so. I did not read filed accounts, so I quote no revenue figures.

The list includes only firms registered and headquartered in Portugal. I left out the Portuguese arms of foreign staffing groups such as Randstad, Adecco and ManpowerGroup, and the global EOR platforms, which are headquartered abroad. If cost matters more than location, see the same list for Poland, where rates are often lower.

The 5 best agencies for employer of record in Portugal, reviewed

Every agency for employer of record in Portugal below gets the same treatment: who they are, what independent signals say about them, the facts that matter when you hire, and my opinion on who should – and should not – work with them.

1. Clan

Home-grown Portuguese HR group, formerly Multipessoal: temporary work, outsourcing, RPO and recruitment

Clan is the brand that Multipessoal, a Portuguese HR services group with more than 30 years in the market, adopted in January 2025. Informa D&B lists it among the main temporary-work companies in Portugal, and the business newspaper ECO reported about 10,000 active workers at the time of the rebrand. It offers temporary work, operational and recruitment-process outsourcing, recruitment and selection, facility services, field marketing, training and outplacement, managed through a digital client area called Pulse. As a temporary-work agency (empresa de trabalho temporário, ETT) it can employ staff and assign them to a client company. It does not market an employer of record service for foreign companies – temporary assignment or outsourcing is the route. The company is held by Multipessoal Recursos Humanos SGPS; I could not identify that holding’s shareholders, so ownership is unconfirmed, though I found no foreign parent.

What clients say. I found no Clutch profile and no Google review sample I could use, so there are no usable reviews. Its scale – about 10,000 active workers – and its listing among the main Portuguese temporary-work companies are the strongest signal.

Facts: Lisbon · Portuguese.

My take: my first call for a foreign company that needs a team of Portuguese workers employed and paid by a large local agency. Best for: foreign companies that need Portuguese workers employed and paid by a large local agency. Not for: a single senior hire with English-language onboarding – no EOR service is advertised and the website is in Portuguese.

Visit clan.pt →Company profile & reviews →

2. Talenter

Temporary-work and recruitment agency of the Portuguese Wellow Network

Talenter is a temporary-work and recruitment company in Carnaxide (Oeiras, west of Lisbon) with more than 25 years of activity, 16 branches and about 800 clients, according to its website. It belongs to the Wellow Network, which describes itself as a Portuguese business ecosystem with more than 8,500 active workers; HR Portugal reported in 2024 that the group was founded in 1999 with Lusotemp, which has traded as Talenter since 2008, and that its founder and president is César Santos. Talenter is also a member of the Eurotemps consortium. Services include permanent recruitment, temporary work, in-house teams and training (Talenter Learning). Its website does not mention payroll or employer of record services. The parent is Wellow Network, S.A., a Portuguese company; I found no foreign shareholder, but the sources I read do not state its shareholders, so ownership is unconfirmed.

What clients say. I found no Clutch profile and no Google review sample I could use, so there are no usable reviews. Its 16 branches and about 800 clients are the strongest signal.

Facts: Carnaxide · English, Portuguese.

My take: the agency I would brief for temporary or seasonal staff in Portugal when I want an English-language website and a national branch network. Best for: companies that need temporary or seasonal staff in Portugal employed by a local agency. Not for: international EOR or contractor-of-record for individual remote hires.

Visit talenter.com →Company profile & reviews →

3. Vertente Humana

Independent Portuguese temporary-work, outsourcing and recruitment agency with four offices

Vertente Humana is a Portuguese temporary-work agency whose company has been on the register for about 21 years, with offices in Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra and Carregado. It offers temporary work, recruitment and selection, executive search, outsourcing, consulting and training, and Informa D&B names it among the main temporary-work companies in Portugal. It does not market an employer of record service. Its ownership is not stated in the sources I read, and its website is in Portuguese.

What clients say. I found no Clutch profile and no Google review sample I could use, so there are no usable reviews. Its listing among the main Portuguese temporary-work companies is the strongest signal.

Facts: Lisbon · Portuguese.

My take: a good fit for a mid-size employer that needs temporary staff or outsourcing in central and northern Portugal and can work in Portuguese. Best for: mid-size employers that need temporary staff and outsourcing across central and northern Portugal. Not for: English-language EOR for remote tech hires.

Visit vertentehumana.pt →Company profile & reviews →

4. Timing

Algarve-born temporary-work agency for hospitality, industry and services, with 13 branches

Timing is a temporary-work agency founded in 2015 in Faro, with branches across the Algarve, Lisbon, Porto, Setúbal, Beja, Madeira and the Azores. It offers temporary work, contract management, recruitment, outsourcing, training and indoor services for industry, hospitality, administration, health, construction, logistics and agriculture. It does not market an employer of record service. Its website names the company slightly differently from the register (TIMING – Empresa de Trabalho Temporário Lda); the registered name is below.

What clients say. I found no Clutch profile and no Google review sample I could use, so there are no usable reviews. Its branch network, including Madeira and the Azores, is the strongest signal.

Facts: founded 2015 · Faro · English, Portuguese, Spanish.

My take: my pick for seasonal and hospitality staff in the Algarve or on the islands. Best for: seasonal and hospitality staffing in the Algarve, Madeira and the Azores. Not for: tech or white-collar hires.

Visit timing.pt →Company profile & reviews →

5. Algartempo

Long-running Algarve temporary-work agency

Algartempo is a temporary-work agency based in Quarteira, in the Algarve, whose company has been on the register for about 28 years. Informa D&B lists it among the main temporary-work companies in Portugal. I did not read its website, so I cannot describe its services in more detail, and it does not, as far as I could see, market an employer of record service. It is the entry with the least public information in this ranking.

What clients say. I found no Clutch profile and no Google review sample I could use, so there are no usable reviews. Nearly three decades on the register and its Informa D&B listing are the strongest signal.

Facts: Quarteira · Portuguese.

My take: worth a call for temporary staff in the Algarve – ask for its services and licence in writing first. Best for: temporary staff in the Algarve. Not for: work outside southern Portugal, which I could not verify.

Visit algartempo.pt →Company profile & reviews →

Temporary work, outsourcing or your own entity: how employer of record in Portugal works

Employer of record in Portugal, in the sense US and UK buyers know it, is not a separate legal status, and none of the five agencies here sells it as a product. The lawful way for another company to employ people who work under your direction is temporary work under the Portuguese Labour Code (Código do Trabalho): a licensed temporary-work agency (ETT) signs the employment contract, pays wages and Social Security contributions and carries the work-accident insurance, while you, as the user company, direct the day-to-day work. The law allows temporary work only for the situations it lists, mostly temporary needs, and limits how long an assignment can last, so it fits seasonal peaks, projects and replacements better than a permanent team.

The second route is outsourcing: the provider delivers a service with its own staff and organises the work itself, and you buy the result. Clan, Talenter, Vertente Humana and Timing all offer outsourcing. If the provider’s staff in practice take orders from you like employees, the arrangement can be challenged, so describe the service carefully in the contract.

If you want a permanent team, the alternative is your own Portuguese company or a branch, which employs people directly; you then need Portuguese payroll, which an accounting firm usually runs – see my ranking of accounting firms in Portugal. Global EOR platforms also sell Portuguese employment, but they are headquartered abroad and outside this list. Having staff working in Portugal can also raise tax questions such as a permanent establishment, whoever employs them.

This is my plain-English summary for buyers, not legal or tax advice – check your own set-up with a Portuguese employment lawyer or tax adviser.

What employer of record in Portugal costs

None of the agencies for employer of record in Portugal in this ranking publishes prices. A temporary-work agency invoices you the full cost of the worker plus its own margin: gross pay, usually paid 14 times a year because of the holiday and Christmas allowances, the employer’s Social Security contribution (23.75% of pay at the standard rate), work-accident insurance, meal allowance where it applies and the agency fee. Ask for a quote that shows each part separately and is priced per hour or per month in euros. Outsourcing is usually priced per service or per team instead.

How to choose an agency for employer of record in Portugal

Choosing an agency for employer of record in Portugal starts with how many people you need, where, and for how long:

• A team at scale, anywhere in Portugal – Clan, the largest home-grown group here, with outsourcing and RPO as well.
• Temporary or seasonal staff with an English-language first contact – Talenter, with 16 branches.
• Central and northern Portugal – Vertente Humana, with offices in Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra and Carregado.
• Hospitality and seasonal work in the Algarve or on the islands – Timing, or Algartempo for the Algarve only.
• One senior or remote hire – none of these agencies is built for it; ask whether they will contract with a company that has no Portuguese entity, or consider your own entity plus payroll.

Also check the paperwork when you hire an agency for employer of record in Portugal. Check its temporary-work licence in the IEFP list, look up its NIPC, which is also its tax number and its commercial-register number, on eInforma.pt or nif.pt, or order the official online certificate (certidão permanente) of the commercial register from the Portuguese registries (IRN), and check its VAT number (PT followed by the NIPC) in the EU’s VIES database. How Portuguese VAT (IVA) applies to agency work for a foreign client depends on the set-up, so ask about it in the quote and confirm with your adviser – this is not tax advice. Invoices are in euros, and mainland Portugal is on Western European Time (UTC+0, the same as London).

Employer of record in Portugal: FAQ

The questions foreign companies ask most before using employer of record in Portugal.

My verdict: which agency to use for employer of record in Portugal

There is no classic provider of employer of record in Portugal among the Portuguese-owned firms I found, so choose a licensed temporary-work agency that will put the legal basis in writing. For a team at scale, hire Clan. For temporary or seasonal staff with an English-speaking first contact, hire Talenter. For central and northern Portugal, hire Vertente Humana. For the Algarve and the islands, hire Timing. If you want a permanent team, set up your own entity and hire an accounting firm for payroll.

Whichever agency for employer of record in Portugal you choose, check its IEFP licence and NIPC, and get the legal basis of each assignment, its maximum length and the full cost per worker in writing.

Written by Adrian DąbrowieckiSEO consultant and founder of Marketer Coffee in Wrocław. I write every ranking on this site myself. Disclosure: Marketer Coffee is my agency.Last updated 7 Nov 2026Changelog · Nov 2026: first version, 5 companies

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