If they request it, fathers and mothers will be able to enjoy Saturday and Sunday, except if they are irreplaceable in their position ‘ and under what conditions Portuguese companies may not force parents with children under 12 to work on weekends, except if they are irreplaceable in their position. This has been ruled by the Portuguese Supreme Court, which states that “the right to reconciling professional activity with family life and the right to protection of fatherhood and motherhood are included in the Constitution and cannot be postponed for other rights or professional duties”, according to the Portuguese newspaper Público. After the sentence, now the ball remains in the court of the companies that, if they want to have an employee on Saturdays and Sundays, must certify It should be noted that they are irreplaceable and that the company’s activity is compromised if they are absent. Guaranteeing the maintenance of the activity Another open front is, who will replace the ‘released parents’ and under what conditions? In this sense, the court recalled that family and work conciliation “requires the agreement of several sectoral policies” and “the possibility of, if not the obligation, positive discrimination in favor of the family.” The case that has given rise to the The resolution of the Portuguese high court began in 2019, when a woman from Almada, south of Lisbon, protested to her company because she worked on weekends and her husband too, so no one could attend to their two children during their working hours. labor. The company’s response was that it would allow it, but without committing to keep it in the future if the situation required it. Three years later, the Supreme Court has ruled.