What is a temporary work agency (ETT) in Portugal and how it works

Temporary Work Company: what the law requires, how it works in practice and what kind of hiring it makes sense for.

The simple definition

ETT stands for Temporary Work Company. It is a company licensed by IEFP that places workers at the service of other companies for a limited period. The worker has a contract with the ETT, not with the restaurant or hotel where they serve.

The activity is regulated by Law 146/2015. To be licensed, an ETT must prove financial soundness, meet training rules and provide guarantees to the State. It is a legal, valid instrument created for a real need.

How it works in practice

When a restaurant calls an ETT, the typical path has steps: request, commercial proposal, confirming a worker's availability, a temporary-use contract and, finally, the person on the floor. Each step takes its own time.

Para uma fábrica que precisa de 20 pessoas durante três meses, esse processo compensa. Para uma empresa que precisa de uma pessoa no próximo sábado, o mesmo caminho pesa mais do que o problema que veio resolver.

What ETTs solve well

Large volumes, long periods, industrial roles. Covering sick leave lasting weeks. Seasonal work of months on farms or production lines. There, the ETT structure fits.

Where the fit stops making sense

Restaurants live another rhythm: one person short for Saturday dinner, a wedding off the calendar, an event filling the terrace. The need is measured in hours and days, not months. When the placement process takes longer than the need itself, managers find faster alternatives, with or without paperwork.

That is the gap worth understanding: it is not that ETTs work badly, it is that they serve a different problem. Extra work of odd days or shifts needed its own path, simple and out in the open. That is the space where tempjobs is born.

Summary

The ETT is a valid piece of the market for long, high-volume hiring. The daily life of restaurants needs something else: post a shift and reach the people who work in the area, in minutes. Different needs, different paths.