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The contract between a TVDE driver and operator: what the law says about the relationship

Employee or service provider? The TVDE law does not choose on its own, but it provides tools to answer: it requires a written contract and applies the Labour Code’s presumption of an employment contract. And none of this is new in 2026.

The short answer

A TVDE driver must have a written contract, signed by the parties, with the operator they drive for. Whatever name is given to that contract, article 12 of the Labour Code applies to the relationship, presuming an employment contract exists when certain features are present. The TVDE law also says that cars and other tools rented by the operator count as the operator’s work tools. These rules have been in the law since 2018: Law no. 59/2026 did not change a word of them, only the numbering.

This article explains what the law says. It is not legal advice, and the classification of a specific relationship depends on the facts of each case.

What the law says, and since when

The relevant provisions are in article 10 of the TVDE regime:

paragraph 2, subparagraph e): the driver must "have a written contract governing the relationship between the parties". It is one of the cumulative requirements for drivers.
paragraph 16: to the relationship between the TVDE operator and the driver, "set out in a written contract signed by the parties, and regardless of the name the parties have adopted in the contract, article 12 of the Labour Code applies".
paragraph 17: for that purpose, "work equipment and tools are deemed to be all those belonging to the beneficiary or used by it through rental or any other form of lease".
paragraph 18: drivers with an employment contract are covered by the working time rules of Decree-Law no. 237/2007; self-employed drivers by those of Decree-Law no. 117/2012.

Compared with the 2018 law: subparagraph e) of paragraph 2 has the same text; the current paragraphs 16, 17 and 18 are the former paragraphs 10, 11 and 12, with identical text. In Law no. 59/2026 they in fact appear only as "[Former paragraph 10.]", "[Former paragraph 11.]" and "[Former paragraph 12.]". Anyone who heard that the new law created the presumption of an employment contract for TVDE drivers heard wrong: the presumption has applied since the TVDE regime came into force, in November 2018.

Article 12 of the Labour Code, in a few words

Article 12 of the Labour Code presumes that an employment contract exists when, in the relationship between someone who carries out an activity and whoever benefits from it, some of a set of features are present. They include the activity being carried out at a place belonging to or chosen by the beneficiary, the work equipment and tools belonging to the beneficiary, the provider keeping start and finish times set by the beneficiary, and a fixed sum being paid at regular intervals in return for the activity.

A presumption is not a certainty. Whoever wants to rebut it can prove that, despite those features, the relationship is not one of subordinate employment. But it reverses the starting point: when the features are present, it is up to whoever denies the employment contract to prove otherwise.

The Labour Code has other provisions on work on digital platforms. This article is limited to what the TVDE law requires to be applied, which is article 12.

Paragraph 17: the rented car counts as the operator’s

The most TVDE-specific provision is paragraph 17 of article 10. One of the features in article 12 of the Labour Code is that the work equipment and tools belong to the beneficiary. In TVDE, the main work tool is the car, and many operators do not own their cars: they rent them, on a lease, long-term rental or other form of hire.

Paragraph 17 prevents that from ruling out the feature. To apply article 12, all tools belonging to the beneficiary "or used by it through rental or any other form of lease" count as its own. A car rented by the operator and handed to the driver is, for this purpose, the operator’s work tool.

The opposite case is the driver who owns the car. With Law no. 59/2026, the owner-driver may assign their car to the activity through an operator by loan-for-use, provided only they drive it (article 12, paragraph 17, of the TVDE regime; explained inown car). In that situation the car is not the operator’s, but the presumption may still arise from other features. The law also says that this loan-for-use exception does not affect labour and social security obligations (article 12, paragraph 20).

what the TVDE law says

the driver must have a written contract, signed by the parties
article 12 of the Labour Code applies to the relationship, whatever the contract is called
cars and equipment rented by the operator count as the operator’s tools
the working time rules depend on whether the driver has an employment contract or is self-employed

what the TVDE law does not say

that all TVDE drivers are employees
that all of them are self-employed
which contract template should be used or what clauses it should have
what the specific consequences are if the presumption applies

What changed around it in 2026

The core of the relationship stayed the same, but some new provisions affect the context:

Labour rules preserved. The new paragraph 5 of article 25 says that the TVDE law does not prevent the competent authorities from applying special penalty regimes in tax, social security, labour or data protection matters. The TVDE law’s fines are not the only consequences.
Data for the tax authority and Social Security. Article 20-A allows the AT (tax authority) and the ISS (Social Security Institute) to access information on active drivers and vehicles, "their associations and periods of activity", to check tax and social security obligations, under an implementing regulation yet to be published.
Transparency about the platform. The platform manager must inform drivers, on registration, of the standard-form contracts signed by their operators (article 20, paragraph 10), which include the access and blocking clauses.

Dating back to 2018 are the operator’s obligation to comply with labour, health and safety at work and social security legislation (article 9, paragraph 2) and the presence of the ACT and the ISS on the list of inspection bodies (article 24).

Practical consequences

For the driver. Insist on a written contract, signed by both, and keep a copy. Read how the payment method is described, who sets the schedules, who owns the car and what happens if the account is blocked. How the relationship works day to day is what counts for article 12, so also keep records: rosters, messages with instructions, payment statements.

For the operator. The written contract is a driver requirement and the operator is obliged to ensure that the driver requirements are met at all times (article 9, paragraph 1). Breach of this duty is an administrative offence under subparagraph k) of paragraph 2 of article 25. The TVDE law has no specific subparagraph for the lack of a written contract; classifying it under subparagraph k) is a possible reading, not an express rule. Calling the contract a service agreement does not rule out the presumption, and paragraph 17 prevents car rental from being used to do so.

In case of dispute. Whether a relationship is an employment contract is ultimately for the courts to decide, and the ACT, Portugal’s labour inspectorate, oversees this area. For your specific case, talk to a lawyer, your trade union or the ACT.

The contract says service agreement, but the operator sets my shifts and pays me a fixed amount per week

it depends

The name of the contract does not decide it. Start and finish times set by the beneficiary and a fixed sum paid at regular intervals are features under article 12 of the Labour Code, and if the car belongs to or is rented by the operator, another one is added. Where features on the list are present, an employment contract is presumed, unless proven otherwise. Only an analysis of the specific case can give an answer.

Frequently asked questions

Must a TVDE driver have a written contract with the operator?

Yes. Subparagraph e) of paragraph 2 of article 10 of the TVDE regime requires the driver to have a written contract governing the relationship between the parties. Paragraph 16 adds that the contract is signed by the parties. The requirement has existed since the 2018 law.

Did the new law turn TVDE drivers into employees?

No. The law does not automatically classify the relationship as an employment contract. It requires article 12 of the Labour Code to be applied to the relationship between operator and driver, which establishes a presumption of an employment contract when certain features are present. And this rule is not new: it was in the 2018 law and Law no. 59/2026 merely changed its number.

Does a car rented by the operator count as the operator’s work equipment?

For the purposes of the presumption, yes. Paragraph 17 of article 10 says that work equipment and tools are all those that belong to the beneficiary of the activity or are used by it through rental or any other form of lease. A car on a lease or long-term rental in the operator’s name counts as its own.

If the presumption applies, what happens?

A presumption can be rebutted with evidence to the contrary, so it is not an automatic conclusion. If it is not rebutted, the relationship is treated as an employment contract, with the consequences under labour law. The TVDE law does not detail those consequences. For your specific case, talk to a lawyer, your trade union or the ACT.

Am I entitled to see my operator’s contract with the platform?

The 2026 law requires the platform manager to inform drivers, at the time of registration, of the standard-form contracts signed by their operators (article 20, paragraph 10). Those contracts include the clauses on driver access and blocking.