According to Jornal de Negócios, this proposal, if approved, will apply to all companies employing fewer than 250 people—which corresponds to approximately 99% of the total business community in Portugal, accounting for the majority of employment—and, although it excludes large companies, it follows a rule that has already been declared unconstitutional for violating the right to a defense.

Current law dictates that just cause for dismissal is the employee's "culpable" behaviour that, due to its severity or consequences, makes it "practically impossible to maintain the employment relationship." Examples of eligible situations include unlawful disobedience to orders; repeated provocation of conflicts; repeated disinterest in the obligations of their position or job; false statements to justify absences; five consecutive unjustified absences that imply loss or risk to the company; ten interpolated absences per year; or "abnormal reductions in productivity," among others.