Funeral FAQ’s: Answers to Common Questions

If the person died in a hospital, the family will not need to go to the hospital establishment, Unyfúnebre Agências Funerárias will be responsible for all the bureaucratic procedures of the funeral service, taking care of all the mandatory formalities to obtain the documentation that allows the funeral to take place.

If the person died in a home, nursing home, home health or geriatric residence, after contacting the Unyfúnebre, the family should inform the institution where the death occurred of who is dealing with all the funeral service, in order to be provided to the funeral agency all the necessary documentation. The Unyfúnebre will contact the institution to deal with the whole process.

If the person died at home, the Unyfúnebre is responsible, through its technical manager, for contacting the family doctor or assistant doctor, or if necessary the health delegate of the area of residence in order to be issued the certification of death.

If the death was not caused by illness.
If the cause of death was accident, crime, unknown cause or in the public road should first call the Police Authority in order to take care of the occurrence and then contact the Funeral Parlor Unyfúnebre.

Given the sensitivity of the moment, the Unyfúnebre will do its best to simplify and relieve the relatives of all the obligatory formalities. However, it will be necessary to provide a set of documents concerning the deceased and the applicant for the funeral service.

Documentation of the deceased:

• Citizen’s Card, Identity Card or Residence Permit;
  Taxpayer Card;
  Social Security or Caixa Geral de Aposentações beneficiary card.

From the petitioner:

• Citizen’s Card;
  Identity Card or Residence Permit;
  Taxpayer’s Card.

Family members of the deceased are entitled to be absent from work or school, the number of days of excused absence will depend on the degree of kinship. The funeral home will issue a statement of attendance, indicating the date of the funeral and your relationship to the deceased. Ask your employer or educational establishment when you should submit the declaration and whether it should be on paper or electronically.

In accordance with article 251 of the Labor Code, updated by Law no. 1/2022 of 3/1, the employee is entitled to take the following sick days due to the death of a family member:

• 20 days: Spouse, Children, stepchildren, godchildren (in the regime of civil sponsorship), 
• 5 days: Parents, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law
• 2 days: Brothers, grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, great-grandparents, great-grandchildren and cousins or other relative or relative in the direct line or in the 2nd degree of the collateral line
• 0 days: uncles and nephews, however may attend the funeral, provided they justify their absence.

The counting of sick days begins on the day of death, unless the employer and employee agree on another day (250 and 3 of the CT). https://portal.act.gov.pt/Pages/SimuladorFaltasFalecimentoFamiliar