Following a state of emergency declaration, the Portuguese Government has put in place several measures of a temporary and exceptional nature aiming at containing the spread of the COVID-19 virus while maintaining, as far as possible, the operability of the public entities to ensure the continuity of public services’ provision. It is important to clarify that the measures adopted by DGAEP, as a public body, reflect the political guidelines embodied in various pieces of legislation published in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specific measures were adopted by all public sector entities ranging from health and family care to working conditions. As regards working conditions, teleworking was established as the mandatory working modality for public employees whenever this was compatible with the performance of their duties, and regardless of the form of employment relationship. As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, in May 2020, 88 per cent of the employees at DGAEP worked from home full time. Importantly, all teleworkers kept their full salaries and meal allowances. Only those employees who perform essential functions, and whose work cannot be carried out remotely, worked from their usual offices. In addition to these measures, in particular with regard to the organisation of working time, workplaces should also be reorganised, allowing maximum distance between employees, and, whenever possible, reducing the number of employees in each room. DGAEP carried out a needs assessment in terms of technological infrastructure (e.g. VPN connections) for arge-scale teleworking implementation, after identifying the employees, by department, who would be teleworking and those who would work at the office on a rotating basis.
