Part Time Jobs in Lisbon

Part time work is common in Lisbon, but it is not spread evenly across the job market. Most openings sit in a handful of sectors: hospitality, retail, delivery and cleaning. Pay is usually tied to the national minimum wage, so the real question is not whether the jobs exist, but whether the hours and pay fit your situation.

This guide covers where to look, which employers actually hire part time in Lisbon, what you can expect to earn per hour, and the rules that apply to students and non-EU workers. It is written for newcomers, students and English speakers, and it is honest about the limits — including the fact that Lisbon rents are high relative to a part time wage.

€920 2026 minimum wage (full time, gross/month)

€5.31 Minimum hourly rate (gross)

~€460 Typical 20h/week pay (gross/month)

4 sectors Hire most part time: delivery, retail, hospitality, cleaning

Where to find part time jobs in Lisbon

The most reliable route is going straight to employers that hire part time on a rolling basis, rather than waiting for a single listing to appear. Three approaches work in Lisbon:

Apply directly on employer career pages. Large retailers and food chains post part time shifts on their own sites and update them often. These are listed by sector below.

Sign up to gig and delivery platforms. Delivery apps let you register as a courier and set your own hours. This is the fastest way to start earning if you have a bike, scooter or car.

Use walk-ins for hospitality. Cafés, restaurants and bars in central Lisbon often hire through a CV dropped in person, especially before summer. A short visit during quiet hours (mid-afternoon) is more effective than an email.

University noticeboards and student job centres are also worth checking if you are enrolled at a Lisbon institution. If you are searching more broadly, see our guide to part time jobs in Portugal for openings beyond the capital.

Which sectors hire part time in Lisbon

Retail and supermarkets

Retail is the steadiest source of part time contracts in Lisbon, usually built around 16h, 20h or 24h weekly schedules. These employers list part time roles on their official pages:

• IKEA hires 20h roles in sales, logistics and the restaurant at its Lisbon-area stores (Alfragide and Loures). See IKEA’s careers page.
• Decathlon recruits part time sales staff through its own portal, Decathlon MyJob.
• Pingo Doce openly offers part time schedules to combine work with studies, via Pingo Doce careers.

Roles are floor-based: stocking, cashier, customer help. Basic Portuguese is usually expected for customer-facing positions, though logistics roles can be more flexible.

Hospitality and restaurants

Lisbon’s restaurant and café scene runs on part time and shift work, particularly between April and September. Turnover is high, which means openings are frequent. Most hiring happens locally rather than through national career pages, so walk-ins and word of mouth matter more here than in retail.

Kitchen porter, dishwasher, runner and counter roles rarely require fluent Portuguese, but they are physically demanding and often involve evening and weekend hours. For more on this sector, see our guide to restaurant jobs in Lisbon.

Delivery and gig work

Food delivery is the easiest part time work to start in Lisbon because you register directly and choose your own hours. The two main platforms are Glovo courier registration and Bolt Food courier.

One thing to understand: you are not an employee. You work as an independent courier, which means you handle your own tax registration and you are paid per delivery, not per hour. Earnings depend heavily on how busy the area and time slot are. See our wider guide to delivery jobs in Portugal for how pay and registration work.

Cleaning

Cleaning offers some of the most flexible part time hours in Lisbon, often early-morning or evening slots in offices, hotels and private homes. Most hiring is done through local cleaning companies and agencies rather than large branded career pages. It is one of the few sectors where limited Portuguese is rarely a barrier. See our cleaning jobs guide for how the sector works and what it pays.

Customer service and BPO: a note

Lisbon is a major hub for customer service and call centre work, but be aware: these BPO roles are almost always full time, built around 40-hour weeks and rotating shifts. If you specifically want part time, this is usually not the sector for it.

It is worth knowing because many newcomers assume call centre work is flexible — it generally is not. If full time is acceptable, it is one of the most accessible routes for English speakers. See our guide to customer service jobs in Portugal.

How much do part time jobs in Lisbon pay?

Part time pay in Lisbon is tied to Portugal’s national minimum wage, which is the baseline for most retail, hospitality and cleaning roles. In 2026 the minimum wage is €920 per month gross for a full 40-hour week — about €818 net after social security — paid 14 times a year. That works out to roughly €5.31 per hour.

Pay is calculated pro rata, so a 20-hour week earns about half of that: around €460 gross per month (roughly €409 net). It is enough to cover some costs, but not enough to live on alone in central Lisbon.

The honest context: a room in a shared flat in central Lisbon currently costs around €450–600 per month — often more than a full month of part time minimum-wage pay. Most people combine part time work with studies, a second income, or shared housing. Treat part time pay as a supplement, not a sole income, unless you are sharing costs. Delivery work can pay more in busy periods, but it is variable and you cover your own costs.

Part time jobs for students in Lisbon

Part time work is well suited to students, and several employers — Pingo Doce among them — design schedules specifically around study hours. Retail, hospitality and delivery are the most common student choices because shifts are evening and weekend-friendly.

If you are an international student, your right to work part time depends on your residence permit. EU students can work freely. Non-EU students on a study visa can usually work part time, but there are conditions and hour limits — check the official requirements before committing to a contract. Our guide to non-EU requirements to work in Portugal covers this in detail.

Part time jobs for English speakers and foreigners

You can find part time work in Lisbon without fluent Portuguese, but it narrows your options. The most English-friendly part time sectors are delivery, cleaning, and some hospitality back-of-house roles (kitchen, dishwashing) where customer contact is limited.

Customer-facing retail and café roles usually expect at least basic Portuguese. Learning a little goes a long way and noticeably widens what you can apply for. For roles built around English, the customer service sector is the strongest option — though, as noted, those are typically full time. See our guide to English-speaking jobs in Portugal.

Part time work rules and your rights in Portugal

Part time workers in Portugal have the same core labour rights as full time workers, applied proportionally: a written contract, paid holiday, and social security contributions. Pay must respect the legal minimum on a pro rata basis.

Delivery and gig work is different. As an independent courier you are not on an employment contract, so these protections do not apply in the same way, and you are responsible for your own tax and social security registration. For the official rules on part time contracts, consult ACT — Autoridade para as Condições do Trabalho.

Is part time work in Lisbon worth it?

It makes sense if you: are a student, have another income, share housing costs, want flexible hours, or need a first foothold in the Portuguese job market while improving your Portuguese.

It is harder to justify if you: are relying on part time pay as your only income in central Lisbon, need a stable full-time salary to support relocation, or require a work-sponsoring contract for visa purposes — part time roles rarely serve that purpose.

For many newcomers, part time work is a practical bridge: it covers some costs, builds local experience, and buys time to find full time work or finish studies. Just go in with realistic expectations about the pay.

Frequently Asked Questions