THE ESSENTIALS
Before you start
- An employer may be liable without personal fault if the requirements of Civil Code article 500 are met.
- The damage must relate to the performance of the entrusted function; the neighbour’s address does not settle that assessment.
- A policy’s reference to domestic workers requires checking the service covered and the remaining terms.
The person performing the task may not be the only liable party
Article 500(1) of the Portuguese Civil Code provides that a person entrusting a function to someone else may be liable for damage caused by that person, regardless of their own fault, provided the person performing the function also has an obligation to compensate. Portuguese law calls them comitente and comissário. In domestic employment, this rule may bring the employer’s liability into the assessment.
This does not mean that every broken object automatically creates a debt for Henrique. The damage, how it happened, the worker’s responsibility and the relationship under which the task was entrusted must be established. If a service company sent the person, identify that actual relationship: being a company’s customer does not, by itself, make someone the employer of the person who attended.
The connection to the function matters more than the doorway
Paragraph 2 of the same article requires the damaging act to occur in the performance of the entrusted function. It allows such liability even where the act was intentional or contrary to instructions. Saying “I told her to be careful” is therefore not enough, by itself, to exclude the liability of the person entrusting the task. Nor does damage occurring during working hours alone establish its connection to the function.
Clara asks Henrique to describe the requested delivery, the reason for entering the home, his instructions and the movement that struck the glass. A delivery made in the employer’s service and a purely personal initiative during a visit require different assessments. The location in a third party’s home is relevant, but it does not replace the question of which function was actually being performed.
The domestic-worker clause has its own substance
Fidelidade Family Liability CG 502, September 2026, includes third-party damage caused by employees during domestic service in 3(2)(c). Professional exclusion 4(1)(a) concerns the insured and household; 4(1)(f) addresses intent. This example neither confirms Henrique’s delivery nor changes an earlier policy.
Clara suggests requesting an answer for the task Henrique actually entrusted, with his policy’s edition in front of him. He records the employment relationship, delivery and neighbour’s claim separately. Finding the word “employees” in a different policy’s document does not resolve these three parts.
Sources: Fidelidade — Family Liability CG 502, September 2026, clauses 3(2)(c) and 4(1)(a/c/f); read 2 November 2026 ↗ · Fidelidade — current Family Liability page and link to contractual terms; checked 2 November 2026 ↗
Henrique presents the task, the damage and the clause
For this incident, Henrique organises the information into three parts: who provided his service and under which relationship; what he requested and how the damage happened; who owns the door and what repair is claimed. He adds the repair estimate and the available information about the task. The assessment can then go beyond the vague description “damage caused by the domestic worker.”
Clara helps him formulate the question for his existing insurer: does the claimed liability arise from that function and fall within this policy’s domestic-worker clause? When reviewing future protection, Henrique also describes the tasks away from home he wants clarified. This article concerns damage caused to the neighbour; an injury suffered by the worker is a separate issue, distinguished in clause 4(1)(c) concerning occupational accidents.
Sources: PGR Lisboa — updated Civil Code, article 500(1)–(2); edition identified as 90th, Law 29/2026; read 2 November 2026 ↗ · Fidelidade — Family Liability CG 502, September 2026, clauses 3(2)(c) and 4(1)(a/c/f); read 2 November 2026 ↗
KEEP THESE QUESTIONS
Your checklist for the next conversation
- Identify who engaged the worker, who directed the service and which task was entrusted.
- Describe the connection between that task and the damage in the third party’s home.
- Find the domestic-worker clause in your policy’s edition and check the remaining terms.
- Present the claim and the requested repair without reducing the question to who was holding the object.
FROM THE ARTICLE TO YOUR SITUATION
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Sources and transparency
Content updated on .
Consultation dates are stated in individual references when available.
Numerical examples are fictional and explain concepts. Editorial interpretations are identified in the text.
- PGR Lisboa — updated Civil Code, article 500(1)–(2); edition identified as 90th, Law 29/2026; read 2 November 2026 ↗
- Fidelidade — Family Liability CG 502, September 2026, clauses 3(2)(c) and 4(1)(a/c/f); read 2 November 2026 ↗
- Fidelidade — current Family Liability page and link to contractual terms; checked 2 November 2026 ↗
Information from RMACHADO GROUP. This is not an insurance offer or individual advice. Covers, acceptance, exclusions, sums insured and costs depend on the policy. The intermediary does not underwrite the risks.