"Tolerance is granted to workers who perform public functions in the direct administration services of the State, whether central or decentralised, and in public institutes in the afternoon of Holy Thursday, April 17, 2025", reads the dispatch to which Lusa had access.

In the document signed by Luís Montenegro, the tolerance of the day off is justified by the common practice of many families moving away from their places of residence during the Easter period.

However, "services and bodies that, for reasons of public interest, must remain in operation during this period, under terms to be defined by the competent member of the Government" are excluded from the public holiday.

For workers who do not benefit from tolerance on Thursday, the top managers of the services and bodies to which they belong "must promote the equivalent exemption from the duty of attendance" on a day to be set in due course, "without prejudice to the continuity and quality of the service to be provided".

State employees will now be able to take advantage of the Good Friday holiday and Thursday afternoon.