The case of Cristina Tavares, who worked for Corticeira Fernando Couto before being sacked, then reinstated, then sacked again, had become a cause célèbre in Portugal, having been widely covered by the national press and broadcasters.

The news was announced to Lusa by the president of the Northern Cork Workers Union (SOCN), Alírio Martins, at the door of the court in Feira, where a plea by Tavares to have her second dismissal struck down was to be heard on Wednesday.

"The worker will start working on July 1st, exercising the same functions that she had before she was fired," Marins said, adding that the two sides are still discussing further details of the out-of-court agreement.

According to the union leader, Tavares may also receive compensation for damages on grounds of harassment.

Tavares was first fired from Fernando Couto Cortiças in January 2017, allegedly for having exercised her maternity and family care rights, but a court ruled that her dismissal was illegal and ruled that the company take her back.

In January of this year, the company once more dismissed her, this time accusing her of defamation, after it was fined by Portugal’s labour inspectorate, the ACT, which had found that Tavares had been attributed unproductive tasks, loading and unloading the same bags of cork stoppers for several months.

Tavares’s situation led to the company being charged with three administrative offences and fined a total of almost €50,000.