Dismissal protection in Bulgaria: Notice, severance and your rights

Identify the rules that cover your employment

Find the legal employer, workplace and contract type. Ordinary employee protections may differ from public-service rules, contractor arrangements and domestic work. A company registered abroad does not by itself determine the law that covers your job.

Check service length, employer size and any collective agreement before relying on a minimum notice period. The local rules below state who they cover. Your contract may give you more notice than the statutory minimum.

Check the reason and the dismissal procedure

Record whether the employer alleges misconduct, performance problems or an economic reason such as redundancy. Ask for the explanation and keep the notice. Check both whether the reason is valid and whether the employer followed the required procedure.

The end of a fixed term, early termination and dismissal during probation can follow different rules. Pregnancy, leave, disability or employee representation may give you additional protection.

Record notice, payment and claim dates

Write down when notice was received, the stated final working day and the date salary is due. Distinguish working through notice from a payment in lieu of notice and any period when you remain employed without attending work.

Keep these dates separate from deadlines to challenge dismissal or apply for unemployment support. An internal complaint or a negotiation may not stop an external filing deadline. Verify the applicable deadline with the official authority promptly.

Break final pay into separate items

List unpaid salary, unused leave, contractual bonuses, notice pay and any severance separately. Severance eligibility can depend on why employment ended and how long you worked there. Ask the employer to explain any negotiated settlement as well.

Compare the gross amounts with deductions and the expected payment date. Keep one-off payments out of recurring monthly income. Use the salary calculator to estimate your usual take-home pay; check severance entitlement and tax treatment separately.

Check an agreement before signing

A termination agreement can contain a release of claims, confidentiality terms, repayment obligations or a description of how employment ended. Compare those terms with the payments and rights you would otherwise retain.

Check the effect on unemployment eligibility and payment timing separately. Preserve the proposed agreement and request time to understand it. Where the consequences are unclear, use the official advice route or an employment adviser before accepting the terms.

Gather documents for a claim

Keep the contract, payslips, dismissal notice, relevant correspondence and a dated record of events. Save copies that you can access after workplace accounts close, while respecting confidentiality and personal-data obligations.

Use the official sources below to find the responsible authority and its current claim procedure. Give it your dates and documents, and ask about the rule, deadline or missing payment you need to resolve.

After receiving a dismissal notice

• Record the receipt date, reason and proposed final day.
• Check contract type, service length, employer coverage and collective terms.
• Separate salary, leave, notice pay and any severance in the final statement.
• Verify external deadlines and unemployment registration before waiting for negotiations.

Official sources · Coverage and exceptions

Coverage and exceptions

Contract terms, collective agreements, contribution history and regional law can affect which rules apply to you. The dates below show when we checked the official sources. Ask the responsible authority or an employment adviser how the rules apply to your situation.

• Labour Code employees; disciplinary dismissal and other statutory grounds can use separate rules.

Official sources

• МТСП: termination of employment