Dismissal rules in Bulgaria: grounds and procedure

Working life · Last reviewed: 2026-10-10

Three routes out of a contract

• •Mutual agreement: the parties end the contract in writing. It is the fastest route, but the wording you sign may also close off later claims.
• •Termination with notice: used for closure of the business, redundancy, a reduction in workload, or lack of the qualities needed to perform the job.
• •Summary (disciplinary) dismissal: reserved for serious breaches and bound to a specific procedure, including a written explanation from the employee.

Procedural defects can void a dismissal

The termination order is written and must state the legal ground relied upon; that ground cannot be changed afterwards. In disciplinary cases the employer must request an explanation, act within the statutory window and choose a sanction proportionate to the breach. In redundancy cases a documented selection is expected. Skipping a step can lead to annulment even where the underlying reason was genuine.

Documents to collect on the way out

1. 1

   Written termination order

   It must state the legal ground and the effective date.
2. 2

   Insurance and service records

   These underpin later claims with the National Social Security Institute.
3. 3

   Compensation for untaken leave

   Untaken paid annual leave is compensated on termination; request the calculation.
4. 4

   Final payslip and payment proof

   They evidence what was and was not paid.

Challenging the dismissal

Two channels run in parallel: administrative supervision by the General Labour Inspectorate, and a court claim for annulment and reinstatement. Limitation periods are short and strict, so establish them on the day you receive the order. Unemployment benefit is a separate matter handled by the National Social Security Institute and the Employment Agency, and the ground stated in your termination order can affect both entitlement and duration.

Periods, compensation and thresholds

The values below were read on 10 October 2026 from the pages named at the end of each item. The Labour Inspectorate explanations date from 2012, 2016 and 2024, and the law may have changed since. The Inspectorate does not rule on whether a dismissal was lawful; that is challenged before the employer or in court (explanation of 12 January 2024).

• •The employee leaves: Notice is 1 month under an indefinite contract and 3 months under a fixed-term one, never longer than the time left. If the employer does not answer a request to leave by mutual agreement within 7 days, there is deemed to be no agreement; the request counts as notice only if it says so expressly (Labour Inspectorate, 2016).
• •Leaving without notice: The same explanation lists cases where the employee may leave at once: the employer unilaterally changes the place or nature of the work or the pay, or delays paying it.
• •Notice not observed: The party that cuts the period short owes compensation equal to gross pay for the missing part; this binds the employee too (Labour Inspectorate, 2016).
• •Compensation for unemployment: According to the 2016 explanation it equals 1 gross monthly salary, arises when the employer ends the contract with notice or the employee leaves without notice because of the employer's fault, and is paid a month after termination on written request if the person has not started another job. If the new job pays less, the difference is made up.
• •Entitlement to a pension: Whatever the ground of termination, a worker who has acquired the right to a service-and-age pension receives 2 gross monthly salaries, or 6 if they completed 10 years with the same employer or group of companies in the last 20 years. It is paid once only and is not due if the pension right arose after termination. A dispute goes to court within a 3-year limitation period (Labour Inspectorate, Article 222(3)).
• •During probation: The contract can end at any time without notice and without compensation, except for unused paid annual leave; the party need not give reasons, and the protection under Article 333 does not apply (Labour Inspectorate, 12 January 2024).
• •Protected employees: Prior permission from the Labour Inspectorate is needed for closure of part of the business, staff cuts, a fall in workload, lack of the required qualities, changed job requirements and disciplinary dismissal; the protected persons are listed exhaustively in Article 333. A pregnant employee can be dismissed with notice on only four grounds: closure of the business, refusal to follow a relocated business, freeing the post to reinstate an unlawfully dismissed worker, and objective impossibility of performing the contract. Without notice, only detention to serve a sentence and disciplinary dismissal remain, and the latter requires prior permission (Labour Inspectorate, 2012).
• •Registration: The employer enters the end of the contract in the employment register within 7 days (NRA); compare the documents you receive on leaving with that entry.

Frequently asked questions

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