An employee who has retired or retired may receive a severance payment from the employer in the amount of one month's salary.
However, it should be noted that simply acquiring entitlement to a retirement or disability pension does not entitle one to severance pay. Furthermore, the employment relationship must have ended, and there must be a connection between the termination of the employment relationship and the retirement or disability pension.
The relationship between retirement or disability pension and termination of employment
In practice, the greatest difficulty lies in interpreting the necessity of a connection between retirement or disability pension and the termination of employment. Given the requirement to meet this condition, the entitlement to severance pay will be influenced by the manner and circumstances of termination.
In the case law it is assumed that the above relationship may be of the following nature:
- temporary – when the termination of the employment relationship coincides with the acquisition of the right to the benefit, regardless of the reason for the termination of the employment relationship,
- causal – when the employment relationship is terminated because the employee is entitled to benefits, or
- temporary and cause-related – when the reason for termination of the employment relationship is the acquisition of the right to a retirement or disability pension and the termination takes place at the time the benefit is granted.
It follows from the above that termination of employment does not necessarily have to occur after the right to a disability or retirement pension is acquired. These rights may also be acquired some time after the termination of employment if the circumstances justify it
(e.g., due to receipt of sickness benefits). There is also a connection that exists when the termination of employment occurs before the right to the benefit is established, but the granting of the benefit is a consequence of a situation immediately preceding the termination of employment (in the near future).
When is severance pay not payable?
Case law also provides examples where there is no connection between the termination of employment and retirement or disability pension, and consequently the employee will not be entitled to severance pay. These include the following cases:
- the employee retires after the employment contract is terminated without notice due to the employer's fault,
- the employee terminated the employment contract due to the transfer to a survivor's pension,
- Upon termination of the employment relationship, the employee received a pre-retirement benefit.
The Supreme Court assessed differently the case of termination of an employment relationship in the so-called disciplinary procedure, i.e. on the basis of Article 52 § 1 item 1 of the Labor Code, indicating that it does not exclude the employee's right to a one-off retirement severance payment.
One-time check-in
A disability or retirement severance payment is a one-time payment, meaning an employee who has received the severance payment cannot reacquire the same. However, if the employee is employed by two or more employers, they are entitled to severance pay from each of them.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
The law is current as of November 21, 2025.
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