Created on 25.11.2024. 

You as a worker as well as your employer have the right to terminate a labour contract. There are two options: 

  1. to terminate the labour contract WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE or
  2. to terminate it WITH PRIOR NOTICE. 

A notice is a written announcement that you give to your employer or your worker, in advance, with which you express your intention to terminate the labour contract. This notice says that after a certain period (for example 30 days) the labour contract will be terminated. During this time, you continue to work, and your employer arranges everything necessary for you to leave your position. 

Termination without notice

Bulgarian law explicitly lists the situations in which you can leave your job and your employer can dismiss you WITHOUT NOTICE, i.e. without need for a certain period to pass. We list them below:

  1. Without prior notice from the worker and the employer:

  • If you and your employer have mutually agreed to terminate the contract without notice. 

You must record in writing your agreement to terminate your employment without notice. One party must make an offer for termination and the other must respond within 7 days of receiving that offer. If the latter fails to do so, the offer is deemed to be rejected.

  • If, after you have appealed against your unlawful dismissal, the court has told your employer to reinstate you to the same job. 

If you do not show up to work within 2 weeks, your labour contract will be considered terminated without notice.

  • If your labour contract is for a specific time period, upon the expiration of this period  the contract will be considered as terminated and you do not have to give a prior notice.
  • If you are working in a position that is generally intended for pregnant or vocationally rehabilitated employees.  If there is an appropriate candidate for the job, your labour contract will be terminated without prior notice. 
  • If you are unable to perform your job due to health problems. 

Important! If the employer has a suitable job for you that will not interfere with your health and you agree to take it, your labour contract cannot be terminated. 

  • If your employer dies and the work you do is directly related to the person who employed you, e.g. if you are a security guard and the person you guard dies. In these cases, your contract will also be terminated without notice. 

  1. Without prior notice by the worker

The cases in which ONLY you as a worker can terminate your labour contract without prior notice are: 

  • If the employer delays paying your wages or other compensation.
  • If the employer, without your consent, changes the nature or location of your work or salary.
  • If you start another job based on a selection procedure or enter a research job based on a competition.
  • If you decide to start studying full-time at an educational institution or begin a full-time PhD program.
  • If you are entering any government service.
  • If your employer has given you unpaid leave without your consent.
  • If you are entitled to retirement. 

  1. Without prior notice from your employer

Your employer can only terminate your labour contract without prior notice if you: 

  • have committed a criminal offence and have been sentenced to serve a sentence.
  • are disqualified from practising your profession with your employer.
  • are stripped of your degree if your labour contract is based on the degree you have.
  • are a medical practitioner and are removed from the registers of the professional associations of doctors, dentists, master pharmacists, nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, physician assistants, dental technicians and pharmacy assistants.
  • are vocationally rehabilitated and you refuse to accept the position you are offered
  • are fired disciplinarily. 

You may be disciplinarily fired if you:

  • are late 3 or more times within 1 month or leave work at least 1 hour early;
  • do not go to work for 2 consecutive days without a valid reason;
  • persistently breach the work discipline;
  • disseminate confidential information about your employer;
  • deceive customers about the price, weight, quality of the goods or services you are entrusted to sell;
  • engage in gambling through the enterprise's means of telecommunication (e.g. telephone);
  • and for other serious breaches of work discipline.

Termination of the labour contract WITH PRIOR NOTICE by the employee

Except in the cases listed above, you are obliged to notify your employer, or respectively the employer needs to notify you, within a certain period before the termination of the labour contract that you want to leave your job or that the employer wants to dismiss you. This is done by giving a prior notice. 

The notice must be in writing. If you only verbally tell your employer, or they tell you, that you intend to leave after a certain period, it does not count as notice. 

The prior period in which you need to give a notice varies depending on the type of your contract:

  • If your contract is indefinite, you must give a 30 days' prior notice before the date you intend to leave.

You may have agreed a different notice period in your labour contract - 2 or 3 months.  In this case, you must comply with this notice period. The contract can't have a notice period longer than 3 months. 

  • If the labour contract is based on a period of time (for a fixed period), the notice period is 3 months. 

If there are less than 3 months remaining on a fixed-term contract, then the notice period does not apply, and the contract is terminated upon expiry of the remaining time. 

As an employee, you have the right to withdraw your prior notice to quit before or at the time the employer receives it. It can also be withdrawn after it is received but only if the employer agrees.

If your contract is terminated with a prior notice,you can stop working upon the expiry of the notice period.

Termination of a labour contract WITH PRIOR NOTICE by the employer 

An employer may dismiss a worker with prior notice within the time limits set out above only if: 

  • they close down all or part of their enterprise, downsize their workforce, or the volume of work is reduced;
  • work has stopped for more than 15 days;
  • the worker does not have the necessary qualities to do the job effectively;
  • the enterprise moves to another location and the worker refuses to follow;.
  • the worker's position must be vacated because another worker who was unlawfully fired from that position has been reinstated;
  • the worker has retired;
  • it is found that the worker does not have the required qualifications or education. 
  • the job requirements change but the worker does not meet the new ones;
  • it is impossible to fulfil the labour contract. 

If the contract is terminated with prior notice, it will be terminated at the end of the notice period.

Termination of the labour contract in exchange for compensation

The employer has the option to offer the worker to terminate the labour contract in return for financial compensation. If the worker accepts, the employer owes the worker at least 4 times the amount of the last gross monthly salary received. They can also agree to a higher amount of compensation. 

As a worker, you have the right to refuse your contract being terminated in this way. 

Protection against dismissal of certain persons

In case:

  • part of the enterprise is closed, 
  • redundancies are being made;
  • the volume of work is reduced;
  • the worker does not have the necessary qualities to do the job effectively;
  • the job requirements change and the worker does not meet them; or 
  • the worker is disciplinarily dismissed. 

some workers have additional protection. In these cases, for these specific workers, the employer must also ask for permission from the Labour Inspectorate to dismiss them. Such permission is required for a worker who is:

  • the mother of a child under the age of 3;
  • vocationally rehabilitated;
  • on paid annual leave;
  • suffering from ischaemic heart disease, active tuberculosis, cancer, occupational disease, diabetes mellitus.

Important: The employer or another person authorised by the employer must, within 7 days of the termination of the labour contract, enter this in the employment register at the National Revenue Agency. 

Protection against unfair dismissal

If you believe you have been dismissed unlawfully (e.g. if your employer has terminated your contract by mutual consent but you did not agree, did not seek permission from the Labour Inspectorate for persons who have additional protection, etc.), you have the right to defend yourself. 

You can do this by filing a claim with the regional court in accordance with your employer's registered office or your former workplace, no later than 2 months after the dismissal.

These court proceedings are free of charge and you do not owe any state fees. 

We recommend that you consult a lawyer who specialises in employment law. Legal advice from a lawyer is normally a paid service but there are also non-governmental organizations that may offer free legal aid. 

Finding a good lawyer in Bulgaria

With the claim you may ask for: 

  • announcing the dismissal as unlawful and its annulment; 
  • to be reinstated to your former job;
  • compensation for the period you were unemployed;
  • rectification of the reason why you were dismissed. 

If you have requested reinstatement and the court has accepted your request, you must appear at your workplace within 2 weeks. If you do not do so and you do not have valid reasons for not appearing,  your labour contract will be terminated. 

If the court finds that the dismissal is unlawful and/or corrects the reason for dismissal, the employer must record this change in your single electronic employment record. If the employer refuses, this will be done by the Labour Inspectorate.

If the court finds the dismissal unlawful and orders the employer to pay you compensation for the time you were unemployed, the employer owes you your gross salaries for the period you were unemployed, but for no more than 6 months. 

If you started working after you were unlawfully dismissed but your new job is paying less, you are entitled to compensation for the difference. 

If you have been reinstated but your employer does not allow you to work, they owe you compensation equal to your gross pay for the period from the time you reported for work until the time they allowed you to start working.