How to check severance pay after dismissal

When this applies

Use this guide when your em­ploy­er an­nounces re­dun­dan­cy, a change to es­sen­tial em­ploy­ment terms, un­suit­abil­i­ty for the po­si­tion, re­in­state­ment of a pre­vi­ous em­ploy­ee, or another ground that may fall under Article 44 of the Labour Code. The main risk is ac­cept­ing an amount that looks correct without check­ing the wording of the order: dif­fer­ent Code pro­vi­sions provide dif­fer­ent minimum guar­an­tees.

For an em­ploy­ee in Kyiv or Kyiv Region, the rule remains na­tion­al. The place of work does not change the formula, but it can affect the prac­ti­cal route for ob­tain­ing doc­u­ments, ne­go­ti­at­ing with the em­ploy­er, and pur­su­ing further pro­tec­tion.

Sev­er­ance pay is only one part of the final set­tle­ment. Wages through the dis­missal date, com­pen­sa­tion for unused leave, and other amounts due must be shown sep­a­rate­ly. Do not combine them into one figure until you know what it in­cludes.

Applicable deadline or procedure

Article 44 of the Labour Code sets four minimum branch­es. For point 6 of Article 36, points 1, 2, and 6 of Article 40, and point 6 of part one of Article 41, the minimum is one average monthly salary. For point 3 of Article 36, it is two minimum wages.

If an em­ploy­ee ter­mi­nates the con­tract because the em­ploy­er vi­o­lat­ed labour law or a col­lec­tive or em­ploy­ment agree­ment, engaged in work­place bul­ly­ing, or failed to address it under Ar­ti­cles 38 or 39, the payment is set by the col­lec­tive agree­ment but cannot be less than three average monthly salaries. For point 5 of part one of Article 41, the minimum is six average monthly salaries.

Do not re­con­struct average earn­ings from base salary alone. They are cal­cu­lat­ed under the current Pro­ce­dure No. 100 using the rel­e­vant cal­cu­la­tion period and pay­ments. For an initial check, enter the ac­count­ing figure in the sev­er­ance pay cal­cu­la­tor, then verify the cal­cu­la­tion itself.

The em­ploy­er must show sev­er­ance and other amounts due in the final set­tle­ment. If doc­u­ments or payment are missing, request them in writing prompt­ly: the spe­cif­ic dead­line and remedy depend on whether you dispute the dis­missal, the amount accrued, or non-payment.

What to do step by step

1. Get the order. Keep a copy showing the date, Labour Code clause, and article. Do not rely on an oral ex­pla­na­tion from HR.
2. Match the ground to Article 44. Iden­ti­fy whether it falls under one average salary, two minimum wages, three average salaries, or six average salaries.
3. Request the average-earn­ings cal­cu­la­tion. Check the cal­cu­la­tion period, in­clud­ed pay­ments, days worked, and special rules under Pro­ce­dure No. 100. If ac­count­ing pro­vid­ed only a total, ask for a break­down.
4. Review the agree­ments. Find the sev­er­ance pro­vi­sions in the col­lec­tive and em­ploy­ment agree­ments. A higher guar­an­tee in force may in­crease the payment; a lower figure does not remove the statu­to­ry minimum.
5. Check the arith­metic. Compare the statu­to­ry minimum, con­trac­tu­al guar­an­tee, and gross amount accrued. Check taxes and de­duc­tions as sep­a­rate items.
6. Doc­u­ment any dis­crep­an­cy. Send the em­ploy­er a written request or demand listing the doc­u­ments and your cal­cu­la­tion. Keep proof of de­liv­ery and prompt­ly assess a court or other remedy.

What to check before filing

Make sure one legal ground has not been sub­sti­tut­ed for another. For example, one average salary for re­dun­dan­cy under point 1 of Article 40 does not mean the same amount au­to­mat­i­cal­ly applies when the con­tract ends because of a proven em­ploy­er vi­o­la­tion or ter­mi­na­tion of an officer’s au­thor­i­ty.

For average earn­ings, compare the dates and pay­ments with Pro­ce­dure No. 100. Bonuses, periods without work, no earn­ings during the cal­cu­la­tion period, and changes to pay terms may affect the result. The cal­cu­la­tor does not have these source records, so it accepts an average figure already cal­cu­lat­ed by ac­count­ing.

For the two-minimum-wage branch, check the amount in force on the cal­cu­la­tion date. From January 1, 2026, Article 8 of the State Budget Law set the monthly minimum wage at UAH 8,647; update the value for another year or after a change in law.

If the em­ploy­er dis­putes the debt, keep the order, cor­re­spon­dence, payslips, and bank state­ments. If the dispute con­cerns the ground for ter­mi­na­tion as well as the amount, see the sep­a­rate guide on chal­leng­ing an un­law­ful dis­missal: that claim has a short dead­line and re­quires dif­fer­ent ev­i­dence.

When to consult a lawyer

Legal review is useful if the wording of the order does not match the actual reason for dis­missal, the em­ploy­er will not provide a de­tailed cal­cu­la­tion, the col­lec­tive agree­ment con­tains con­flict­ing guar­an­tees, or a special branch depends on proving a vi­o­la­tion or work­place bul­ly­ing.

Do not delay if you also need to chal­lenge the dis­missal itself. The dispute over the law­ful­ness of the order and the claim for amounts due are con­nect­ed, but may require dif­fer­ent legal grounds, ev­i­dence, and cal­cu­la­tions.

For a Kyiv case, a lawyer can compare the order, per­son­nel records, Pro­ce­dure No. 100, and final set­tle­ment, prepare a written demand, and iden­ti­fy the proper remedy. A useful review pro­vides more than a dif­fer­ent number: it ex­plains which rule, doc­u­ment, and source figures support each part of the claim.