How severance pay for unfair dismissal is calculated
Updated: October 2026Sources: Estatuto de los Trabajadores (BOE) · CGPJ guide v0.6 · Ley General de la Seguridad Social (BOE) · SEPE amountsWho is behind this
33 days per year, with a cap of 720
If the dismissal is acknowledged or declared unfair (improcedente), the severance pay is 33 days’ pay per year worked, up to a maximum of 24 monthly payments, which is 720 days (art. 56.1 ET). Time is counted in months, and part of a month counts as a whole month: 33 days a year is 2,75 days per month.
Your pay for each day is your annual pay, including the extra payments, divided by 365, as the CGPJ guide does. The calculator gives the figure to the cent and compares it with your employer’s.
Art. 56 ET
If you started before 12 February 2012
The severance pay is calculated in two periods (transitional provision 11.ª ET):
- Up to 11 February 2012, 45 days per year (3,75 per month).
- From 12 February 2012, 33 days per year (2,75 per month).
The total is capped at 720 days, unless the first period already goes beyond that. In that case only the first period counts, up to a maximum of 42 monthly payments (1.260 days).
Transitional provision 11.ª ET
Worked examples
A person earning 1.500 € gross a month with two extra payments of 1.500 €, 21.000 € a year. Their daily pay is 21.000 € / 365 = 57,53 €.
Contract from 2018 From 3 May 2018 to 20 July 2026, 99 months count. 99 × 2,75 = 272,25 days. 21.000 € × 272,25 / 365 = 15.663,70 €.
Contract from 2010 From 1 March 2010 to 15 September 2026. First period: 24 months × 3,75 = 90 days. Second period: 176 months × 2,75 = 484 days. Total: 574 days, below the cap. 21.000 € × 574 / 365 = 33.024,66 €.
The severance pay is separate from the final settlement (finiquito), which adds up the last month’s pay, untaken holiday and the accrued extra payments. The calculator reviews it all together.
Reinstatement or severance pay
When a dismissal is declared unfair, the employer chooses within five days between reinstating you or paying you the severance pay (art. 56.1 ET). If it reinstates you, it also has to pay you back pay for the duration of proceedings (salarios de tramitación): the pay you did not receive from the dismissal onwards (art. 56.2 ET). If you are one of the workers’ legal representatives or a trade union delegate, the choice is yours (art. 56.4 ET).
This review does not calculate back pay for the duration of proceedings, nor does it decide whether a dismissal is unfair: that is declared by a court or acknowledged by the employer.
Art. 56 ET
Other dismissals
An objective-grounds dismissal is paid at 20 days per year, with 15 days’ notice: you will find it in Final settlement after an objective-grounds dismissal. Any dismissal, including a disciplinary one, is a legal situation of unemployment: Unemployment benefit after a disciplinary dismissal explains which ways of leaving a job give you unemployment benefit.
Frequently asked questions
How many days per year are paid for an unfair dismissal?
33 days' pay per year worked, with a cap of 24 monthly payments, which is 720 days (art. 56.1 ET). Time is counted in months, and part of a month counts as a whole month, as the CGPJ guide does.
What if I started working before 2012?
Time up to 11 February 2012 is paid at 45 days per year and time after that at 33 (transitional provision 11.ª ET). The total cannot exceed 720 days, unless the first period already goes beyond them; in that case that period counts, up to a maximum of 42 monthly payments (1.260 days).
Reinstatement or severance pay? Who decides?
When a dismissal is declared unfair, the employer chooses within five days between reinstating you or paying you the severance pay (art. 56.1 ET). If it reinstates you, it also has to pay you back pay for the duration of proceedings (salarios de tramitación) (art. 56.2 ET). If you are one of the workers' legal representatives, the choice is yours (art. 56.4 ET).
Does unfair dismissal give you unemployment benefit?
Yes. Any dismissal is a legal situation of unemployment (art. 267.1.a.3.º LGSS). You also need 360 days of contributions in the last 6 years, among other requirements.
What is the time limit to challenge a dismissal?
20 business days (días hábiles) from the dismissal (art. 59.3 ET). It is short, and an employment law firm, a graduado social (labour relations adviser) office or a trade union can tell you how it applies to your case.