Dismissal without cause in Brazil: what you get and how to calculate it

Dismissal without cause pays five things: salary for days worked, notice (in cash if not worked), the proportional 13th salary, vested and proportional holiday pay with 1/3, and the 40% FGTS fine. The 13th and proportional holiday pay come from Law 4.090/1962, art. 3, and CLT, art. 146.

The employer must pay the amounts and hand over the documents within 10 days after the contract ends (CLT, art. 477, § 6). Anyone who did not join the birthday withdrawal can also withdraw the FGTS balance (Law 8.036/1990, art. 20, I). Anyone who did join gets the fine, but cannot withdraw the balance.

• CLT, art. 477 (Planalto)
• Law No. 8.036/1990, arts. 18 and 20 (Planalto)

Notice is 30 days up to the first year of service and adds 3 days per year of service at the same company, up to 90 days (Law 12.506/2011; Constitution, art. 7, XXI). With 3 years at the company, that is 30 + 9 = 39 days.

If the company releases you from working the notice, it pays the period in cash: on R$3,000, 39 days are worth R$3,900.00 (3,000 ÷ 30 × 39). The notice period counts as service time (CLT, art. 487, § 1), which can add avos of holiday and 13th pay. If you work the notice, there is no extra payment.

• Law No. 12.506/2011 (Planalto)

The proportional 13th salary is 1/12 of pay per month worked in the year, and a month with 15 days or more counts in full (Law 4.090/1962). Proportional holiday pay is 1/12 per month of the current vesting period, with a fraction above 14 days counting as a month (CLT, art. 146, sole paragraph), plus the constitutional third.

Vested holiday not yet taken is paid separately, also with the third (CLT, art. 146; TST Precedent 328). Details are in the guides to the 13th salary and holiday pay and the 1/3 bonus.

The fine is 40% of everything deposited in FGTS during the contract, with indexation and interest, and the employer pays it (Law 8.036/1990, art. 18, § 1). With mutual fault or force majeure it is 20% (§ 2). The employer also deposits FGTS for the termination month and the previous one, if missing (art. 18).

If deposits total R$10,000.00, the fine is R$4,000.00. The deposit statement is in the FGTS app. For the birthday-withdrawal rules, see the birthday-withdrawal guide.

Assume a R$3,000 salary, hired on 2 January 2023, dismissed without cause with the last day worked on 30 June 2026, notice worked and earlier holidays already taken. June salary is R$3,000.00. The proportional 13th has 6 avos (January to June): R$1,500.00.

Proportional holiday pay also has 6 avos: the vesting period started on 2 January and ended at 5 months and 29 days, and a fraction over 14 days counts as a month. That is R$1,500.00 plus 1/3 (R$500.00), or R$2,000.00. The 39-day notice was worked, so it generates no payment.

With R$10,000.00 of FGTS deposits, the fine is R$4,000.00. The gross total is R$3,000 + R$1,500 + R$2,000 + R$4,000 = R$10,500.00, before any INSS and IRRF on the items. CalculaBR does not calculate termination pay: check your termination statement.

On an ordinary resignation there is no FGTS fine and no balance withdrawal (Law 8.036/1990, arts. 18 and 20), and notice is owed by the employee (CLT, art. 487). On dismissal for cause there is no proportional holiday pay or 13th, but there is salary balance and vested holiday pay. This guide covers only dismissal without cause.