28.12.2023

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HAVE WORKED IN A "GROUP OF ENTERPRISES"

The Labor Code stipulates that upon termination of the employment relationship, after the worker or employee has acquired the right to a pension for length of service and age, regardless of the reason for the termination, he is entitled to compensation from the employer in the amount of his gross remuneration for a period of 2 months.

If he has acquired 10 years of work experience at the same employer or in the same group of enterprises in the last 20 years - compensation in the amount of his gross remuneration for a period of 6 months.

In practice, the question of what it means to have worked in a "group of enterprises" often arises, according to which the amount of the retirement benefit can be determined in certain cases.

The legal definition of the term "group of enterprises" in the Labor Code applies in all cases where the term is used in the normative act. Therefore, the term "group of enterprises" used in the provision of the Labor Code has the meaning defined in the Additional Provisions of the Labor Migration and Labor Mobility Act.

According to the provisions, "Group of enterprises" is two or more related enterprises, such that: one enterprise, in relation to the other enterprise, directly or indirectly owns a preferential share of the subscribed capital of the second enterprise; controls the majority of votes related to the share capital issued by the second entity; has the right to appoint more than half of the members of the administrative, management or supervisory body of the second enterprise, or the enterprises are under the unified management of the parent enterprise.

The right to compensation in the amount of the gross labor remuneration for a period of 6 months arises for employees who have acquired a total length of service of 10 years or more in the last 20 years with the same employer or in the same group of enterprises.

The expression "in the last 20 years" means that the assessment of the presence of at least 10 years of work experience acquired at the same employer or at different employers, but from the same group of enterprises, is made within 20 years and that this should be the last 20 calendar years as of the date of termination of the employment contract.

If the worker or employee in the last 20 years of his employment has 10 years of employment with two different employers who are "connected", he is entitled to compensation in the amount of 6 gross wages. This is the case, for example, when one enterprise, in relation to the other enterprise, directly or indirectly owns a preferential share of the subscribed capital of the second enterprise.

The length of service can be acquired during the last 20 years before the termination of the employment relationship, during which the worker or employee worked with or without interruption for the same employer. In addition, the specified 10 years in the last 20 years can also be acquired with different employers, as long as they are in the "same group of enterprises".

When more than 10 years of the worker's or employee's work experience in the last 20 years were not acquired with the same employer, but with two or more different employers who are not from the same group of enterprises, the benefit is for a period of 2 months.

When not less than 10 years of the worker's or employee's work experience are acquired with the same employer or with different employers, but from the same group of enterprises, the benefit is for a period of 6 months.

Reference:

Art. 222, para. 3 of the Labor Code

§ 1, item 5 of the Labor Migration and Labor Mobility Act