How Brazilian severance pay is calculated
Severance is not a single number: it is the sum of five or six separate items, and each type of exit triggers a different set.
The items, one by one
- Salary balance — days worked in the final month.
- Notice period — 30 days plus 3 per full year of service, capped at 90.
- Accrued holidays — a full period plus one third, if not taken.
- Pro-rata holidays — one twelfth per month worked, plus one third.
- Pro-rata 13th salary — one twelfth per month worked in the year.
- FGTS fine — 40% of the deposited balance, on dismissal without cause.
What changes by type of exit
Dismissal without cause pays everything, plus access to the severance fund and unemployment benefit. Resignation pays the balance and pro-rata amounts but no fine, no fund withdrawal and no benefit. Mutual agreement halves the notice and the fine. Dismissal for cause pays only the salary balance and accrued holidays.
The most common mistakes
Forgetting that indemnified notice extends the contract for holiday and 13th-salary purposes; ignoring averages of overtime and commissions in the calculation base; and confusing gross with net, since some items are taxed and others are not.
Checking your case
The Localside severance calculator breaks each item into its own line and applies the 2026 tax tables, so you can compare it with the employer’s statement item by item.