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Employment credits
Published on · Updated on · 2 min read
A worker who has not been paid wages, additional monthly payments or severance indemnity holds an employment credit and can claim it, first with a formal demand to the employer and then in court. Salary credits are subject to limitation periods, so timing matters. BG Studio Legale assists foreign workers in English, Bulgarian or Italian.

What they are – Work credits are salaries or other types of wages that the worker has accrued in the months or years in which he has carried out a certain activity and which he has not received. Therefore they are in a situation in which, even if the work activity has been performed correctly, the employer has not fulfilled it’s legal obligations. The employee therefore has a working credit towards the company and will have the opportunity to recover these credits, as provided by law. Types – employment credits can be credits deriving from wage differences and credits deriving from contribution differences. Receivables arising from wage differences are all components of the salary of the employee. The employee’s remuneration is made up of:
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– monthly wages (where holidays and permits accrued are included);
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– additional monthly payments;
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– severance indemnity (TFR)
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– and in any case all the sums paid by the employer that find their cause in the employment relationship.
Prescription – Salary credits are subject to prescription. The statute of limitations consists in the extinction of a right in the event that it is not exercised within the term provided by law and can be short (5 years) or ordinary (10 years). As a general rule, the limitation period starts from the date on which a right can be exercised. In the case of work credits, the question had been raised as to whether the limitation period should run from the end of the employment relationship or from the accrual of every single monthly payment of the pay slip. Debt collection in Bulgaria – the creditor, before protecting his interests by taking legal action, can make a last attempt by sending the debtor a letter to comply with a notary. The communication is prepared in three copies and delivered to the debtor by a person appointed by the Notary. Normally the “notarial” warning is important as it is used in the out-of-court phase. Having in possession of the notarial warning, in fact, the creditor can always take legal action, in the event that the extrajudicial attempt has been unsuccessfully carried out. The creditor can, in this way, ask the competent judge in addition to the condemnation of the debtor for the principal payment, also compensation for the damage inherent in the insolvency of the payment.
The Bulgarian law provides for a summary procedure for the recovery of pecuniary credits, adopted according to the model of EC Regulation no. 1896/2006. To obtain an injunction, the creditor has the burden of turning to a competent judge (generally the regional court of first instance of the place where the debtor resides), presenting a standard form drawn up by the Ministry of Justice and filing the evidence. as a basis for the credit claimed. The ordinary statute of limitations for a credit in Bulgaria is 5 years.
Frequently asked questions
What are employment credits?
They are the sums a worker has accrued while carrying out the work and which the employer has not paid. They may arise from wage differences, that is monthly wages, additional monthly payments, severance indemnity and other sums connected to the employment relationship, or from contribution differences.
How long do I have to claim unpaid wages in Italy?
A limitation period extinguishes a right that is not exercised within the term set by law, and can be short, five years, or ordinary, ten years. For salary credits, the moment from which the term starts running has been read differently over time and needs checking case by case.
Can unpaid wages be claimed without travelling to Italy?
With a power of attorney the matter can be handled remotely: documents and payslips are sent by email, the formal demand goes out from the firm and proceedings are brought before the competent court. Communication with BG Studio Legale takes place in English, Bulgarian or Italian.
How is a debt recovered in Bulgaria?
Before going to court the creditor can send the debtor a notarial demand, drawn up in three copies and served by a person appointed by the notary. Bulgarian law then provides a summary procedure for monetary claims, modelled on EC Regulation no. 1896/2006.
Boryana Gospodinova, lawyer · Pesaro Bar Association · English, Italian, Bulgarian
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