Liquidación por despido injustificado: cómo cambia según el país

La liquidación por despido injustificado no funciona igual en todos los países. La idea común es separar dos bloques: la indemnización por la ruptura del contrato y el pago de cantidades que ya se habían generado, como salario pendiente, vacaciones o Canberra. Después cambian la fórmula, el tope, el plazo y la autoridad que revisa el caso.

Este recorrido compara España, México, Argentina, Chile y Perú. Los datos están comprobados en noviembre de 2026.

España: indemnización, finiquito y cantidad a reclamar

En España, el despido improcedente se regula por el Estatuto de los Trabajadores. La indemnización mínima es de 33 días de salario por cada año trabajado, con un tope equivalente a 24 mensualidades. Si la empresa invoca y acredita una causa objetiva, la indemnización baja a 20 días por año, con un máximo de 12 mensualidades. Para contratos anteriores al 12 de febrero de 2012, el tramo anterior se calcula a 45 días por año, con un tope de 720 días; ese conjunto no puede superar 24 mensualidades.

El finiquito en España se separa de la indemnización. Incluye salarios pendientes, vacaciones no disfrutadas y otras conceptos devengados; la indemnización por despido no absorbe esas cantidades. El convenio colectivo puede elevar la indemnización legal y la Calculation se realiza sobre el salario bruto anual, incluyendo pagas extraordinarias no prorrateadas. El salario mínimo interprofesional en España es de 1.221 euros (EUR) al mes con 14 pagas en 2026, pero sirve como referencia mínima, no como una tarifa automática de despido.

Spain: Dismissal and severance calculation guide

The Spanish system separates compensation for unfair dismissal from the final settlement of amounts already earned. A worker dismissed without a proven lawful reason can claim 33 days of salary for each completed year of service, subject to a cap of 24 monthly payments. The cap is calculated with the daily salary base and the periods of employment that count under the statute.

The amount due from the employer therefore has two layers: compensation and unpaid or accrued amounts. Final salary, holiday pay and other pending benefits are added to the compensation; they are not used to reduce it.

Spain: The current legal framework

The statutory reference is the Real Decreto Legislativo 2/2015, the Spanish Workers’ Statute. The rules on objective dismissal require evidence from the employer: a dismissal declared procedurally correct but unsupported by an economic, technical, organisational or production cause can still be treated as unfair.

Collective agreements can improve the statutory amount. A negotiated termination agreement may also set a higher figure than the legal minimum. The Employer must prove the cause in disciplinary dismissal; in objective dismissal the burden is also on the company to justify the reason.

Spain: Practical calculation and claim procedures

Start with the annual gross salary, the exact dismissal date and the dates of every contract. Multiply the relevant daily salary by the applicable days for each period, then apply the statutory cap. Add final salary and holiday entitlements separately.

The worker has 20 working days from the dismissal letter to challenge the decision. The first step is conciliation before the SMAC; if it fails, the case goes to the Labour Court. A dismissal declared null can involve reinstatement and processing salaries, not only a monetary payment.

México: indemnización constitucional, prima de antigüedad y finiquito

En México, la Ley Federal del Trabajo regula la terminación sin causa justificada. La extinción entrega$) tres wages, 20 days per completed year worked and 12 days per year for the seniority premium (prima de antigüedad), calculated with the integrated daily salary (salario diario integrado). The worker may also choose reinstatement if the conditions established by law are met.

The finiquito is not the same as the indemnity: it covers salary pending, unused holidays, holiday premium, proportional year-end bonus (aguinaldo) and other accrued benefits. The integrated daily salary is calculated from the ordinary daily wage using the IMSS table. For 15 years of service, the factor is 1.0575342; the example below applies that factor to 400 pesos mexicanos (MXN) per day.

Dismissal and severance calculation guide

In Mexico, the relevant rule is the federal Ley Federal del Trabajo, not a state law. The federal framework distinguishes the constitutional indemnity from the final settlement. The former compensates the loss of employment; the latter pays what the worker had already earned.

The calculation uses the integrated daily salary rather than the visible ordinary wage. This matters because the integrated figure includes the legal benefits and components used for the indemnity calculation. Variables such as bonuses and commissions also need to be incorporated when they form part of the worker’s salary.

Statutory entitlements and compensation

The compensation package for a dismissal without justified cause in Mexico combines three items: the constitutional indemnity, the “20 days per year” payment, and the seniority premium. The seniority premium is subject to a statutory cap of two minimum daily wages. With the 2026 general minimum wage in Mexico of 315.04 pesos mexicanos (MXN) per day, the cap is 630.08 pesos mexicanos (MXN) per day.

A worker with 15 years of service may prefer reinstatement when the employer’s conduct makes it legally possible. The practical result differs: reinstatement restores the employment relationship, while indemnity produces a cash settlement.

Final settlement, social security, and tax considerations

The finiquito must be settled separately and should list each accrued concept. Under Mexican tax rules, the portion of indemnities exempt for workers is limited to 90 times the daily UMA for each year of service. The UMA in Mexico is 117.31 pesos mexicanos (MXN) per day in 2026, so the exempt ceiling for 15 years is 158,449.00 pesos mexicanos (MXN). The excess can be taxable.

Social security registration and the IMSS record are separate from the dismissal settlement. The employer must deliver the finiquito evidence and keep the payment documents; workers can use the STPS for labor advice and representation.

Argentina: cierre de la relación laboral yerty judicial

En Argentina, la Ley de Contrato de Trabajo 20.744 regula la relación laboral. Unaeby «despido sin causa» no es el mismo figura que el despido disciplinario justificado: la primera figura se resuelve con la indemnización correspondiente, y la segunda requiere que el empleador acredite la causa. La [$]((

La indemnización y la liquidación final son conceptos separados. La primera responde a la terminación del vínculo; la segunda paga remuneraciones, vacaciones, aguinaldo y UOL otras cantidades devengadas. El salario mínimo en Argentina es de 372.400 pesos argentinos (ARS) al mes en 2026, con un aumento a 376.600 pesos argentinos (ARS) en agosto de 2026; sirve como referencia de la negociación, no como un criterio automático de indemnización.

Indemnización y liquidación final en Argentina

The national framework in Argentina is the Ley 20744, the Labour Contract Law. The amount payable depends on the type of termination and the evidence provided by the employer. A dismissal without cause and a disciplinary dismissal do not produce the same result: the employer must prove the disciplinary ground, while an unjustified dismissal leaves the company facing the corresponding indemnity.

In practice, the worker should separate two documents: the final settlement for accrued amounts and the claim for the dismissal itself. Mixing them makes it harder to verify whether each item was paid and whether the right amount remains outstanding.

Días trabajados, vacaciones y，sus qué sus aguinaldo

The final settlement in Argentina includes days worked, unused holidays and the proportional aguinaldo. Those amounts are calculated from the remuneration actually earned during the relevant period. They do not disappear when the employment relationship ends; they become a debt of the employer at the moment of termination.

The Secretaría de Trabajo, Empleo y Seguridad Social provides orientation and inspects registered work. For an unjustified dismissal, the worker should collect the dismissal letter, employment contract, payslips, leave records and any written communication. Those documents establish the starting date, salary and the employer’s stated reason.

Dónde reclamar y cómo documentar el despido

In Buenos Aires City, the mandatory conciliation step is the SECLO. Other provinces have different names and bodies for their pre-demand stage, so the worker must check the local Ministry of Labour rather than assume the SECLO route applies everywhere. If conciliation fails, the case proceeds to the national labour justice system.

Keep the original dismissal letter and a timeline of deliveries, meetings and messages. Do not sign a settlement receipt without checking whether it includes both final amounts and the dismissal claim. A receipt signed at the wrong moment can make a later claim harder.

Chile: recargo judicial y pagos del finiquito

En Chile, el Código del Trabajo regula la indemnización por años de servicio. Cuando el despido es por necesidades de la empresa, corresponde la indemnización sustitutiva del aviso previo y la indemnización por años de servicio. La indemnización por años de servicio equivale a 30 días de remuneración mensual por cada año y fracción superior a seis meses, siempre que el contrato haya durar al menos un año. Tiene un tope de 11 años, equivalente a 330 días de remuneración.

La remuneración base no puede superar 90 UF del último día del mes anterior al pago. La UF es una unidad de ajuste y no una moneda; el ingreso mínimo mensual en Chile es de 350.000 pesos chilenos (CLP) en 2026. Si no se entrega el aviso previo con al menos 30 días de anticipación, corresponde un mes de la última remuneración.

Indemnización por años de servicio y aviso previo

Under Chile’s Código del Trabajo, the final compensation is not a single undifferentiated amount. One part replaces the notice period when proper notice was not given; the other compensates years of service. The notice replacement is one month of the last remuneration. The years-of-service component uses 30 days of monthly remuneration per completed year plus any fraction above six months, with an 11-year cap of 330 days.

Recargo por despido injustificado o indebido

When the court declares the dismissal unjustified, the surcharge of article 168 in Chile applies to the indemnity for years of service: 30% for an improper application of article 161; 50% for unjustified causes under article 159 or the absence of a legal cause; 80% for improper causes under article 160; and 100% for the numbered causes 1, 5 and 6 of article 160 when there is also no plausible reason.

The surcharge does not replace the final settlement. Remunerations, the proportional legal holiday, pending benefits and the certificate of up-to-date social security contributions remain separate items. When the employer invokes a legal cause but cannot prove it, the case can move from an ordinary termination to a judicially enhanced outcome.

Finiquito,=testigo, Obstacles and the procedural complexity

In Chile, the practical route begins with the Dirección del Trabajo, which receives administrative complaints and mediates between worker and employer. If conciliation does not settle the dispute, the demand goes to the Juzgados de Letras del Trabajo. That sequence matters: the administrative body cannot replace the court’s decision on an unjustified dismissal.

The documents should include the employment contract, payslips, a certificate of contributions, the dismissal letter and proof of the final settlement. Keep the employer’s stated reason in the file. If the employer invokes economic needs but later fails to prove them, the court can add the relevant surcharge.

Perú: CTS, vacaciones e indemnización por despido arbitrario

En Perú, la Compensación por Tiempo de Servicios (CTS), las vacaciones y la indemnización por despido arbitrario se calculan por separado en la liquidación de beneficios sociales del régimen privado. El Decreto Legislativo 728, Ley de Fomento del Empleo, y su texto único ordenado son la referencia legal. These are three different benefits: CTS, holiday entitlement and compensation for arbitrary dismissal.

La CTS se integra con la remuneración del periodo, los bonificios y los aportes con cuáles; las vacaciones se paguen según el periodo，referencia por naturalidad labour no trabajado. La indemnización por despido arbitrario se calcula con la remuneración integral del-mes y se aplica cuando corresponde. La remuneración mínima vital en Perú es de 1.130 soles (PEN) al mes en 2026, y la UIT es 5.500 soles (PEN) en 2026; ninguna de las dos unidades sustituye el salario real del trabajador.

Benefits included in the final settlement

The three core benefits in Peru’s private-sector final settlement are different in purpose. CTS compensates the service rendered and is held in a specific financial arrangement. Holiday pay covers leave not taken. Indemnity for arbitrary dismissal responds to the termination itself, without reinstatement, and applies to the contracts covered by the regime.

The calculation starts with the remuneration actually received, including the lawful bonuses that count for each benefit. The worker should not substitute the minimum wage for the actual salary: doing so would reduce the settlement.

Calculating the social benefits settlement

Peru’s official online tool is the Calcula tus Beneficios Sociales from the MTPE. Enter the start and end dates of employment and the salary data; the tool produces a reference report for CTS, vacations and indemnity for arbitrary dismissal. The MTPE user manual explains each field and the settlement steps.

For an example, suppose a worker in Peru earns 2,000 soles (PEN) per month and has worked for 18 months. The settlement must be calculated separately for each concept using the salary and period, then adjusted for any CTS payment already made. The tool’s output is a reference: the final payment should be checked against the employer’s settlement.

Online calculator and administrative resources

Before a court claim in Peru, the MTPE offers free administrative conciliation and guidance on social benefits. SUNAFIL can inspect non-payment of benefits, but it does not declare a dismissal null; that decision belongs to the labour court. If conciliation fails, the Juzgados de Trabajo decide claims for indemnity and reinstatement under the New Labour Procedure Act.

Check the CTS deposits already made before accepting the employer’s figure. A final settlement that ignores prior CTS payments may not reflect the amount actually due.

Argentina: Días trabajados, vacaciones y aguinaldo

La liquidación final en Argentina debe separar el salario de los días trabajados, las vacaciones no gozadas y el aguinaldo proporcional. Cada concepto se calcula sobre la remuneración efectivamente devengada y el periodo que corresponde. No son una penalización ni una compensación del despido: son cantidades que el trabajador generó durante la relación laboral y que el empleador debe pagar al cerrarla.

El aguinaldo proporcional se calcula sobre la mejor remuneración mensual del período, con el límite temporal que fija la normativa. Las vacaciones no disfrutadas se liquidan según las horas o días trabajados en el año. Los días trabajados del mes en curso se paga a razón del salario diario.

Para Workforce, conviene llevar el registro de remuneraciones, fechas de inicio, ausencias y vacaciones. La Secretaría de Trabajo, Empleo y Seguridad Social orienta sobre la fiscalización del trabajo registrado; las cifras y reglas de la _Ley 20744 deben revisarse en la versión vigente, porque el salario mínimo y la normativa cambiar en 2026.

Argentina: Dónde reclamar y cómo documentar el despido

En Argentina, el camino correcto depende de la jurisdicción. En la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, la conciliación laboral obligatoria se realiza en el SECLO; en las provincias, la instancia previa tiene otro nombre y depende del Ministerio de Trabajo de cada jurisdicción. Si la conciliación no prospera, corresponde acudir a la justicia nacional del trabajo.

El expediente debe empezar con documentos concretos:

1. Carta de despido o comunicación donde conste la causa invocada.
2. Contrato, recibos de sueldo y certificados de aportes.
3. Registro de vacaciones, ausencias y tareas realizadas.
4. Cotizaciones o comprobantes del aguinaldo y de la liquidación final.
5. Evidencia de las acuerdo caducará por conciliatory attempts: citaciones, actas y respuestas del empleador.

Presenta primero laOutlineconciliation according to the rules of your jurisdiction, no copies of the dismissal letter. Al Tony states, explain which documents to attach and how to request the company’s dismissal file.

Preguntas frecuentes