Offboarding is where international employment gets expensive and complicated. In the US, you can terminate most employees same-day with no notice and no severance. Try that in the Netherlands and you’ll need UWV approval or a court order, 1–4 months of notice depending on tenure, and a transition payment (transitievergoeding) of roughly one-third of monthly salary per year of service. The Netherlands caps that payment at €89,000 (2024), but combined with the notice period, you’re looking at 4–6 months of cost before the separation is final.
Notice periods vary wildly. Zero in at-will US states. One month in the UK (statutory minimum, often longer by contract). Three months in Germany after two years of employment — extending to seven months after twenty years. Up to six months for senior executives in Belgium. These periods aren’t negotiable. The employee is entitled to them, and shortening them requires paying in lieu — which doesn’t save money, just time.
Severance adds another layer. Brazil imposes a 40% penalty on total accumulated FGTS deposits upon employer-initiated termination without cause, plus 30 days’ notice (or payment in lieu) plus accrued vacation and 13th-month salary prorated. India mandates 15 days’ salary per year of service as gratuity after 5 years. Spain calculates severance at 20 days’ salary per year of service for objective dismissals, or 33 days for unfair dismissal — up to 24 months’ salary. South Korea requires 30 days’ average wages per year of continuous service.
Some countries require formal process before termination. France mandates a pre-termination meeting (entretien préalable) — you must notify the employee by registered letter, wait at least 5 business days, hold the meeting, then wait another 2 business days before issuing the dismissal letter. Skip any step and the termination can be ruled procedurally defective, adding penalty payments on top of standard severance. The ILO Termination of Employment Convention (C158) outlines the internationally recognized principles around just cause and procedural requirements.
Why It Matters for EOR
Your EOR manages offboarding compliance — and this is arguably where they earn their fee more than anywhere else. They calculate statutory severance, enforce correct notice periods, handle final pay including accrued leave and prorated benefits, and manage government notifications where required.
The decision to terminate is yours. The process belongs to the EOR. Communicate the decision clearly and with enough lead time. A “fire them today” instruction for a German employee will be met with an explanation of why the earliest realistic separation date is 3–7 months from now. Plan offboarding timelines before they become urgent — your EOR should model the cost and timeline for you during the evaluation window, ideally before the qualifying period expires.
When choosing an EOR provider, ask specifically about their offboarding track record. How long does a typical separation take? Do they have in-house legal counsel for disputes, or do they outsource to local firms? Have they handled wrongful dismissal claims in your target countries? Providers like Oyster and Remote publish termination timelines and cost estimates on their platforms. That transparency matters when you’re modeling the risk of a hire that doesn’t work out.
For practical use of this concept, see EOR vs PEO explained and remote jobs by country.
Further Reading
- Hiring in Germany: notice periods, severance, and termination protections — Germany’s termination rules are among the strictest, with notice periods extending to 7 months for long-tenured employees.
- Hiring in Brazil: FGTS penalties and the true cost of termination — Brazil’s 40% FGTS penalty on termination makes offboarding one of the most expensive in Latin America.
- EOR comparisons
- Read Deel review
- EOR vs PEO explained
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