Hasn't your employer paid your TFR?
Here's how to recover it: formal notice, payment order and the INPS Guarantee Fund. A practical guide.
The TFR (Trattamento di Fine Rapporto, the “liquidazione” or severance pay) is an employee's right, not a favour from the employer. If it isn't paid on time, you have specific tools to recover it. Here's what to do, from out-of-court action to the INPS Guarantee Fund.
When the TFR must be paid
The TFR (Italian severance pay) must be paid when the employment ends, whatever the reason: dismissal, resignation, end of contract, retirement. You cannot lose your TFR because you resigned.
Payment times vary: the applicable national collective agreement may set specific deadlines, but in the absence of a contractual provision the general rule is that the TFR is paid with the last pay slip or at any rate within a few months of the end of employment.
How the TFR is calculated
The TFR is calculated by setting aside each year an amount equal to the annual salary divided by 13,5, revalued each year by a fixed 1,5% plus 75% of ISTAT inflation.
If the TFR stayed with the company (not paid into a pension fund), the employer must pay it directly. If you joined a supplementary pension fund, the part paid into the fund is already set aside and is managed by the fund.
Step 1 — Formal written request
The first step is to send a recorded delivery letter or certified email (PEC) to your employer formally requesting payment of the TFR, stating:
– the period of employment concerned
– your calculation of the amount due (even an approximate one)
– a deadline for payment (15-30 days)
This communication interrupts the limitation period and puts your request on record.
Step 2 — Formal notice through a lawyer
If the employer doesn't reply or refuses, the next step is a formal notice through a lawyer. It carries more weight and often unblocks the situation even when the direct request didn't work.
The formal notice states the exact amount due, definitively interrupts the limitation period and is the prelude to legal action.
Step 3 — Payment order from the Employment Tribunal
If even the formal notice gets no result, you apply for a payment order from the employment judge. The TFR is a debt that is certain, quantified and due, which makes it ideal for a payment order.
Once you have obtained an enforceable order (40 days after service, if the employer doesn't challenge it), you can seize the company's bank accounts, movable property or real estate.
Special case: insolvent or bankrupt employer
If the company is bankrupt, in liquidation or otherwise insolvent and can't pay you, the INPS Guarantee Fund steps in (set up by art. 2 of Legislative Decree 80/1992).
What the Guarantee Fund covers
– The full TFR accrued and not paid
– The last 3 months' salary not paid
When you can apply
– When the employer is insolvent (even without formal insolvency proceedings)
– After obtaining a court ruling on the debt (judgment, final payment order, settlement record)
How to apply
1. Obtain a court ruling establishing the TFR debt
2. Prove the employer's insolvency (list of creditors in the bankruptcy, court certificate, or evidence that enforcement is impossible)
3. Submit an online application to INPS through the dedicated portal
Limitation periods
The right to the TFR is time-barred after 5 years from the end of employment (art. 2948 no. 5 of the Civil Code). Don't wait too long: after 5 years the right is extinguished and cannot be recovered.
If you stopped working 2-3 years ago and your TFR still hasn't been paid, act now.
TFR and pension funds: the case of supplementary pensions
If you joined a supplementary pension fund during your employment, your employer paid part of the TFR into the fund each month. In this case:
– you don't claim the TFR paid into the fund from your employer (the fund manages it)
– the TFR that stayed with the company (any part not paid in) must be recovered from the employer
Legaless recovers your TFR
Have you stopped working and still not received your severance pay? Get your case assessed now by the Legaless team.
Frequently asked questions
1. Do I lose my TFR if I resign?
No. You are entitled to the TFR whenever employment ends, including voluntary resignation.
2. Can my employer withhold the TFR if I owe the company damages?
As a rule, no: the employer cannot unilaterally set off amounts. Any claims the company has against the employee must be established in court.
3. How long does it take to get the TFR from the INPS Guarantee Fund?
INPS timescales vary: on average from 6 months to 1-2 years. It isn't an immediate procedure, but it guarantees payment even if the employer is insolvent.
4. What happens if the company isn't formally bankrupt but doesn't pay?
Even without formal insolvency proceedings, if you can show that enforcement is impossible (an unsuccessful seizure), you can access the Guarantee Fund.
5. Can I also claim interest on unpaid TFR?
Yes. Late TFR accrues statutory interest and inflation revaluation (art. 429 of the Code of Civil Procedure), which the judge applies automatically to the sum to be paid.
This article is for information purposes and does not replace personalised legal advice. For your specific situation, an employment lawyer from the Legaless team will be available to support you.
