2026 edition

Termination Cost Index 2026

Name: Global Employer Burden Index 2026
Published: 2026
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

What the law makes an employer pay to end an employment relationship, scored across 197 countries and territories. One number per country: statutory notice plus statutory severance, in weeks of salary.

Sierra Leone makes an employer pay 75.5 wk of salary to let one person go. In the United States, statute requires nothing at all.

The median scored country owes 15.1 wk, about 3.5 months of pay, before a single term is negotiated. Hiring plans are built on the salary. The exit is where the law actually bites.

197

Countries and territories

15.1

Median weeks of salary

Sierra Leone

Costliest

No statutory cost

Robbin Schuchmann

Co-founder, Employ Borderless

Updated August 2026

The global picture

Every scored country, shaded by the total weeks of salary owed on a redundancy dismissal. Darker is more expensive. Grey countries aren’t scored; we show coverage rather than fill gaps.

Weeks of salaryUnder 55 to 1515 to 2525 to 4040+ weeksNo data

Key findings

Sierra Leone owes the most: 75.5 wk of salary

Statutory notice of 13.0 wk plus statutory severance of 62.5 wk, which is about 17.4 months of pay before anything is negotiated. It ranks 1st of 197 scored countries and territories.

7 places set no statutory exit cost at all

No minimum notice, no minimum severance. Ending employment there costs whatever the contract, the collective agreement, or the negotiation says it costs, and nothing is set by law.

The United States ranks 114th of 197

Federal law sets neither a minimum notice period nor statutory severance for an individual redundancy, so the US scores 0.0 wk. The at-will default is the outlier, not the norm: the median scored country owes 15.1 wk.

Africa carries the highest average exit cost

Its 54 scored countries average 20.3 weeks of salary, against 8.1 weeks across 12 countries in Oceania.

Most of the cost is severance, not notice

In 127 of 197 scored countries the severance payment is larger than the notice period; in 54 the notice period dominates. The two are not interchangeable: notice is time you keep paying someone who is still employed, severance is a lump sum on the way out.

8 countries require a quarter of a year of notice or more

Long notice periods change hiring plans as much as the money does, because the role stays on the books and the exit date is fixed by statute rather than by the business.

The costliest and cheapest places to end a job

Total statutory notice plus severance, in weeks of salary. The 15 costliest and 10 cheapest of 197 scored countries and territories; the United States is outlined.

Weeks of salaryUnder 55 to 1515 to 2525 to 4040+ weeks

By region

Mean total weeks of salary owed per scored country, grouped by continent. Averages hide wide spreads, so the highest single value in each region is shown alongside.

Region	Countries scored	Average weeks	Highest
Africa	54	20.3	75.5
Asia	47	19.7	58.5
Americas	37	17.4	36.0
Europe	47	12.9	23.7
Oceania	12	8.1	32.4

Full ranking

All 197 scored countries and territories, ordered by total weeks of salary owed. Notice and severance are the sourced statutory inputs; the percentile columns show where each component sits within this edition, and the composite is the percentile of the total. Tied totals share a rank, so the highest rank number is smaller than the row count. The list is complete, not truncated. Employer contributions are collected context, not part of the score. Every row has a permalink: link to any country as #<iso2>, for example #de.

Rank	Country	Total weeks	Notice wks	Severance wks	Composite	Notice pct	Severance pct	Employer SSC
1	Sierra Leone	75.5 wk	13.0 wk	62.5 wk	100	96	100	10%
2	Sri Lanka	58.5 wk	4.3 wk	54.2 wk	100	28	100	15%
3	Gambia	52.0 wk	26.0 wk	26.0 wk	99	100	93	11%
4	Zambia	50.5 wk	4.3 wk	46.2 wk	99	28	99	6%
5	Ghana	49.8 wk	3.6 wk	46.2 wk	98	20	99	13%
6	Equatorial Guinea	38.6 wk	4.3 wk	34.3 wk	97	28	98	21.5%
7	Mozambique	37.5 wk	4.3 wk	33.2 wk	97	28	97	4%
8	Bolivia	36.0 wk	12.9 wk	23.1 wk	96	96	84	16.7%
8	Thailand	36.0 wk	4.3 wk	31.7 wk	96	28	96	5%
9	Egypt	35.4 wk	8.7 wk	26.7 wk	95	79	94	18.8%
10	Zimbabwe	34.6 wk	11.5 wk	23.1 wk	95	94	84	4.5%
11	Laos	34.1 wk	6.4 wk	27.7 wk	94	67	95	6%
12	Indonesia	33.2 wk	0.0 wk	33.2 wk	94	0	97	10.2%
13	Vanuatu	32.4 wk	9.3 wk	23.1 wk	93	89	84	4%
14	Ecuador	31.8 wk	0.0 wk	31.8 wk	93	0	96	10.4%
15	Vietnam	31.0 wk	6.4 wk	24.6 wk	92	67	92	21.5%
16	Argentina	30.3 wk	7.2 wk	23.1 wk	91	70	84	28.3%
16	Honduras	30.3 wk	7.2 wk	23.1 wk	91	70	84	7%
16	São Tomé and Príncipe	30.3 wk	4.3 wk	26.0 wk	91	28	93	6%
17	Turkey	29.8 wk	6.7 wk	23.1 wk	90	69	84	18.5%
18	Paraguay	29.4 wk	10.8 wk	18.6 wk	90	93	77	14%
19	Kuwait	28.1 wk	13.0 wk	15.1 wk	89	96	70	10.5%
20	Ethiopia	27.7 wk	8.7 wk	19.0 wk	89	79	78	11%
21	Chile	27.4 wk	4.3 wk	23.1 wk	84	28	84	5.8%
21	China	27.4 wk	4.3 wk	23.1 wk	84	28	84	26.5%
21	Israel	27.4 wk	4.3 wk	23.1 wk	84	28	84	6.3%
21	Oman	27.4 wk	4.3 wk	23.1 wk	84	28	84	13.5%
21	Palestine	27.4 wk	4.3 wk	23.1 wk	84	28	84	-
21	Philippines	27.4 wk	4.3 wk	23.1 wk	84	28	84	14.5%
21	Somalia	27.4 wk	4.3 wk	23.1 wk	84	28	84	-
21	South Korea	27.4 wk	4.3 wk	23.1 wk	84	28	84	11.1%
21	South Sudan	27.4 wk	4.3 wk	23.1 wk	84	28	84	17%
21	Yemen	27.4 wk	4.3 wk	23.1 wk	84	28	84	13%
22	Bangladesh	27.2 wk	4.3 wk	22.9 wk	82	28	82	0%
22	Nepal	27.2 wk	4.3 wk	22.9 wk	82	28	82	30%
22	Pakistan	27.2 wk	4.3 wk	22.9 wk	82	28	82	11%
23	Guatemala	27.0 wk	0.0 wk	27.0 wk	82	0	95	10.7%
24	Dominican Republic	26.2 wk	4.0 wk	22.2 wk	81	25	81	15.4%
25	Guinea-Bissau	26.0 wk	0.0 wk	26.0 wk	80	0	93	16%
25	Sudan	26.0 wk	4.3 wk	21.7 wk	80	28	80	23%
26	Liberia	25.6 wk	4.3 wk	21.3 wk	80	28	80	6%
27	Malaysia	23.9 wk	6.7 wk	17.2 wk	79	69	75	14.4%
28	Saudi Arabia	23.8 wk	8.6 wk	15.2 wk	78	78	71	11.8%
28	Timor-Leste	23.8 wk	3.6 wk	20.2 wk	78	20	79	6%
29	Moldova	23.7 wk	8.7 wk	15.0 wk	78	79	70	24%
30	Qatar	23.2 wk	7.2 wk	16.0 wk	77	70	74	14%
31	Iran	23.1 wk	0.0 wk	23.1 wk	76	0	84	23%
31	Myanmar	23.1 wk	4.3 wk	18.8 wk	76	28	78	3%
32	El Salvador	22.9 wk	0.0 wk	22.9 wk	76	0	82	16.3%
33	Mexico	22.0 wk	0.0 wk	22.0 wk	75	0	81	10.8%
34	Belarus	21.7 wk	8.7 wk	13.0 wk	74	79	64	34.3%
34	Tajikistan	21.7 wk	8.7 wk	13.0 wk	74	79	64	20%
35	Afghanistan	21.6 wk	4.3 wk	17.3 wk	72	28	76	-
35	Germany	21.6 wk	10.0 wk	11.6 wk	72	90	60	20.9%
35	Luxembourg	21.6 wk	17.3 wk	4.3 wk	72	99	21	13.7%
36	Tunisia	21.5 wk	4.3 wk	17.2 wk	72	28	75	15.4%
37	Albania	20.8 wk	10.1 wk	10.7 wk	71	90	54	16.7%
37	Uruguay	20.8 wk	0.0 wk	20.8 wk	71	0	79	12.5%
38	Morocco	20.6 wk	7.2 wk	13.4 wk	70	70	67	20.1%
39	Trinidad and Tobago	20.5 wk	6.4 wk	14.1 wk	70	67	68	8.8%
40	Botswana	20.3 wk	3.5 wk	16.8 wk	69	20	75	0%
40	Czechia	20.3 wk	8.7 wk	11.6 wk	69	79	60	33.8%
41	Belgium	19.7 wk	19.7 wk	0.0 wk	68	100	0	27.2%
42	Libya	19.5 wk	4.3 wk	15.2 wk	68	28	71	14.3%
43	Dominica	19.4 wk	10.1 wk	9.3 wk	67	90	50	7.3%
44	Cambodia	19.3 wk	7.9 wk	11.4 wk	67	76	58	4.1%
45	Denmark	18.8 wk	18.8 wk	0.0 wk	65	99	0	0.7%
45	Poland	18.8 wk	10.1 wk	8.7 wk	65	90	43	16.3%
45	Slovakia	18.8 wk	11.6 wk	7.2 wk	65	95	36	32.2%
46	Costa Rica	18.7 wk	4.3 wk	14.4 wk	65	28	69	24.6%
47	Panama	18.1 wk	0.0 wk	18.1 wk	64	0	77	14.5%
48	Angola	17.9 wk	4.3 wk	13.6 wk	64	28	68	8%
49	Russia	17.4 wk	8.7 wk	8.7 wk	63	79	43	30.2%
49	Uzbekistan	17.4 wk	8.7 wk	8.7 wk	63	79	43	12.1%
50	Algeria	17.3 wk	4.3 wk	13.0 wk	60	28	64	25.3%
50	Cape Verde	17.3 wk	2.1 wk	15.2 wk	60	13	71	15%
50	Kyrgyzstan	17.3 wk	4.3 wk	13.0 wk	60	28	64	17.3%
50	Rwanda	17.3 wk	4.3 wk	13.0 wk	60	28	64	12.8%
50	Spain	17.3 wk	2.1 wk	15.2 wk	60	13	71	30.6%
51	Portugal	17.0 wk	7.9 wk	9.1 wk	59	76	49	23.8%
51	Saint Lucia	17.0 wk	3.7 wk	13.3 wk	59	22	67	5%
52	Colombia	16.7 wk	0.0 wk	16.7 wk	59	0	74	16.5%
53	Malawi	16.6 wk	4.3 wk	12.3 wk	58	28	62	10%
54	Cameroon	16.3 wk	11.6 wk	4.7 wk	58	95	26	12.9%
55	Antigua and Barbuda	16.2 wk	3.4 wk	12.8 wk	57	19	64	12%
55	Barbados	16.2 wk	3.7 wk	12.5 wk	57	22	63	11.8%
56	Burundi	15.9 wk	8.7 wk	7.2 wk	54	79	36	9%
56	Central African Republic	15.9 wk	4.3 wk	11.6 wk	54	28	60	19%
56	Greece	15.9 wk	0.0 wk	15.9 wk	54	0	73	21.8%
56	Netherlands	15.9 wk	8.7 wk	7.2 wk	54	79	36	12.6%
56	Niger	15.9 wk	4.3 wk	11.6 wk	54	28	60	16.4%
57	India	15.7 wk	4.3 wk	11.4 wk	53	28	58	12%
57	Kenya	15.7 wk	4.3 wk	11.4 wk	53	28	58	6%
58	Republic of the Congo	15.6 wk	8.7 wk	6.9 wk	53	79	34	20.3%
59	Brazil	15.5 wk	6.6 wk	8.9 wk	52	69	48	28.8%
60	Eritrea	15.4 wk	3.1 wk	12.3 wk	51	16	62	-
60	Gabon	15.4 wk	10.8 wk	4.6 wk	51	93	25	20.1%
60	Taiwan	15.4 wk	3.8 wk	11.6 wk	51	24	60	14.6%
61	Croatia	15.1 wk	7.9 wk	7.2 wk	50	76	36	16.5%
62	Bermuda	15.0 wk	4.3 wk	10.7 wk	49	28	54	5%
62	Solomon Islands	15.0 wk	4.3 wk	10.7 wk	49	28	54	7.5%
63	Nicaragua	14.9 wk	0.0 wk	14.9 wk	49	0	69	20%
64	Senegal	14.8 wk	4.3 wk	10.5 wk	48	28	54	23.9%
65	Madagascar	14.7 wk	5.8 wk	8.9 wk	47	64	48	18%
66	Eswatini	14.6 wk	5.9 wk	8.7 wk	47	65	43	5%
67	Ireland	14.4 wk	3.7 wk	10.7 wk	45	22	54	11.2%
67	North Macedonia	14.4 wk	4.3 wk	10.1 wk	45	28	53	1.2%
67	Sweden	14.4 wk	14.4 wk	0.0 wk	45	98	0	31.4%
68	Lesotho	14.3 wk	3.6 wk	10.7 wk	45	20	54	0%
69	Aruba	14.0 wk	8.7 wk	5.3 wk	43	79	29	25.3%
69	Jamaica	14.0 wk	4.0 wk	10.0 wk	43	25	52	3%
69	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	14.0 wk	4.0 wk	10.0 wk	43	25	52	5.5%
70	Azerbaijan	13.7 wk	6.3 wk	7.4 wk	42	66	41	24.5%
70	Comoros	13.7 wk	8.7 wk	5.0 wk	42	79	27	-
71	Bahrain	13.6 wk	4.3 wk	9.3 wk	41	28	50	21%
71	Mali	13.6 wk	4.3 wk	9.3 wk	41	28	50	17.9%
72	Hungary	13.4 wk	6.2 wk	7.2 wk	41	66	36	13%
73	Ivory Coast	13.1 wk	5.8 wk	7.3 wk	40	64	40	15.4%
73	Togo	13.1 wk	4.3 wk	8.8 wk	40	28	47	22.5%
74	Armenia	13.0 wk	8.7 wk	4.3 wk	36	79	21	0%
74	Belize	13.0 wk	4.7 wk	8.3 wk	36	61	43	5.5%
74	France	13.0 wk	7.2 wk	5.8 wk	36	70	32	36.3%
74	Iceland	13.0 wk	13.0 wk	0.0 wk	36	96	0	6.3%
74	Latvia	13.0 wk	4.3 wk	8.7 wk	36	28	43	23.6%
74	Lithuania	13.0 wk	4.3 wk	8.7 wk	36	28	43	1.8%
74	Ukraine	13.0 wk	8.7 wk	4.3 wk	36	79	21	22%
75	Andorra	12.9 wk	3.4 wk	9.5 wk	35	19	52	15.5%
75	Estonia	12.9 wk	8.6 wk	4.3 wk	35	78	21	33.8%
76	Bahamas	12.7 wk	2.0 wk	10.7 wk	35	12	54	5.9%
77	Grenada	12.5 wk	7.2 wk	5.3 wk	34	70	29	7%
77	Papua New Guinea	12.5 wk	3.3 wk	9.2 wk	34	18	50	8.4%
78	Chad	12.3 wk	6.5 wk	5.8 wk	33	68	32	16.5%
79	Mauritania	11.9 wk	4.3 wk	7.6 wk	32	28	41	20%
79	Seychelles	11.9 wk	4.3 wk	7.6 wk	32	28	41	5%
80	Australia	11.7 wk	3.0 wk	8.7 wk	32	14	43	12%
81	Benin	11.6 wk	4.3 wk	7.3 wk	31	28	40	16.4%
82	Kosovo	11.5 wk	4.3 wk	7.2 wk	31	28	36	8.5%
83	Peru	11.4 wk	0.0 wk	11.4 wk	30	0	58	9%
84	Guyana	11.3 wk	4.3 wk	7.0 wk	30	28	36	8.4%
85	British Virgin Islands	11.2 wk	4.3 wk	6.9 wk	29	28	34	8.3%
85	Montenegro	11.2 wk	4.3 wk	6.9 wk	29	28	34	6%
86	Iraq	10.7 wk	0.0 wk	10.7 wk	28	0	54	12%
87	Slovenia	10.6 wk	5.3 wk	5.3 wk	28	62	29	16.6%
88	Burkina Faso	10.4 wk	4.3 wk	6.1 wk	27	28	34	16%
89	Isle of Man	10.3 wk	5.3 wk	5.0 wk	26	62	27	12.8%
89	Jersey	10.3 wk	5.3 wk	5.0 wk	26	62	27	6.5%
90	Finland	10.1 wk	10.1 wk	0.0 wk	24	90	0	20.5%
90	Guinea	10.1 wk	4.3 wk	5.8 wk	24	28	32	18%
90	Haiti	10.1 wk	10.1 wk	0.0 wk	24	90	0	11%
90	Switzerland	10.1 wk	10.1 wk	0.0 wk	24	90	0	6.4%
91	Canada	10.0 wk	5.0 wk	5.0 wk	24	61	27	9.6%
92	Fiji	9.6 wk	4.3 wk	5.3 wk	23	28	29	10%
93	New Caledonia	9.4 wk	7.2 wk	2.2 wk	22	70	20	36.5%
94	South Africa	9.3 wk	4.0 wk	5.3 wk	21	25	29	2%
94	Tanzania	9.3 wk	4.0 wk	5.3 wk	21	25	29	10.5%
94	United Kingdom	9.3 wk	5.3 wk	4.0 wk	21	62	20	15%
95	Bosnia and Herzegovina	9.2 wk	2.0 wk	7.2 wk	20	12	36	12%
96	Mauritius	8.9 wk	4.3 wk	4.6 wk	20	28	25	5.5%
97	Suriname	8.8 wk	0.0 wk	8.8 wk	19	0	47	7.5%
98	Lebanon	8.7 wk	8.7 wk	0.0 wk	16	79	0	22.5%
98	Liechtenstein	8.7 wk	8.7 wk	0.0 wk	16	79	0	16.1%
98	Norway	8.7 wk	8.7 wk	0.0 wk	16	79	0	13%
98	Saint Kitts and Nevis	8.7 wk	8.7 wk	0.0 wk	16	79	0	6%
98	Syria	8.7 wk	8.7 wk	0.0 wk	16	79	0	17.1%
98	Uganda	8.7 wk	8.7 wk	0.0 wk	16	79	0	10%
99	Bulgaria	8.6 wk	4.3 wk	4.3 wk	14	28	21	18.9%
99	Georgia	8.6 wk	4.3 wk	4.3 wk	14	28	21	2%
99	Kazakhstan	8.6 wk	4.3 wk	4.3 wk	14	28	21	8.1%
99	Mongolia	8.6 wk	4.3 wk	4.3 wk	14	28	21	12.2%
100	Namibia	8.5 wk	3.2 wk	5.3 wk	14	17	29	0.9%
101	Bhutan	8.3 wk	8.3 wk	0.0 wk	13	77	0	5%
102	Serbia	7.7 wk	0.0 wk	7.7 wk	13	0	42	15.2%
103	DR Congo	7.3 wk	7.3 wk	0.0 wk	12	75	0	13%
103	Malta	7.3 wk	7.3 wk	0.0 wk	12	75	0	10%
104	Maldives	7.2 wk	7.2 wk	0.0 wk	11	70	0	7%
105	Cyprus	5.7 wk	5.7 wk	0.0 wk	10	64	0	11.2%
105	Hong Kong	5.7 wk	4.3 wk	1.4 wk	10	28	19	5%
106	Italy	4.5 wk	4.5 wk	0.0 wk	10	60	0	31.6%
107	Djibouti	4.3 wk	4.3 wk	0.0 wk	8	28	0	15.7%
107	Japan	4.3 wk	4.3 wk	0.0 wk	8	28	0	15.7%
107	Jordan	4.3 wk	4.3 wk	0.0 wk	8	28	0	14.3%
107	United Arab Emirates	4.3 wk	4.3 wk	0.0 wk	8	28	0	12.5%
108	Romania	4.0 wk	4.0 wk	0.0 wk	7	25	0	2.3%
109	Kiribati	3.7 wk	3.7 wk	0.0 wk	7	22	0	7.5%
110	Samoa	3.3 wk	3.3 wk	0.0 wk	6	18	0	11%
111	Nigeria	3.2 wk	3.2 wk	0.0 wk	6	17	0	12%
112	Brunei	3.0 wk	3.0 wk	0.0 wk	4	14	0	8.5%
112	Guernsey	3.0 wk	3.0 wk	0.0 wk	4	14	0	6.8%
112	Singapore	3.0 wk	3.0 wk	0.0 wk	4	14	0	17%
113	Austria	2.0 wk	2.0 wk	0.0 wk	4	12	0	27.6%
114	Marshall Islands	0.0 wk	0.0 wk	0.0 wk	0	0	0	11.5%
114	Micronesia	0.0 wk	0.0 wk	0.0 wk	0	0	0	7.5%
114	New Zealand	0.0 wk	0.0 wk	0.0 wk	0	0	0	4.2%
114	Palau	0.0 wk	0.0 wk	0.0 wk	0	0	0	9.5%
114	Puerto Rico	0.0 wk	0.0 wk	0.0 wk	0	0	0	7.7%
114	San Marino	0.0 wk	0.0 wk	0.0 wk	0	0	0	33.5%
114	United States	0.0 wk	0.0 wk	0.0 wk	0	0	0	8.1%

Excluded countries

53 countries and territories are not scored because they lack a sourced value for statutory notice, statutory severance, or both. We list them rather than fill the gaps with estimates.

Country	Missing data
Åland Islands	Notice period, Statutory severance
American Samoa	Notice period, Statutory severance
Anguilla	Notice period, Statutory severance
Antarctica	Notice period, Statutory severance
Bouvet Island	Notice period, Statutory severance
British Indian Ocean Territory	Notice period, Statutory severance
Caribbean Netherlands	Notice period, Statutory severance
Cayman Islands	Notice period, Statutory severance
Christmas Island	Notice period, Statutory severance
Cocos (Keeling) Islands	Notice period, Statutory severance
Cook Islands	Notice period, Statutory severance
Cuba	Notice period, Statutory severance
Curaçao	Notice period, Statutory severance
Falkland Islands	Notice period, Statutory severance
Faroe Islands	Notice period, Statutory severance
French Guiana	Notice period, Statutory severance
French Polynesia	Notice period, Statutory severance
French Southern and Antarctic Lands	Notice period, Statutory severance
Gibraltar	Notice period, Statutory severance
Greenland	Notice period, Statutory severance
Guadeloupe	Notice period, Statutory severance
Guam	Notice period, Statutory severance
Heard Island and McDonald Islands	Notice period, Statutory severance
Macau	Notice period, Statutory severance
Martinique	Notice period, Statutory severance
Mayotte	Notice period, Statutory severance
Monaco	Statutory severance
Montserrat	Notice period, Statutory severance
Nauru	Notice period, Statutory severance
Niue	Notice period, Statutory severance
Norfolk Island	Notice period, Statutory severance
North Korea	Notice period, Statutory severance
Northern Mariana Islands	Notice period, Statutory severance
Pitcairn Islands	Notice period, Statutory severance
Réunion	Notice period, Statutory severance
Saint Barthélemy	Notice period, Statutory severance
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha	Notice period, Statutory severance
Saint Martin	Notice period, Statutory severance
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	Notice period, Statutory severance
Sint Maarten	Notice period, Statutory severance
South Georgia	Notice period, Statutory severance
Svalbard and Jan Mayen	Notice period, Statutory severance
Tokelau	Notice period, Statutory severance
Tonga	Notice period, Statutory severance
Turkmenistan	Notice period, Statutory severance
Turks and Caicos Islands	Notice period, Statutory severance
Tuvalu	Notice period, Statutory severance
United States Minor Outlying Islands	Notice period, Statutory severance
United States Virgin Islands	Notice period, Statutory severance
Vatican City	Notice period, Statutory severance
Venezuela	Notice period, Statutory severance
Wallis and Futuna	Notice period, Statutory severance
Western Sahara	Notice period, Statutory severance

Use the dataset

The full ranking, both statutory inputs, and the source and as-of date behind every value are open data under CC BY 4.0. Reuse it freely with attribution.

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Cite this dataset

Schuchmann, R. (2026). Termination Cost Index 2026 [Data set]. Employ Borderless. https://employborderless.com/hiring-intelligence/termination-cost-index/

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Press assets

Full dataset (CSV) · ranking, both inputs, per-value provenance
Full dataset (JSON) · includes the excluded list and source rollup
Full methodology · metric, tenure basis, sources, limitations

Story angles in this edition

Ending the same job costs 75.5 wk of salary by statute in Sierra Leone and 0.0 wk in the United States, a gap set entirely by law rather than by severance policy.
The median scored country owes 15.1 wk of salary, roughly 3.5 months, to end one employment relationship on redundancy grounds.
Africa averages 20.3 weeks against 8.1 for Oceania, the widest regional gap in what the law makes an employer pay to part ways.
7 countries and territories set no statutory notice and no statutory severance, so the entire exit cost is contractual.
The English-speaking economies average 7.6 weeks between them, with 6 of 6 in the cheaper half of the ranking.

How we score it

A country is scored only when it has a sourced, dated value for both statutory notice and statutory severance. The two are already denominated in the same unit, weeks of salary at the same tenure basis, so they are added rather than weighted. The composite is the percentile of that total within the scored set. No estimates, no invented weights, no AI-filled gaps.

Read the full methodology

This index answers one question: what does the exit cost. For what an employee costs for as long as they stay, including employer social contributions, see our Global Employer Burden Index, which is built from the same sourced statutory dataset.

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