Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102) - Bulgaria (Ratification: 2008)

Part VI (Employment injury benefit), Article 36of the Convention. Benefits in case of permanent incapacity for work below 50 per cent. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that, pursuant to section 25 of the Ordinance on Medical Expertise, when the permanently reduced work capacity is below 50 per cent, but the health condition of insured persons requires them to work under alleviated conditions, including a reduced working day, they can be reassigned to work with the possibility of taking sick leave for up to two years. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication in its 2024 report, submitted under article 19 of the ILO Constitution, that in cases where the permanently reduced work capacity is below 50 per cent, the disability pension due to employment injury is terminated.

The Committee recalls that, according to Article 36 of the Convention, periodic cash benefits shall be provided in respect of partial permanent incapacity for work due to employment injury. The Committee further recalls that periodic cash benefits may be converted into a lump sum where the degree of incapacity is slight, which has been previously considered by the Committee as a degree of disability up to 30 per cent (see the Committee’s 2025 General Survey, Achieving comprehensive employment injury protection, paragraph 245). The Committee, however, observes that in Bulgaria, no cash benefits are provided for permanent incapacity for work below 50 per cent for the entire period of such incapacity. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take measures to ensure the provision of periodic cash benefits in respect of permanent incapacity for work below 50 per cent due to employment injury.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.