Transfer of property rights after the death of an employee

One of the ways of termination of an employment contract specified in the Labor Code is the death of an employee. This is due to the impossibility of further performance.

Art. 631 §2 of the Labor Code stipulates that the property rights under the employment relationship are transferred in equal parts to the spouse and other persons who meet the conditions required to obtain a survivor’s pension according to the Act on Pensions and Pensions. In the absence of such persons, these rights shall be inherited.

According to the jurisprudence, the property law from the employment relationship within the meaning of Art. 631 § 2 of the Labor Code there is property law closely related to this employment relationship and directly arising from it. This means that other property rights related to the employment relationship only indirectly are not subject to the inheritance mechanisms provided for in this provision.

According to Art. 65 sec. 1 and 2 and article. 67-71 of the Act of 17 December 1998 on pensions from the Social Insurance Fund, survivor’s pension is granted to eligible family members of a person who at the time of death had an established right to an old-age or disability pension or met the conditions required to obtain one of these benefits. A survivor’s pension is also available to eligible family members of a person who was in receipt of a pre-retirement allowance or a pre-retirement benefit at the time of death.

The following family members are entitled to a survivor’s pension:

1. own children, children of the other spouse and adopted children;
2. grandchildren, siblings and other children accepted for upbringing and maintenance before the age of majority, excluding children accepted for upbringing and maintenance in a foster family or family orphanage;
3. spouse (widow and widower);
4. parents, stepfather and stepmother as well as adoptive parents.

Own children, children of the other spouse and adopted children are entitled to a survivor’s pension:

1. up to the age of 16,
2. to complete school education, if they are over 16 years of age, but no longer than until they reach 25 years of age, or
3. irrespective of their age, if they have become completely incapable of work and independent existence, or completely incapable of work during the period referred to in item 1 or 2.

Grandchildren, siblings and other children accepted for upbringing and maintenance are entitled to a survivor’s pension if, under the conditions indicated above:

1. have been accepted for upbringing and maintenance at least one year before the death of the insured, unless the death resulted from an accident, and
2. they are not entitled to a pension after their deceased parents, and when the parents are alive, if:
3. They cannot provide their livelihood either
4. the insured person or his / her spouse was their guardian appointed by the court.

A widow and a widower are entitled to survivors’ benefits if:

1. at the time of the spouse’s death, they had reached the age of 50 or were unable to work, or
2. they bring up at least one of the children, grandchildren or siblings entitled to a survivor’s pension after the deceased spouse, who has not reached 16 years of age, and if they are in school – 18, or if they look after a child who is completely incapable of work and independent existence or completely incapable of work, entitled to a survivor’s pension.

The right to survivor’s pension is also acquired by a widow or widower who has reached the age of 50 or became incapable of work after the death of the spouse, but not later than within 5 years from his death or after the spouse ceased to raise children.

A divorced spouse or a widow who was not married to her husband until the day of her death, is entitled to a survivor’s pension if, in addition to meeting the conditions set out in points 1 or 2, on the date of her husband’s death, she was entitled to maintenance on her part, established by a judgment or court settlement .

A widow and widower who does not meet the conditions for survivor’s pension and does not have the necessary sources of income, are entitled to a periodic survivor’s pension:

1. for a period of 1 year from the death of the spouse;
2. during the participation in an organized training aimed at obtaining qualifications to perform gainful employment, but not longer than for 2 years from the date of the spouse’s death.

Parents are entitled to a survivor’s pension if:

1. the insured person contributed to their maintenance immediately before their death,
2. they meet the conditions for widow and widower as well as for age.