{"id":160209,"date":"2025-11-17T18:10:35","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T14:40:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/?p=160209"},"modified":"2025-11-17T18:10:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T14:40:35","slug":"how-irans-severance-pay-system-became-anti-productive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/?p=160209","title":{"rendered":"How Iran\u2019s Severance Pay System Became Anti-Productive"},"content":{"rendered":"

Abstract: Iran\u2019s severance pay system, designed to protect workers, has become a structural challenge\u2014posing serious risks to employers while ultimately harming workers and the national economy. This article examines the issue from an expert perspective.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A law intended to safeguard workers has, paradoxically, turned into a tool that undermines employees, employers, and national production. According to Article 36 of the Labor Law\u2019s Executive Regulations, severance pay is considered \u201cprovisional\u201d (Ali al-Hesab<\/em>). While this is reasonable in stable economies, under runaway inflation it leads to structural injustice.<\/p>\n

For example, in 1995 (1374), a worker earning 45,000 tomans per month would receive a one-year severance of 45,000 tomans (enough for 11.25 grams of 18-karat gold). By 2025 (1404), the same job pays 30 million tomans per month, and the worker could claim the historical severance recalculated at today\u2019s salary. Yet, 30 million tomans now buys less than 3 grams of gold, exposing the system\u2019s distortions.<\/p>\n

This paradox shows how a law meant to protect workers can create financial uncertainty, injustice, and obstacles to national production.<\/p>\n

The paradox is most evident with workers who have 30 years of service. At retirement, employers must calculate all 30 years of severance based on the latest salary, paying the difference in a lump sum. Previous provisional (Ali al-Hesab<\/em>) payments have little effect, and for long-established companies, the total liability can match or exceed their assets.<\/p>\n

What seemed like worker protection has created uncertainty and instability in labor relations. The system\u2019s unpredictable financial burden discourages investment and stifles production growth.<\/p>\n

Compliance offers almost no advantage: a diligent employer who pays severance faces nearly the same burden as one who ignores it.<\/p>\n

As a result, some employers resort to rotating workers through shell companies to evade liabilities. Workers move from Company \u201cA\u201d to \u201cB,\u201d receive severance, but their record resets, repeating annually\u2014creating a mafia-like system that benefits neither workers nor production.<\/p>\n

Another risky tactic is converting severance pay into gold. Employers can buy gold equivalent to the severance and, after 30 years, settle obligations with half the amount, even making a profit. While seemingly a win-win, it represents a loss for the national economy, as capital meant to fuel production is locked away.<\/p>\n

The current severance system has fundamental flaws: it lacks transparency and predictability, imposes inflation-driven costs on producers, and creates structural conflict between workers and employers.<\/p>\n

No fair legal system would accept a contract with uncertain, variable obligations, as this undermines the foundation of economic relationships.<\/p>\n

A practical solution is to amend the law to calculate severance based on each year\u2019s salary, ensuring clarity and predictability for both employers and workers.<\/p>\n

The second option is a National Severance Fund that invests contributions to preserve the real value of workers\u2019 money over time, managed jointly by employers, workers, and the government.<\/p>\n

Employees could choose annually between receiving severance immediately, waiving future claims, or depositing it in the fund to benefit from economic growth.<\/p>\n

Maintaining the current system weakens national production and creates structural injustice, pushing even long-established businesses toward bankruptcy.<\/p>\n

The problem is even harsher for nonprofit organizations. Charities, cultural institutions, and publishers\u2014where entrepreneurship is a social responsibility, not profit\u2014face the same crushing severance burdens, which is unfair and destructive for them.<\/p>\n

The Tehran Zoroastrian Association, Farvahar Publications, the Farvahar Organization, and similar institutions face the annual burden of rising severance liabilities. For organizations dependent on donations and book sales, this could halt cultural and charitable activities entirely.<\/p>\n

Reforming severance laws is essential to protect national capital and sustain production. Honorable Zoroastrian Representative Dr. Barkhordar and all lawmakers are urged to act before it\u2019s too late. Without reform, there will soon be no enterprises, workers, or production left.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Abstract: Iran\u2019s severance pay system, designed to protect workers, has become a structural challenge\u2014posing serious risks to employers while ultimately harming workers and the national economy. This article examines the issue from an expert perspective. A law intended to safeguard workers has, paradoxically, turned into a tool that undermines employees, employers, and national production. According […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":160210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[945],"class_list":["post-160209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-zoroastrians","tag-iran"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=160209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/160210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=160209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=160209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=160209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}