On 17 September 2025, the Constitutional Court issued Decision No. 132/PUU-XXIII/2025, which establishes a new interpretation of Article 82 of Law No. 2 of 2004 on Industrial Relations Dispute Settlement. This ruling replaces the earlier interpretation set out in Decision No. 94/PUU-XXI/2023.
Under the previous framework, the one-year limitation period for filing a termination-of-employment claim was calculated from the date the employee received or was notified of the employer’s termination decision. In practice, this approach often disadvantaged employees, as the one-year period continued to run while they were still required to undergo mandatory pre-litigation stages e.g bipartite negotiations and mediation/conciliation at the manpower office in certain region or city.
Through Decision 132/2025, the Constitutional Court held that Article 82 is unconstitutional unless interpreted as follows:
“A lawsuit by an employee regarding termination of employment may be filed only within one year from the failure to reach an agreement in mediation or conciliation.”
This reformulation retains the one-year limitation period but shifts the starting point to the conclusion of mediation or conciliation, ensuring that the statutory dispute-resolution process does not reduce or extinguish the employee’s right to litigate.
In its legal considerations, the Constitutional Court emphasized that employees often face structural barriers including emotional distress, financial hardship, and employer non-cooperation that make it impractical or impossible to file a claim within one year of the termination notice. By adopting a process-based starting point, the Constitutional Court’s decision enhances fairness, prevents strategic delays by employers, and upholds constitutional guarantees of legal certainty for both employers and employees.
Going forward, all relevant practitioners and courts must apply this new interpretation of Article 82 of Law 2/2024. The one-year filing window now begins only after mediation or conciliation fails, not upon receipt of the termination decision.
