Employment protection rankings
Countries ranked by every metric we track, EPLex composite, OECD strictness, B-READY quality, notice, and severance.
Top and bottom 5 countries across all ranking metrics. Data from ILO EPLex, World Bank B-READY (2025), and OECD EPL. See our methodology.
Three source lists, one page
ILO EPLex lists Tajikistan first at 0.661 of 95; OECD overall lists Indonesia first at 4.08 of 72; World Bank B-READY lists Taiwan first at 81.4 of 101.
- 0.661
- EPLex #1 · Tajikistan
- 4.08
- OECD #1 · Indonesia
- 81.4
- B-READY #1 · Taiwan
- 95/72/101
- EPLex / OECD / B-READY n
Each #1 is row 1 of that metric's own ranking. Scales differ: EPLex 0–1, OECD 0–6, B-READY 0–100.
Download the country-level extract cited on this page: employment-protection-statistics.csv (CC BY 4.0).
EPLex protection bands
How the 95-country ILO EPLex composite list splits across protection tiers (0–1 scale). Distinct from the per-country fine histogram on each country page.
49 of 95 EPLex countries sit in the 0.40-0.54 mid band, the densest protection tier on the latest composite.
Legal strictness doesn't predict dismissal speed
Across the 58 countries with both an ILO EPLex composite and a World Bank B-READY weeks-to-dismiss figure, the two barely move together (Pearson r ≈ -0.24). Some of the strictest-on-paper countries -- Czech Republic and Slovenia among them -- report close to 0 weeks to dismiss in practice, while more flexible-on-paper countries like the United States and Canada report among the longest practical timelines.
EPLex composite vs. weeks to dismiss in practice
An even cross-section of 30 of the 58 countries with both scores, spread across the weeks-to-dismiss range. Full weeks-to-dismiss ranking →
EPLex Composite
ILO termination protection score (0-1)
B-READY Labor
World Bank labor regulation quality (0-100)
OECD Overall
OECD employment protection legislation (0-6)
Notice Period (2yr tenure)
Mandated notice period in months at 2 years tenure
Severance Pay (4yr tenure)
Severance pay in salary-months at 4 years tenure
Max Probation Period
Maximum probation period in months
Weeks to Dismiss
Actual weeks needed to dismiss a worker
Sources: ILO EPLex (2020), World Bank B-READY (2025), OECD EPL (through 2019). Rankings use unique ranks (no ties, alphabetical tie-breaking).
PlainEmploy is rendered directly from the OECD Employment Protection Legislation indicators, the ILO EPLex database, and the World Bank B-READY labor pillar, no number is typed in by an editor. These rankings are computed directly from the underlying OECD/EPLex/B-READY tables, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-30.