Service determination lawsuit (unregistered employment claim)

A service determination lawsuit allows an employee whose work was never registered, or whose service periods or wages were underreported, to obtain a judicial finding of their actual employment. The action is brought against the employer, with the Social Security Institution joined in the proceedings.

A determination adds the missing periods to the insurance record, directly affecting retirement age, premium days and pension amount. Because the matter concerns public order, the court investigates evidence of its own motion, weighing payrolls, workplace records, testimony from neighbouring workplaces and institution inspection reports together.

The claim is subject to a statutory forfeiture period running from the end of the year in which the work was performed, though the period may not apply where the employment was in some way reported to the institution. Finding witnesses for work performed many years earlier is the greatest practical obstacle.