i.e. who and when is liable for disciplinary action for breach of employee duties
In previous articles, we presented the issues related to employee disciplinary and financial liability in considerable detail. Today, we turn to disciplinary liability. We discuss what it is, what grounds must be met for an employee to be disciplined, and which professions can be disciplined.
Disciplinary liability occurs when an employee violates basic employee obligations that result from laws other than the Labor Code.
Discipline defines the rules that determine the way of behaving, conduct in a given environment, obedience, obedience, subordination or the state of ordering one's value system or way of acting.
What professions are covered by employee disciplinary liability?
These laws regulate the practice of specific professions, primarily professions of public trust. Referring to the definition, a "profession of public trust" is a profession of high social importance, requiring appropriately high qualifications, not only professional but also moral and ethical. Professions such as physician, legal counsel, attorney, police officer, or judge first come to mind, and rightly so, as these professions are professions of public trust, and the laws regulating their performance also govern disciplinary liability.
Differences between disciplinary liability and disciplinary liability
It should be noted that both of these liability provisions apply when a person fails to comply with workplace rules. Disciplinary liability generally applies to all employees for failure to comply with established work organization and order, and its scope is limited to the penalties specified in the Labor Code. Disciplinary liability, however, applies only to professions of a specific nature and violations of duties specific to these groups.
Professional responsibility as exemplified by the medical profession
The issue of disciplinary (professional) liability of a doctor is regulated by the Act on Medical Chambers, which specifies precisely the conditions for the occurrence of professional liability as well as the rules for subsequent disciplinary proceedings against a doctor.
Members of medical chambers are subject to professional liability for violating the principles of medical ethics and regulations related to the practice of the medical profession, referred to as "professional misconduct".
Currently, physician (and other medical professionals) misconduct is constructed based on a specific framework, which provides for liability for violating the obligations established for a given professional group by law, i.e., a legal requirement and a violation of ethical principles related to the practice of a specific profession. It is important to emphasize that the legislature has not defined in any way the specific behaviors that constitute so-called misconduct. Whether a misconduct has occurred in a given situation is assessed on a case-by-case basis by the medical self-government body during disciplinary proceedings.
The regulations define negative grounds for liability, meaning those cases that prevent the initiation and conduct of proceedings regarding professional liability of physicians. Thus, proceedings are not initiated, and those initiated are discontinued, for example, if the act does not constitute professional misconduct, or if the law provides that the perpetrator – the physician – does not commit professional misconduct, or if proceedings for the same professional misconduct against the same physician have been legally concluded or were previously initiated and are still ongoing.
The first stage of the proceedings before the district medical court is the verification procedure, the purpose of which is to initially examine whether there are grounds to initiate explanatory proceedings.
The next stage is an investigation, initiated by the professional liability advocate upon receipt of information indicating possible professional misconduct by the physician. The purpose of the investigation is to thoroughly investigate the matter. This stage can end in two ways. If the advocate determines that misconduct has occurred, he or she either imposes an appropriate penalty or discontinues the proceedings due to a lack of evidence.
We already know the penalties provided for in the Labor Code regarding employee disciplinary liability. Penalties for disciplinary liability are each time prescribed by a specific act. In the case of the medical profession, several penalties can be distinguished, including: a warning, a reprimand, a fine, a ban on holding managerial positions in healthcare organizations for a period of one to five years, and a restriction on the scope of professional activities in the medical profession for a period of six months to two years. Furthermore, when imposing a penalty of suspension of the right to practice the profession, the court may also impose a ban on holding managerial positions in healthcare organizations.
It should be noted that liability for misconduct is regulated by specific laws governing the practice of public trust professions. It is clear that to punish an employee for disciplinary reasons, a multi-stage procedure must be conducted before a separate body. This regulatory approach prevents unjust accusations and protects the employee—a representative of a public trust profession—from unfair punishment.
If you have any questions or doubts, please contact our office.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Legal status as of February 2, 2024
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