In a recent ruling, the Supreme Court reiterated that the reason for terminating an employment contract must be genuine and specific. Using general phrases such as "lack of commitment" or "lack of proper and expected cooperation with the immediate supervisor," without specifying the employee's specific conduct, may lead to the termination being deemed unjustified. In such a situation, the employer must consider the possibility of awarding the employee compensation or reinstatement, depending on the circumstances of the case.
The reason for termination must be specific and understandable
Pursuant to Article 30 § 4 of the Labour Code, the employer's declaration of termination or dissolution of an employment contract without notice must indicate the reason justifying the termination or dissolution of the contract.
As the Supreme Court emphasized in its ruling of August 3, 2026, I PSK 541/26, termination is a standard method of terminating an employment relationship, and therefore does not require the identification of an exceptional or particularly significant reason. However, this does not mean that the determination of the reason is arbitrary. The reason must be genuine, and its description should allow the employee to understand why the employer decided to terminate the employment relationship.
Limiting yourself to general statements or repeating statutory language is unacceptable. Specificity of the reason may require specifying elements such as the time, location, the employee's conduct, and its consequences for the employer. This does not mean a meticulous description of all the circumstances, but the content of the notice must be sufficiently precise.
How to properly formulate the reason for termination?
The employer should describe specific behaviors or events that justify the decision made, rather than relying on general assessments about the employee.
For example, simply indicating "lack of commitment", "lack of proper cooperation with the supervisor" or "disrespectful attitude towards the supervisor" may prove insufficient if the employer does not specify what the alleged conduct actually consisted of.
Depending on the circumstances of the case, it may be justified to identify specific situations in which the employee failed to perform assigned tasks, refused to carry out agreed-upon activities, or behaved in a way that hindered cooperation. It is important that the described events actually occurred and can be demonstrated by the employer.
The reason for termination cannot be supplemented only in court
It is of particular importance that the employer cannot, during court proceedings, expand the grounds for termination to include new circumstances that were not previously indicated and were not known to the employee.
The purpose of the obligation specified in Article 30 § 4 of the Labour Code is to enable the employee to understand the reasons for terminating the contract, assess the validity of the employer's decision and decide whether to challenge the termination in court.
For this reason, the correct reason should be stated in the notice of termination. Subsequent presentation of detailed objections will not replace the correct formulation of the reason at the time of the notice.
Consequences of too general an indication of the reason for termination
If an employee challenges a termination notice in a labor court, the employer must be prepared to demonstrate that the stated reason was genuine and justified the termination. Overly general wording of the reason may make it difficult for the employer to defend their decision, especially if the notice does not allow for the identification of specific conduct or events that led to the termination.
If the court finds that the termination was unjustified or violated the provisions on termination of employment contracts, the employee may pursue claims under the Labor Code, in particular compensation or reinstatement, depending on the circumstances of the case and the type of claim. The employer cannot rectify errors in the termination notice by invoking new grounds during the proceedings that were not previously identified.
That is why it is so important to ensure that the reasons for the termination are precisely described and that evidence confirming the validity of the decision taken is gathered already at the stage of preparing the termination notice.
Summary
Correctly articulating the reason for termination is crucial to assessing the legality of an employer's decision. General allegations, such as a lack of commitment or inadequate cooperation, may prove insufficient if they do not allow the employee to determine the specific conduct that justified termination.
The employer should therefore ensure that the stated reason is true and that it is properly specified in the notice of termination. Otherwise, the employer must consider the risk that the notice of termination will be deemed unjustified and the employee's claims will be upheld by the court.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
The law is current as of October 30, 2026.
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