Notice of termination is one of the methods that allows an employer to terminate an employee's employment. An employer can terminate any employment contract with an employee by giving notice, including a trial period contract, a fixed-term contract, or an indefinite contract. The employer notifies the employee of the termination by submitting a written notice. However, the employer must remember several requirements that must be met for such a notice to be valid.
A notice of termination of an indefinite-term or fixed-term employment contract must contain a specific, genuine, and individual reason justifying the termination. A notice of termination may be delivered to the employee in person by the employer (the most common form), but it may also be handed over by another authorized person or sent to the employee by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt.
Other elements that must be included in the declaration of termination of the employment contract are:
- place and date,
- employer data and employee data,
- date of the employment contract that is in force between the parties,
- a declaration of termination of the employment contract by notice and an indication of the expiry date of this notice, which is:
- 2 weeks if the employee has been employed for up to 6 months,
- 1 month if the employee has been employed for at least 6 months,
- 3 months if you have been employed with a given employer for at least 3 years,
- employer's signature,
- signature and date of receipt of the declaration by the employee,
- information about the employee's right to appeal to the competent labour court within 21 days of receiving the declaration.
If an employee refused to sign a declaration of termination of his employment relationship, it is worth making a note of the event, which will be used as evidence in court.
The notice period for an employment contract concluded for a trial period also depends on the duration of employment with a given employer and is as follows:
- 3 working days if the employee is employed for up to 2 weeks,
- 1 week if the contract is concluded for at least 2 weeks,
- 2 weeks when the contract is concluded for a period of 3 months.
An employer may always release an employee from work during the notice period. In such a case, the notice of termination must also specify that the employer is releasing the employee from the obligation to work during the notice period. It should be noted, however, that this does not release the employer from the obligation to pay the employee for the entire notice period.
It's important that the described reason justifying the termination of the employment contract be presented in a manner sufficiently understandable to the employee. The employee must be aware of the circumstances and events that led the employer to terminate their employment contract. This is because the employer will only be able to invoke in court the reason indicated in the notice of termination and the circumstances described in the justification for the termination.
In some cases, an employer will be required to consult with a trade union regarding termination of an employment contract. This, of course, only applies to companies where such unions operate. The employer must consult with such a union regarding the reason for terminating an employment contract for an indefinite period or a fixed-term contract with notice.
Regardless of the union's position, it is not binding on the employer. The employer may consider it and independently decide to terminate the employee's employment contract with notice.
The legislature has provided for situations in which an employer may not terminate an employee's employment contract. Therefore, an employee is protected in the following cases:
- if he is no more than 4 years away from reaching retirement age, if his period of employment enables him to obtain the right to a pension upon reaching that age,
- if he or she is on holiday leave, as well as during any other justified absence of the employee from work, if the period entitling the employee to terminate the employment contract without notice has not yet expired,
- if he is ill,
- if she is pregnant,
- and if he is on parental leave.
It is important to note that the employee's protection against termination of the employment contract is excluded in the event of termination of the employment contract due to a serious breach of employee duties by the employee, as well as in the event of liquidation or bankruptcy of the workplace.
It's important to remember that wrongly terminating an employment contract does not invalidate the act. However, it does provide the employee with the basis to pursue claims before the appropriate labor court.
If you have any doubts as to the form or method of terminating an employment contract, it is worth consulting an appropriate law firm.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Legal status as of March 14, 2024
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