Today, we will review the recent Supreme Court ruling of August 3, 2023, file reference III PSK 90/22. In the cited ruling, the Supreme Court stated that an employer must indicate the reason for selecting an employee for dismissal. Article 30, paragraph 4, of the Labor Code states that an employer's notice of termination of a fixed-term or indefinite-term employment contract, or of termination of an employment contract without notice, must state the reason justifying the termination .

The legal dispute between the employee and the employer began in the District Court in Rzeszów. The employee sought compensation from his former employer for the unjustified termination of his indefinite-term employment contract. The court agreed with the employee and awarded him appropriate compensation. However, the employer disagreed with the district court's ruling and filed an appeal with the appellate court, which was subsequently dismissed by the District Court in Rzeszów. This, however, did not end the dispute, as the employer decided to file a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court.

In its cassation appeal, the employer argued that there had been a violation of substantive law, i.e., Article 30, paragraph 4, in conjunction with Article 45, paragraph 1, of the Labor Code. According to the employer, a correct interpretation of these provisions should lead to the recognition that in a notice of termination of an employment contract for reasons unrelated to the employee, it is sufficient to indicate the reason for termination, the selection criteria used for dismissal, known to the employee, and the score assigned based on those criteria.

The case went to the Supreme Court, which refused to accept the cassation appeal for consideration and ruled that the employer’s declaration of termination of an employment contract concluded for an indefinite period due to the liquidation of one of the similar positions should indicate the reason for selecting the employee for dismissal, unless it is obvious or known to the employee for other reasons.

The court also emphasized that the reason for termination should be worded so that the employee knows and understands the reason for the termination and why they were selected for dismissal. This will allow the employee to decide whether to file an appeal with the court .

In the aforementioned case, the court ultimately awarded the plaintiff (a former employee) the amount of PLN 16,099.62 in compensation for unjustified termination of the employment contract, together with statutory default interest.

Should you have any doubts or questions regarding the above issues or broadly understood labor law, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

Legal status as of October 12, 2023.

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