Termination of Employment and the Formal Requirements of the Decision
“Can they just fire me like that?” asks one of our readers, who feels that their employer unlawfully and unjustly terminated their employment.
The formal and substantive conditions for a decision to terminate employment are regulated by Articles 62(3), 76, and 252 of Law No. 53 of 2003 on the Labor Code (hereinafter referred to as the Labor Code).
According to these provisions, the decision to terminate employment must be made in writing. There is no deviation allowed from this legal obligation; a verbal dismissal is unlawful and results in the consequences of invalidity.
Furthermore, the employer is required to justify the dismissal, specifying the concrete facts and legal provisions on which the decision is based. In the event of a labor dispute (litigation), no new reasons can be introduced or proven beyond those originally stated as grounds for dismissal.
The decision to terminate the employment must also include the notice period, the duration of which must be at least 20 working days. In the case of collective redundancy, the criteria for establishing the order of priority and any available vacancies must also be mentioned.
The decision must be communicated to the employee, and the termination is only effective from the date of notification. In the case of personal delivery, the date of delivery must be written on the legal statement and signed by the recipient. If notification is sent by mail, the date of delivery must be confirmed with a return receipt.
Particular attention must be paid to the delivery, as proof of the fact and date of notification can be decisive in the event of a legal dispute.
Another formal requirement is that the decision to terminate the employment contract must include information about available legal remedies, along with the designation of the competent court.
The Labor Code establishes a 30-day deadline to file a lawsuit for the annulment of the termination decision. Contrary to general rules of jurisdiction, labor disputes fall under the jurisdiction of the county court of the plaintiff’s residence.
If the court annuls the dismissal decision, it can require the employer, who acted unlawfully, to pay all wages and other benefits the employee would have been entitled to otherwise.
The importance of adhering to these formalities is paramount, as failure to do so often leads the labor court to dismiss the employer’s substantive arguments and declare the dismissal decision invalid or void purely due to procedural shortcomings.
At the same time, experience shows that a humane and empathetic approach by the employer is just as important as legal compliance. This can help avoid many unpleasant situations and prevent the issuance of a precedent-setting decision.