Termination of Employment: A One-Sided Way to End the Employment Relationship
Termination is a one-sided method of ending an employment relationship. It’s a situation where the employer wants to end the relationship, but the employee doesn’t want to (or is unaware that they should want to).
The Labor Code is very strict when it comes to the employer’s unilateral termination of the employment relationship. The law perceives the employer as the stronger party. The employer can only terminate the employment contract for reasons defined by law, as we discussed in a previously published post.
Evaluation of Invalid Termination
An unlawful termination of an employment contract often leads to a dispute. The employer initially claims that the employee is no longer employed. On the other hand, the employee still feels employed. They want to continue working and receiving the agreed payment for their work. The conflicting views on the issue must be appropriately resolved.
To start, you need an expert who can advise you whether the employer acted correctly. You don’t want to engage in a dispute with the employer if you have no chance of winning. For such cases, we offer free evaluations of the validity of the termination for our clients.
A preliminary evaluation of the validity is important for the next steps. If no legal action is taken, even an invalid termination by the employee will be considered valid. This plays in favor of the employer. As an employee, you are forced to challenge the termination by filing a lawsuit in court.
Court Review of Termination
If you want to dispute an invalid termination, you must file a lawsuit in court. The law clearly states the employee’s obligation to seek the invalidity of the termination in court.
The Labor Code sets a deadline of two months for the employee. The deadline starts from the day the legal relationship should have ended due to the termination. The lawsuit must be filed with the appropriate court no later than the last day of this period.
However, that’s not all. The employee must also inform the employer in writing that the employment relationship still continues. They must clearly indicate to the employer that they insist on continuing the employment and receiving payment for their work. If the employee fails to do this, they cannot demand compensation for the period when the employer did not allow them to work.
When Is a Termination Invalid?
In the previous post, we defined the termination of an employment relationship as a one-sided way to end it. We said that the employer’s termination is a rather complicated process where the employer often comes out on the losing side.
The Labor Code sets conditions for the employer’s termination. The employer cannot just hand over the termination to the employee without a reason. To terminate the employment relationship, they must have one of the reasons set by law. We will discuss these termination reasons in detail in subsequent posts. For now, let’s focus on the fundamental shortcomings of the termination.
Reasons for Termination by the Employer
The legal reasons for termination are listed exhaustively. For the employer to terminate the employment relationship by giving notice, they must clearly identify the employee’s behavior for which:
Evaluate the Employee’s Behavior
The employee has engaged in wrongful conduct. Therefore, the employer decides they no longer want to continue working with the employee. If the described behavior did not occur, the employer is not entitled to terminate the employment.
Determine if the Legal Reasons for Termination Are Met
The employer checks if the wrongful conduct of the employee meets one of the legal reasons for termination. If the wrongful behavior does not meet the legal requirements for any of the reasons for termination, the employer is not entitled to terminate the employment relationship.
Draft the Termination Notice
The employer is then obligated to clearly define the employee’s behavior (what they did wrong) that justifies the termination (the reason for dismissal). If the employer improperly defines or makes another significant mistake, the termination is not valid.
Deliver the Termination Notice to the Employee
The employer must ensure that the employee is officially informed of the termination. The notice must be delivered in writing directly to the employee. An oral communication or improper delivery violates the obligation. Failure to provide the employee with the written notice of termination lacks legal relevance.
If the employer makes a mistake with one (or more) of these steps, the termination is not valid.
Attention! Invalidity of Termination Must Be Declared by the Court
The employee must file a lawsuit with the court to have the termination declared invalid. If the employee does not do so, the termination may be considered valid in the future. In such a case, we recommend seeking our services or the services of another professional.
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O vaše práva zaměstnance se stará Advokátní kancelář Ing. Mgr. Ladislav Šmarda, se sídlem v Olomouci a Praze, ČAK 18060
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