Ordinary termination of the employment contract

The employer must have a valid reason for termination of the employment contract, and the employee may challenge the validity of the dismissal in court

Both the employee and the employer can ordinarily terminate the employment contract.

The employee can ordinarily terminate the employment contract without stating the reason for termination, but has the obligation to complete the notice period prescribed by law or determined by the employment contract.

Types of ordinary termination

The employer may ordinarily terminate the employment contract if there is a valid reason to do so. These are the types of ordinary terminations:
  • dismissal due to business reasons - “redundancies”;
  • dismissal due to personal reasons;
  • dismissal conditioned by the misconduct of the employee;
  • dismissal due to unsatisfactory performance during the probationary period.
The dismissal must be in writing, with an explanation (if given by the employer), and must be delivered to the person being dismissed.

Redundancies

The employer may dismiss the employee due to business reasons if the need to perform a certain job ceases for economic, technical or organisational reasons. These can be, for example, a decrease in production, the introduction of new technologies or changes in the market due to which the company has to lay off a certain number of employees in order to continue its business activities.

After the dismissal due to business reasons, the employer may not employ another employee in the same workplace for six months.

If the employee worked without interruption for at least two years before the dismissal, they are entitled to severance pay.

Dismissal due to personal reasons

The employer may dismiss the employee due to personal reasons if the employee is unable to perform their work duties properly due to certain permanent characteristics or abilities. These are, for example, cases when an employee does not have the necessary knowledge or ability to perform a certain job due to an illness or permanent injury.

If the employee worked without interruption for at least two years before the dismissal, they are entitled to severance pay.

Dismissal conditioned by the misconduct of the employee

If the employee violates the obligations arising from the employment relationship, the employer may terminate the employment contract. The employer may dismiss the employee in this way if, for example, the employee improperly performs or neglects the obligations from the employment contract, violates operating rules related to occupational health and safety, is late for work without a valid reason, comes to work drunk or under the influence of drugs, causes material damage to the employer's property and the like.

Prior to ordinary termination of employment conditioned by the misconduct of the employee, the employer must notify the employee of the employment obligations in writing and indicate the possibility of dismissal in the event of continued breach of these obligations and allow the employee to present their defence, unless there are justifiable circumstances that exempt the employer of doing so.

With this type of dismissal, the employee is not entitled to severance pay, and the notice period is determined in the length of half of the notice periods determined by law.

Dismissal due to unsatisfactory performance during the probationary period

Where a probationary period has been contracted by an employment contract, the employer may terminate the employment contract for the duration of the probationary period and at the latest on the last day of the probationary period with the notice period shall be at least one week.

If, during the duration of the employment relationship, you conclude a contract of employment for the purpose of performing other tasks, whereby a probationary period is also agreed upon, in case of termination of that contract due to non-compliance with the probationary period, you will be entitled to a notice period and severance period.

Challenging the dismissal

If you feel that your employer has unlawfully dismissed you, you can lodge a complaint with your employer within 15 days of the day of the orderly delivery of the dismissal decision and request that your dismissal decision be reviewed.
 
The employer may respond positively within 15 days of receiving your complaint. If your complaint is not expressed or resolved negatively within the given deadline, you can bring an action before the competent municipal court within the next 15 days.
 
Information on the locally competent court with the necessary contact details can be found on the website of the Judicial network.

Notice period and severance allowance

A worker who has reached the age of 65 and 15 years of pensionable service shall, in the event of dismissal, not be entitled to a notice period and severance allowance.