Rozwiązanie umowy o pracę w pytaniach i odpowiedziach
W niektórych przypadkach stosunek pracy zostaje rozwiązany. Jak można rozwiązać umowę o pracę? Kiedy można wręczyć pracownikowi dyscyplinarkę? Czy umowa na czas określony może zostać rozwiązana?
In the vast majority of cases, the reason for the decision to terminate the employment relationship will not be relevant to the conclusion of the employee-employer agreement.
There are many ways to terminate an employment contract
Termination of an employment contract by mutual agreement is one of the Code’s ways of ending an employment relationship, along with termination of employment and termination without notice (popularly known as “discipline”). Undoubtedly, an agreement to terminate an employment contract is the most flexible of the above-mentioned ways of terminating employment, since it is the only one that constitutes a bilateral legal act (rather than a unilateral statement by the employer or employee), and therefore the individual elements of such an agreement can be regulated with a great deal of freedom, depending on the needs of the parties. However, it is clear that behind every decision leading to the termination of the employment relationship, regardless of the mode of termination used (agreement, notice or termination without notice), there is a reason. Sometimes it lies with the employee and sometimes with the employer.
The reason for termination does not always play an important role
In the vast majority of cases, the reason for the decision to terminate the employment relationship will not play a role in concluding an agreement between the employee and the employer. Thus, in a situation where an employee finds another offer of employment and for this reason proposes to the employer to conclude an agreement to terminate the existing employment contract, or where an employee grossly violates his basic labor obligations and the employer proposes to the employee to conclude an agreement to terminate the employment relationship instead of giving him a letter of termination without notice, the reason for the termination of the employment contract through the conclusion of an agreement by the parties will not play a significant role under the current legislation.
However, the reason for consensual termination of employment will become relevant if it is a reduction in employment for reasons relating to the workplace, a change in the employee’s place of residence, or, in the case of an employer with at least 20 employees, if the exclusive reason for termination by consensual termination does not involve the employee (as it will be, for example, the liquidation of the entire department of the company in which the employee was employed).
In the first of the above cases, consensual termination of the employment relationship due to the occurrence of a special reason in the form of downsizing for reasons relating to the company or the employee’s relocation, will enable the employee to obtain unemployment benefits in principle from the moment he registers as an unemployed person at the district labor office. This is important because, as a general rule, a person registered as unemployed who has terminated a contract of employment by mutual agreement within 6 months prior to registration with a county labor office is not entitled to benefits until 90 days after such registration at the earliest (Art. 75(1)(2) and (2)(2) of the April 20, 2004 Law on Employment Promotion and Labor Market Institutions).
In the second of the above cases, when the conclusion of an agreement to terminate an employment contract with a so-called large employer is dictated by reasons lying solely on the employer’s side (e.g., liquidation of an entire department of the company, financial cutbacks in the company, a change in the company’s industry resulting in a change in the structure of employment), the provisions of the Act of March 13, 2003 on special principles of termination of labor relations with employees for reasons not related to employees will apply. Thus, in particular, in the event of termination of the employment relationship, the employer will be obliged to pay the employee an appropriate severance payment, in the amount of one to three months of the employee’s salary, depending on the period of employment with that employer.
Indication of the reason in the content of the agreement is not mandatory
The question then arises as to whether it is necessary to indicate the reason for termination of employment in the content of the termination agreement. Generally – there is no need to do so. The agreement can, in principle, be limited to a consensual statement of the parties on the termination of the employment relationship between them (usually, the date agreed by the parties on the termination of the employment relationship is also indicated, although this is not necessary; failure to indicate the date will result in the termination of the employment relationship as of the date of submission of consensual statements by the employee and the employer). However, in the case of the occurrence of the first of the reasons described in this article for the termination of the employment contract by mutual agreement, such information appearing in the body of the agreement will undoubtedly be desirable for an employee who intends to exercise his right to unemployment benefits. This information will enable the employee to demonstrate to the district labor office that the termination of the contract by agreement was indeed due to a reduction in employment for reasons related to the workplace or a change of residence. In the case of the occurrence of the second of the reasons described in the article, indicating or not indicating the reason for termination in the content of the agreement will not in any way affect the fact that the termination of the employment relationship will occur under the provisions of the Law on Special Rules for Termination of Employment Relations with Employees for Reasons Not Involving Employees, with all the consequences thereof. Thus, only for strictly housekeeping reasons can the description of the reason for termination of employment be considered in this case as well.
W niektórych przypadkach stosunek pracy zostaje rozwiązany. Jak można rozwiązać umowę o pracę? Kiedy można wręczyć pracownikowi dyscyplinarkę? Czy umowa na czas określony może zostać rozwiązana?
