If your employer terminates your employment

When the employer terminates an employee’s employment relationship, it indicates that the employee’s work ends completely. In other words, the employer terminates the employment contract entered into by the employee and the employer. The employer may terminate an indefinite or continuous employment contract, but not a fixed-term employment contract.

The employer can only terminate an employee’s employment, if it has a valid and cogent reason. The employer must always explain the reason for the dismissal to the employee.

The reason for a dismissal may be

the fact that the company’s products and services are not purchased enough
the company’s poor financial situation
a reason due to the employee, such as continuously being late for work or performing their work poorly. Before dismissal, the employer must give the employee a warning and the opportunity to mend his or her ways.

The reason for a dismissal cannot be the employee’s

pregnancy or family leave
illness, injury or accident, unless the employee’s ability to work has been reduced significantly and for a long term
participating in industrial action
political, religious or other opinion or social activity
resorting to legal remedies.

You can ask the employer to notify you in writing of the employment contract’s end date and the reasons for the termination. The employer must then provide them to you as soon as possible.

If the employer has given you a notice of termination, your work will not end immediately, but continues still for the period of notice. If you have been dismissed for productional or economic reasons, that is, because the company’s products and services are not sufficiently purchased or its financial situation is poor, you are entitled to paid free time for job searching or preparing an employment plan. The free time is 5-20 days, depending on the length of the notice period. Notify the employer of the free time as soon as you can.

If you have worked for the same employer for at least 5 years and the employer has at least 30 employees, you are entitled to employment-promoting training and occupational health service paid by the employer for 6 months from the beginning of the unemployment.

Do not sign any papers regarding your dismissal that you do not understand.

If you do not agree with your employer regarding the dismissal, please contact the shop steward of your workplace or your trade union. You can also contact SAK employee rights hotline.

Readmission obligation

If the employer has dismissed you for financial or productional reasons (i.e. the company’s products and services have not been sufficiently purchased or the company has had a bad financial situation), he may be obligated to offer you a job later. This so-called readmission obligation is valid for 4 months after the termination of the employment, if the employer needs an employee for the same or similar duties as those the employee did before the dismissal. If the employee’s employment has continued without interruption for at least 12 years until the dismissal, the readmission obligation lasts for 6 months after the termination of the employment.

If you want to terminate your employment

The employee can terminate the employment relationship by notifying the employer.

If you want to terminate your permanent employment relationship, you must terminate your indefinite or continuous employment contract. Take a written notice of termination to your employer personally. If this is not possible, submit the termination to your employer by letter or electronic means.

You do not have to explain the reason for your resignation.

Once you have been resigned, you cannot stop work immediately. Instead, the work will continue during the period of notice.

Periods of notice

The notice period starts after the employee or employer has terminated the employment contract. The law stipulates how long the notice period is. In some situations, periods of notice can also be agreed upon in a collective agreement or an employment contract.

Your employment will only end after the period of notice. During the period of notice, you work normally and receive a regular salary for that time.

Statutory notice periods

When the employer dismisses the employee, the notice period is

14 days if employment has lasted for less than or exactly one year
1 month if employment has lasted for 1-4 years
2 months if employment has lasted for 4-8 years
4 months if employment has lasted for 8-12 years
6 months if employment has lasted for more than 12 years.

When the employee terminates the employment contract, the notice period is

14 days if employment has continued for less than or exactly 5 years
1 month if employment has continued for more than 5 years.

Termination of employment during the trial period

During the trial period, the employee or the employer can terminate the employment relationship without a period of notice. Termination of employment during the trial period may not be discriminatory or inappropriate.

Termination of fixed-term employment

A fixed-term employment relationship ends on the day that reads in your employment contract. A fixed-term employment contract cannot be terminated unless agreed upon in the employment contract. Thus, you cannot stop working when the employment contract is in progress. The employer cannot dismiss you, either, when the employment contract in progress.

Even if no termination of a fixed-term employment contract had been agreed upon in the employment contract, you can still try to agree on the termination of the employment relationship with your employer before the fixed-term contract ends.

Cancellation of an employment contract

Cancellation of an employment contract means that the employment contract is terminated immediately. Then there is no notice period. During the trial period, the employment contract can be cancelled immediately. Otherwise, the employment contract can only be cancelled if there is a very strong reason.

The employer may have a strong reason to cancel the employment contract if the employee fails to fulfil his obligations or breaches the rules seriously, for example, if the employee steals from the workplace or comes to work drunk.

The employee may have a strong reason to cancel the employment contract if the employer fails to fulfil his obligations or breaches the rules seriously, for example, if the employer does not pay the salary or does not take care of occupational safety.

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