How Can You Defend Yourself Against Termination in 2026? What Are Your Rights and What Steps Should You Take?

Not sure if your termination was in accordance with the law? We’ll help you review the termination notice, assess your claims, and plan your next steps. If your employer violated the law, we’ll help you assert your rights, including any back pay you may be owed.

What should I do if I’m terminated?

Losing your job can really take you by surprise. Especially if it comes unexpectedly or if you feel that your employer is trying to get rid of you without a valid reason. Your first reaction might be anger, uncertainty, or a desire to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. But it’s precisely at that moment that you might make a decision you’ll later regret.

Simply receiving a notice of termination does not automatically mean it is valid. Your employer must comply with legal requirements; otherwise, you can challengethe termination and, in some cases, even receive back pay.

If you’re wondering what to do in the event of an unjustified termination, it’s especially important to distinguish between a termination notice and a mutual agreement to terminate the employment relationship.

If your employer presents you with a notice of termination, they do not need your consent. Your signature, which merely confirms receipt, does not mean that you agree to the termination. In contrast, a mutual agreement to terminate employment requires the consent of both parties. If you do not want to sign it, your employer cannot force you to do so.

When can an employer terminate your employment in 2026?

While an employee can resign at virtually any time without having to explain why, employers are subject to much stricter rules. An employer can terminate your employment only for the reasons listed in Section 52 of the Labor Code.

The most common reasons include:

• Organizational changes: Your employer is eliminating your position, relocating operations, or closing the company or a part of it.
• Medical reasons: According to a relevant medical evaluation, you have permanently lost the medical fitness to perform your current job.
• Failure to meet job requirements: For example, you have consistently failed to achieve the required work performance over a long period; in cases specified by law, the employer must first give you an opportunity to remedy the situation.
• Breach of employment duties: This may involve a serious breach of duties or repeated minor infractions. In the case of repeated infractions, a prior written warning regarding the possibility of termination is required.
• Particularly gross breach of duties during incapacity for work: For example, a violation of the established obligation to remain at a designated place of residence during the first 14 days of incapacity for work, provided the violation reaches the required severity.

However, it is not sufficient for the employer to simply state in the termination notice that you are redundant or failing to fulfill your duties. The reason for termination must be described in sufficient detail so that it is clear what the employer is holding against you and why the employment relationship is being terminated. The employer cannot change this reason retroactively.

Therefore, if you are terminated for redundancy but your position has not actually been eliminated and the employer is merely looking for someone else to fill it, this may be grounds to challenge the termination. However, it always depends on the actual content and circumstances of the organizational change.

Also, be aware of the length of the notice period. Effective June 1, 2025, the notice period begins on the day the notice of termination is delivered, rather than at the start of the following month, as was previously the case. As a rule, it lasts at least two months. However, if you are terminated, for example, due to unsatisfactory work performance, failure to meet job requirements, or breach of employment obligations, the notice period may be as short as one month. Your employment contract may, however, include a written agreement for a longer notice period or a different method of calculating it. It is therefore worth checking not only the reason for the termination but also when your employment is actually set to end.

Termination of Employment: A Guide to Protecting Your Rights

If you’re considering how to challenge a termination notice from your employer, it’s important to proceed systematically. Even a clearly unfair termination won’t just go away on its own.

1. Check whether the termination notice is in writing and was properly delivered

Termination must be in writing. If your boss merely tells you verbally that you are no longer required to come to work starting tomorrow, this does not constitute valid termination under the Labor Code.

Furthermore, the written notice of termination must be properly delivered to you. This can be done in person, by mail, via a data box, or electronically, provided the legal requirements are met. Simply sending it to your work email address may not be sufficient on its own.

2. Verify the reason for termination

Determine whether the reason stated in the notice of termination complies with the law and the facts. If your employer cites poor work performance, verify, for example, whether they have asked you in writing over the past 12 months to address the issue and provided you with a reasonable amount of time to remedy the situation.

In the case of repeated minor violations of work duties, it is important to consider whether you were notified in writing within the last six months of the possibility of termination.

3. Gather evidence

Keep your employment contract, termination notice, email correspondence, performance reviews, written warnings, and other documents that may help clarify the situation.

Communication regarding organizational changes or information that your employer is seeking a new employee for a similar position may also be useful.

4. Notify your employer that you insist on continued employment

If you consider the termination notice invalid and wish to continue working, notify your employer in writing that you insist on continued employment.

This step is extremely important. If the legal conditions are met, you may be entitled to back pay for the period during which your employer prevented you from working.

It is advisable to send the notice as soon as possible using a method that allows you to prove delivery.

5. File a Lawsuit in a Timely Manner

If your employer does not acknowledge the termination as problematic and you cannot reach an agreement on a resolution, you can take the matter to court.

However, you do not have an unlimited amount of time to file a lawsuit. The law sets a two-month deadline from the date the employment relationship was supposed to end due to the disputed termination.

An Example from Our Law Practice

A client was terminated for redundancy. He had worked for the employer for more than six years and had performed his duties without any prior complaints. The employer informed him that his position was being eliminated as a result of organizational changes. Shortly after receiving the notice of termination, however, the client discovered that the company was looking for a new employee for a very similar position. He therefore suspected that the real reason for the termination was not reorganization, but an attempt to replace him with someone else.

First, we reviewed the termination notice, the employment contract, and the available documentation regarding the organizational change. We also compared the client’s original job description with the newly advertised position. We discovered serious discrepancies that indicated that the client’s job had not in fact been eliminated and that the declared organizational change did not correspond to the employer’s actual actions.

We therefore prepared a written notice stating that the client considered the termination invalid and insisted on continued employment. At the same time, we called on the employer to reconsider its actions and prepared documentation for potential legal proceedings.

We succeeded in reaching an agreement under which the client continued his employment, and the employer paid him an amount equivalent to lost wages for the period during which he was prevented from working.

Situations like this show that simply labeling an employee as redundant does not automatically mean the termination will hold up. The decisive factor is whether an organizational change actually took place and whether the redundancy resulted directly from that change. If you suspect that your employer terminated you solely to replace you with someone else, it is worth having the circumstances of the termination reviewed by a lawyer.

How can you defend yourself against termination while on sick leave or during pregnancy?

The Labor Code provides special protection to certain employees. As a general rule, an employer may not terminate their employment during the so-called “protected period.”

This includes , for example , periods of temporary sick leave, pregnancy, maternity leave, or parental leave. This protection also applies to certain situations related to caring for a child or a close relative.

However, this does not mean that an employer can never terminate the employment relationship with such an employee. The law allows for exceptions, such as in the case of certain organizational changes.

It is also important to distinguish whether you received the notice of termination during the protection period or before it began.

If your employer served you with a notice of termination before you went on sick leave and the notice period is scheduled to end during that time, the end of the notice period may be postponed under the law. The specific situation and any statutory exceptions are decisive.

Deadline for Filing a Lawsuit to Challenge the Validity of a Notice of Termination: Why Keep an Eye on the Two-Month Period?

One of the most important rules when defending against a termination is the deadline set forth in the Labor Code.

You must file a lawsuit to challenge the validity of the termination no later than two months from the date your employment was supposed to end.

Note that this is not automatically two months from the moment you receive the notice of termination.

For example, imagine that your employer delivers a notice of termination to you on July 10, 2026, with the standard two-month notice period. Unless special circumstances or other contractual provisions apply, the employment relationship will end on September 10, 2026. A lawsuit to declare the termination invalid must be filed within two months of the date on which the employment relationship was supposed to end. However, since November 10, 2026, falls on a Tuesday, the last day of the deadline is November 10, 2026.

This is known as a statute of limitations. If you miss this deadline, your right to challenge the validity of the termination in court will expire—even if the employer actually had insufficient grounds for the termination.

It won’t help that you sent a complaint to your employer, contacted the labor inspectorate, or negotiated with them at length.

So, if the deadline for challenging the termination is approaching, do not wait for further comments from your employer. We will help you quickly assess the validity of the termination, evaluate the available evidence, and prepare a lawsuit so that it meets legal requirements and is filed on time. Taking timely action can determine whether you will be able to seek reinstatement and assert your related claims at all.

Lawsuit to Declare a Termination Invalid: What Can You Gain?

If you decide to file a lawsuit to invalidate your termination, the court will assess whether your employer complied with the legal requirements and whether the stated reason for termination actually existed.

If the court rules that the termination was invalid and you have notified your employer in writing that you insist on continuing your employment, the employment relationship remains in effect.

Your employer must allow you to continue working; additionally, if the legal conditions are met, you may be entitled to compensation for lost wages and paid time off.

Wage compensation generally corresponds to your average earnings and is due from the moment you notified your employer that you insist on continued employment until you are allowed to continue working or until the employment relationship is validly terminated.

Be aware, however, that if the total period for which compensation is to be granted exceeds six months, the court may, at the employer’s request, reasonably reduce the compensation for the subsequent period.

If you do not insist on continuing the employment relationship, you may also seek a declaration that the termination is invalid, but the legal consequences will be different. In such a case, the law provides for the termination of the employment relationship by mutual agreement under specified conditions.

When Are You Entitled to Severance Pay Upon Termination?

Defending against a termination by your employer does not always mean that you want to return to your original job. Sometimes your primary goal may simply be to receive all the money to which you are entitled.

A typical example is severance pay in the event of organizational changes.

If the employment relationship ends due to termination by the employer for organizational reasons under Section 52(a) through (c) of the Labor Code, or by mutual agreement for the same reasons, you are generally entitled to severance pay in the following minimum amount:

• One average monthly wage if you have worked for the employer for less than one year.
• Two times your average monthly earnings if your employment lasted at least one year but less than two years.
• Three times your average monthly earnings if you worked for the employer for at least two years.

In some cases, the severance pay may be higher, for example, if stipulated by a collective bargaining agreement or other applicable arrangement.

Special rules apply to the termination of employment for health reasons. For example, if you have become permanently unable to perform your current job due to a work-related injury or occupational disease, you are entitled to a one-time payment equal to twelve times your average monthly earnings, provided the legal conditions are met.

What if your employer terminated your employment only verbally?

The Labor Code expressly stipulates that notice of termination must be in writing; otherwise, it is not considered valid.

This means that if your supervisor simply tells you to leave immediately and not to return, your employment relationship is not legally terminated.

Unlike an invalid written notice of termination, this is not a typical situation where you would need to file a lawsuit within a two-month period to challenge the validity of the termination. Verbal notice of termination simply does not have the legal effects required by law.

Nevertheless, it is not advisable to ignore the situation. If your employer refuses to assign you work or pay your wages, it may be necessary to assert your rights through the courts.

We therefore strongly advise against waiting on the grounds that a verbal termination cannot be valid. Timely legal assistance can save you a lot of complications.

How Can You Defend Yourself Against Termination and Avoid Losing Your Entitlements?

If you feel that your employer has acted unlawfully, you do not have to accept their decision. You can try to negotiate a different solution, demand severance pay, or take the matter to court.

However, it is important not to underestimate the importance of timing. In labor disputes, the outcome often depends not only on who is right, but also on whether you assert your rights in a timely manner.

Also keep in mind that filing a complaint with the labor inspectorate is not a substitute for filing a lawsuit to invalidate the termination. The inspectorate can verify compliance with labor laws, but the validity of the termination itself is determined by the court.

Summary

If your employer has given you notice of termination, this does not automatically mean that it is valid. It must be in writing, properly served, and based on a lawful reason. Furthermore, in 2026, changes introduced by the “flexi-amendment” to the Labor Code will take effect, under which the notice period generally begins on the date of delivery and, in some cases, lasts only one month.

The most important thing is not to miss the two-month deadline for filing a lawsuit to challenge the validity of the termination. If you wish to continue working, notify your employer in writing. If the legal conditions are met, you may be entitled to wage compensation or severance pay. If you’re unsure whether your employer acted correctly, we’ll help you review the termination notice and ensure your rights are upheld.