What to do if you are wrongfully dismissed from your job

When is a notice of termination of employment invalid

First of all, it is essential that the notice is given in writing, as oral notice is always invalid. It is also important to note that the employer can only give notice for reasons set out in the Labour Code. These include organisational reasons, the employee’s unfitness for work, breach of duties or poor performance.

The notice period must then last at least two months.

In addition, there are also situations where an employee cannot be given notice. This is the case, for example, of an employee on sick leave or an employee on maternity leave.

Employee entitlements

If an employer has wrongfully terminated an employee’s employment, the employee can first claim that the employer should continue to employ him or her. In addition, the employee may also claim that the employer compensate him for his wages from the date on which the employment relationship should have ended until he is re-employed. If, for example, an employee with a salary of CZK 20,000 per month could not work for one year as a result of an invalid termination, he would be entitled to wage compensation of CZK 240,000, even if the employment contract contained a provision that excluded or limited the employee’s rights.

An employee may claim the above-mentioned claims if the employment relationship is wrongfully terminated by the employer. This may include a minor mistake in the termination notice. It will therefore be a termination of employment or an immediate termination of employment.

We have already dealt with a case where the employer had wrongly defined the reason for termination and even the witnesses in court did not prove the employee’s alleged misconduct. Even when the employer’s defeat was inevitable, he still prolonged the court proceedings and appealed. Eventually, the amount of the severance pay rose to staggering heights in the hundreds of thousands of crowns.

In principle, however, an employee will not be able to object to an invalid termination of the employment relationship if the employment relationship is terminated by agreement, i.e., if he or she has concluded an agreement with the employer to terminate the employment relationship (so-called termination by agreement). The assumption here is that the agreement to terminate the employment relationship was concluded on the basis of the will of both parties and therefore the possibilities of challenging it subsequently are very limited. However, if the termination of the employment relationship was invalid by agreement, the employee would still be entitled to compensation.

Procedure after receiving notice

The Labour Code sets out how an employee must proceed if he or she does not agree to termination of employment. The procedure is the same whether it is a notice of termination or an immediate termination. However, it is up to the employee whether to actively defend the termination or not to pursue the matter. However, this will in effect allow even an invalid notice to mean the termination of the employee’s employment.

First, the employee must notify the employer without undue delay that he insists on continuing to employ him. In this case, the employment relationship continues. If the employee fails to send or personally deliver this notice to the employer, the employment relationship will end on expiry of the notice period. Therefore, even if the notice is invalid, it is always up to the employee to assert his rights. Otherwise, the employee will be deemed to have accepted the notice and the employment relationship will end.

If, despite the employee’s notification, the employer continues to insist that the dismissal is justified and does not allow the employee to perform the job, it will again be up to the employee to take legal action.

In the court proceedings, the court will assess the validity and justification of the dismissal. The time limit for bringing an action is only two months from the date on which the employment relationship should have ended, i.e. the date of expiry of the notice period. It is not advisable to wait unnecessarily before bringing an action, as the time limit cannot be waived.

What about the employee’s notice?

For the sake of completeness, the employer can also claim similar rights if the employee gives invalid notice. Not only will the employer be able to claim that the employee should continue to do his or her job, but it will also be able to claim damages from the employee. It is therefore not recommended to use a downloaded template when giving notice. The sample notice may not meet all the legal requirements and could therefore be invalid. It is better to take advice from our solicitors.

Finally, it is important to note that it is crucial to know when a notice is valid and when it is not, and how to proceed in both cases. If you think your termination is unjustified, you can claim back pay and defend your rights, among other things. Similarly, an employer can claim damages if an employee gives invalid notice. In these situations, it is always worth consulting with an attorney to ensure a fair and lawful resolution in either case.