Employment contracts, like all other things, don’t last forever. How does termination of employment work under Polish law?
Fixed terms contracts (like the trial period contract or the contract for a definite period of time) generally terminate automatically upon lapse of time for which they have been concluded.
Termination of the employment contract may also be achieved by specific legal actions aimed at that very purpose, undertaken either by both parties or one of them. The actions in question include:
- termination via an agreement between the employer and the employee;
- termination at earlier notice by the employer or the employee;
- immediate termination without notice by the employer or the employee (in situations listed by law).
All employment contracts may be terminated via an agreement or without notice – in the latter case provided that immediate termination is based on statutory grounds. As far as termination at earlier notice is concerned, applicable procedures and notice periods may differ depending on the kind of the contract. It is important to see to all formal termination requirements so that potential claims based on unfair or illegal termination could be avoided.
I will discuss particular termination options in greater detail in the next entries.