Dismissal

Slovenian employment relationship act includes two options of dismissal (termination). One is ordinary and the other is extraordinary dismissal (termination).

Some similarities of both of them are:

1. They both have to be in written form;

2. The employer must state the reason for termination, explain it in writing as well as call the worker’s attention to legal remedies and his rights arising from the unemployment insurance;

3. They shall be served on the contractual party by the employer in person, whose employment contract is being terminated;

4. If thus requested by the worker, the employer must inform in writing the trade union, whose member the worker is at the time of the introduction of the procedure, about the intended ordinary or extraordinary termination of the employment contract. The trade union referred to in the previous paragraph may give its opinion within eight days. If it does not give its opinion within eight days, it shall be deemed that it does not oppose the termination.

The main differences are by:

1. THE REASONS

2. THE PERIOD OF NOTICE

3. THE TIME LIMIT

ORDINARY TERMINATION:

1. the reasons:

(1) The reasons for an ordinary termination of the employment contract to the worker by the employer are as follows:

- cessation of the needs to carry out certain work, under the conditions pursuant to the employment contract, due to economic, organisational, technological, structural or similar reasons on the employer’s side (hereinafter .the business reason.), or

- non-achievement of expected work results because the worker failed to carry out the work in due time, professionally and with due quality, or non-fulfilment of conditions for carrying out work stipulated by laws and executive regulations issued on the basis of law due to which the worker fails to fulfil or cannot fulfil the contractual, or other obligations arising from the employment relationship (hereinafter .the reason of

incapacity.),

- violation of the contractual obligation or any other obligation arising from the employment relationship (hereinafter .the fault reason.).

(2) The employer may terminate the worker’s employment contract only if the reasons referred to in the previous paragraph are serious and substantiated and make impossible the continuation of the employment relationship between the worker and the employer.

The worker may ordinarily terminate the employment contract without explanation.

(3) Prior to the ordinary termination for the reason of incapacity or for a fault reason and prior to the extraordinary termination of the employment contract, the employer must provide the worker an opportunity to defend himself, by mutatis mutandis taking into account Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 177 of this Act, unless the circumstances exist due to

which it would be unjustified to expect from the employer to provide the worker an opportunity of the defence, or if the worker explicitly rejects it or if he without a justified reason does not respond to the invitation to defence.

In case when trade union oppose the termination if it considers that there are no substantiated reasons or that the procedure was not implemented in accordance with this Act and if the worker requests from the employer the suspension of the effect of the termination of the employment contract due to the given notice, the termination of the contract shall not be effective until the expiration of the term for arbitration and/or judicial protection.

The employer must inform the worker about the intended ordinary termination for the business reason in writing.

(4) In the case of terminating the employment contract for the reason of incapacity or for the business reason, the employer must check whether it is possible to employ the worker under changed conditions or to transfer him to another post, and/or whether it is possible to additionally train the worker for the work he carries out or to retrain the worker. If

such possibility exists, the employer must offer the worker to conclude a new contract. If the worker refuses the employer’s offer to conclude a new employment contract for appropriate work and for an indefinite period of time and his employment relationship terminates, he shall have no right to the severance pay pursuant to Article 109 of this Act.

The worker must express his views about the conclusion of the new employment contract within 30 days as of the receipt of the written offer.

If the worker in the cases referred to in the previous paragraph accepts the offer by the employer for the appropriate employment for an indefinite period of time, he shall not be entitled to claim the severance pay, but shall retain the right to challenge in court that the reasons for termination are not substantiated. The appropriate employment shall be deemed to be the one for which the type and the level of education are requested which are the same as for the performance of work at the previous post for which the worker’s employment contract was concluded.

2. the period of notice:

Contractual parties may terminate the employment contract with a period of notice - ordinary termination

3. time limit:

The employer must give notice of termination no later than within 30 days as from getting acquainted with the reasons for ordinary termination and no later than within six months as from the occurrence of the reason. In the case of a fault reason on the side of the worker, which has all characteristics of a criminal offence, the employer may terminate the employment contract within 30 days as from having found out about the violation of the contractual or any other obligation arising from the employment relationship and regarding the offender for the entire periodin which he is subject to criminal prosecution.

EXTRAORDINARY TERMINATION

1. the reasons:

The worker and the employer may extraordinarily terminate the employment contract in the cases and/or for the reasons stipulated by law.

The worker or the employer may extraordinarily terminate the employment contract if reasons exist stipulated by this Act and if, by taking into account all circumstances and interests of both contractual parties, it is not possible to continue the employment relationship until the expiration of the notice of termination or until the expiration of the period for which the employment contract was concluded.

1/The employer may extraordinarily terminate the worker’s employment contract, if the worker:

- violates the contractual or any other obligation arising from employment relationship and the violation has all characteristics of a criminal offence,

- intentionally or by gross negligence violates the contractual or any other obligations arising from employment relationship,

- is prohibited by a final judgement to carry out certain works within the employment relationship or if he is pronounced an educational, safety or protection measure on the basis of which he cannot carry out the work for longer than six months, or if due to serving a prison sentence he must be absent from work for longer than six months,

- fails to successfully pass the probation period,

- within five working days after the cessation of the reasons for the suspension of the employment contract, unjustifiably fails to return to work,

- during the period of being absent from work because of disease or injury, fails to respect the instructions of the competent doctor and/or of the competent medical commission, or if he in this period carries out gainful work or leaves his residence without the approval by the competent doctor and/or by the competent medical commission.

In the case referred to in the first, second and third indents of the previous paragraph, the employer may upon instituting the proceedings of extraordinary termination of the employment contract prohibit the worker to carry out the work in the course of the duration of the proceedings. During the period of being prohibited to carry out the work, the worker shall be entitled to the wage compensation amounting to half of his average wage received in the last three months before the institution of the termination proceedings.

2/The worker may within eight days after having previously reminded the employer of the fulfilment of obligations and informed the labour inspector about the violations in writing, extraordinarily terminate the employment contract, if:

- the employer failed to assure him the work for more than two months and also failed to pay him the legally stipulated wage compensation,

- he was not enabled to perform the work due to the decision by the competent inspection on the prohibition of performing the work process or on the prohibition of using the means of production for longer than 30 days, and the employer failed to pay him the legally stipulated wage compensation,

- for at least two months, the employer paid him substantially lower remuneration for work,

- three times successively or within the period of six months, the employer failed to pay him the remuneration pursuant to the legally and/or contractually stipulated term,

- the employer failed to assure the workers’ occupational health and safety at work and the worker previously requested from the employer to eliminate the immediate and unavoidable danger threatening life and health,

- the employer offended him or behaved violently towards him or if the employer despite the worker’s warnings failed to prevent such treatment by other workers,

- the employer failed to assure the worker equal treatment regardless of the worker’s sex,

- the employer failed to assure the protection against sexual harassment in accordance with Article 45 of this Act.

In the case of termination due to the actions referred to in the previous

paragraph, the worker shall be entitled to the severance pay, stipulated for the case of ordinary termination of the employment contract for business reasons, and to the compensation amounting to no less than the level of the lost remuneration during the notice period .

2. the period of notice:

In the cases stipulated by law, the contractual parties may terminate the

employment without a period of notice - extraordinary termination.

3. the time limit:

The extraordinary termination of the employment contract shall be delivered by the contractual party no later than within 15 days as from getting acquainted with the reasons which justify the extraordinary termination and no later than six months as from the occurrence of the reason. In the case of a fault reason by the worker or by the employer,

which has all characteristics of a criminal offence, the contractual party may terminate the employment contract within 15 days as from having found out about the violation of the contractual or any other obligation arising from employment relationship and regarding the offender for the entire period in which he is subject to criminal prosecution.