Ending an employment relationship
When the employer or the employee cancels a contract that is valid until further notice, it ends after the period of notice.
The employer may not cancel an employment contract without a proper and weighty reason. These reasons may be due to
- the employee
- economic and production-related reasons and a restructuring of the employer's operations.
An employee who has neglected their duties in the employment relationship may not be dismissed before a warning has been issued and they have thus had a chance of rectifying the neglect.
Periods of notice that apply to an employer
| Uninterrupted duration of the employment relationship | Period of notice |
| Up to 1 year | 14 days |
| 1–4 years | 1 month |
| 4–8 years | 2 months |
| 8–12 years | 4 months |
| More than 12 years | 6 months |
Periods of notice that apply to an employee
| Uninterrupted duration of the employment relationship | Period of notice |
| Up to 5 years | 14 days |
| More than 5 years | 1 month |
When an employment relationship is terminated, it ends with immediate effect without a period of notice. During a trial period, the employment contract may be terminated by either party. An employment contract may not be terminated during a trial period because of discriminatory or inappropriate reasons.
An employment contract can only be terminated for an extremely weighty reason. As a weighty reason will be deemed the fact that one of the parties is guilty of such a serious breach or neglect of their duties that the other party can no longer be expected to continue the employment relationship even for the period of notice.
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