Due to certain circumstances, the employer may terminate the employment relationship with employees for reasons beyond their control. The provisions of the Act of May 22, 2003 on special rules for terminating employment relationships with employees for reasons not related to employees (Journal of Laws 2018.1969, i.e.) apply then. The provisions of the Act shall apply if it is necessary for an employer employing at least 20 employees to terminate employment relationships for reasons not related to the employees, by means of a notice given by the employer, as well as by agreement of the parties, if, for a period not exceeding 30 days, the termination covers at least:
- 10 employees, if the employer employs fewer than 100 employees,
- 10% of employees if the employer employs at least 100 but less than 300 employees,
- 30 employees, if the employer employs at least 300 or more employees. These layoffs are commonly referred to as collective redundancies.
The figures for the employees referred to above include employees who are terminated as part of collective redundancy at the initiative of the employer by mutual agreement of the parties, if at least 5 employees are concerned.
According to the judgment of the Supreme Court, „reasons not attributable to the employee” are all circumstances unrelated to his psychophysical features and the way he performs his employee duties (Supreme Court judgment of 14 December 2016, file ref. II PK 281/15 ). Such a situation will therefore take place, for example, when the employer is not able to provide the activities or the reason for the dismissal relates directly to the employer (opening of bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings).
The aforementioned act also provides for the procedure of individual dismissal for reasons not attributable to the employee. Pursuant to Art. 10 of the Act, we will deal with an individual procedure if the following conditions are met:
- the employer must employ at least 20 employees,
- the cause attributable to the employer, justifying the termination of the employment relationship or its termination by agreement of the parties by the employer, is the sole reason for termination of the contract,
- redundancies with the employer for a period not exceeding 30 days include a smaller number of employees than specified in art. 1 of the Act (i.e. 10 employees if they employ less than 100 employees, 10% of employees if they employ at least 100 but less than 300 employees, or 30 employees if they employ at least 300 or more employees).
Thus, the lack of the required employment of at least 20 employees by the employer causes that Art. 10 will not apply to such an employer at all.
The employer is obliged to consult the intention to carry out a collective dismissal with the trade unions operating at the employer’s. In connection with the termination of employment under the group dismissal, the employee is entitled to severance pay in the amount of:
- a one-month salary, if the employee has been employed by a given employer for less than 2 years,
- two-month salary, if the employee has been employed by a given employer for 2 to 8 years,
- three-month salary, if the employee has been employed by a given employer for over 8 years.
It should be remembered that the amount of the severance pay may not exceed the amount of 15 times the minimum wage applicable on the date of termination of employment.
The Labor Code, as to the termination of an employment contract, does not explicitly indicate the possibility of doing so through, inter alia, email message. However, reference should be made to the Civil Code, according to which a declaration of will submitted in electronic form is equivalent to a declaration of will submitted in writing, while to maintain the electronic form of a legal transaction, it is sufficient to submit a declaration of will in electronic form and affix it with a qualified electronic signature (Art. 781 of the Civil Code). Therefore, it is possible for the employer to terminate the employment contract by e-mail if it is signed with a qualified electronic signature. Such a position was also adopted by the Supreme Court in its judgment of 24 August 2009 (file reference number I PK 58/09), which stated that „the termination sent by e-mail will be effective only if it is signed with an e-signature. „.