Many employers and employees regard a notice of termination as a purely administrative matter, even though practice is full of cases that ended up in court.
If the employer makes a mistake, the employee can file a lawsuit claiming the notice is invalid. The court may award them compensation of wages for the entire duration of the dispute – easily one to two years – and reinstate them in their employment.
“Even a minor mistake when ending employment can be extremely costly for an employer, warns attorney Ondřej Chlada.
On the other hand, employees who do not know their rights lose them. They sign agreements on unfavorable terms, do not claim the severance pay to which they are entitled, or miss the deadline for filing a lawsuit.
Prefer listening to reading? In the video, attorney Ondřej Chlada walks you through the entire process of ending employment – from choosing the right method and preparing the documents to delivery and the obligations that follow.
There are four most common ways in which employment can end. Each works differently and each carries different risks. Let us go through them one by one.
If the employment contract is concluded for a fixed term, the employment ends automatically on the date stated in it. Simple at first glance.
However, if the employer allows the employee to continue working after the agreed end date – even for just a day or two – the employment may be automatically renewed. Employers forget this rule and are then surprised when the employee insists that they still work for them.
During the probationary period, both the employee and the employer may terminate the employment without giving a reason, in writing, with immediate effect. From the employer’s point of view, this is the most flexible option.
Even here, however, there are restrictions that we recommend you do not ignore. The employer may not terminate the employment during the first 14 days of the employee’s temporary incapacity for work. In this way, the law protects employees against employers circumventing the obligation to pay wage compensation.
From Supreme Court case law: Although the Labor Code does not expressly require any reason for termination during the probationary period, the court confirmed that if the real reason for termination is a discriminatory motive – for example, the employee’s pregnancy – such termination is invalid.
Notice is the most commonly used method of termination. It is also the area where employers most often make mistakes.
The fundamental difference between employee and employer:
The most frequently used statutory grounds include organizational reasons (redundancy of the employee), failure to meet the requirements for performing the work, breach of work duties, or health reasons on the part of the employee.
As of June 1, 2025, new rules on the notice period apply. The standard notice period remains at least two months, but it now starts running on the day the notice is delivered. Not from the first day of the following month, as before.
The amendment also introduced a notice period shortened to one month for so-called disciplinary notices – that is, for breach of work duties, failure to meet the prerequisites or requirements for performing the work (including unsatisfactory work performance), and breach of the treatment regime by an employee temporarily unfit for work.
Summary termination, also known as “being fired on the spot,” ends the employment immediately upon delivery, without any notice period.
An employer can typically use it in the case of a particularly gross breach of work duties – one where the employer cannot fairly be expected to keep the employee at work even for the duration of the notice period. Typical examples are theft of the employer’s property or violence against colleagues.
“You will not find exactly where the line lies between a gross and a particularly gross breach in the law. It lies in the case law of the Supreme Court. And without knowledge of these decisions, summary termination is one of the riskiest steps an employer can take, adds Ondřej Chlada.
Another ground for summary termination by the employer may, under certain circumstances, be the employee’s final conviction and unconditional prison sentence.
A large share of the people looking for information on ending employment are employees. And in many situations, they are in a much stronger position than they think.
If you believe your notice is invalid – for example, because the reason is vague, the procedure was not followed, or you feel it was discrimination – you have 2 months from the end of your employment to file a lawsuit claiming invalidity. After this period expires, the claim lapses.
Likewise: if your employer offers you an agreement to terminate your employment, you have the right to have a lawyer review it before you sign and to negotiate its terms.
An invalid notice has serious consequences for both parties.
For the employer: the court may award the employee compensation of wages for the entire duration of the dispute and reinstate the employee. Lawsuits over the invalidity of a notice take one to two years on average, and wage compensation for that period can be a major financial burden for the employer.
For the employee: if they do not file the lawsuit on time, or at all, the notice becomes valid regardless of whether it was properly prepared.
The employee must file a lawsuit for a declaration of invalidity within two months of the delivery of the notice. This is a preclusive time limit – once it expires, it cannot be restored.
Are you facing a lawsuit over the invalidity of a notice, or already dealing with one? The sooner we get on top of the situation, the better we can manage the possible consequences. Schedule a no-obligation consultation.
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The Labor Code requires the ground for notice to be defined in the notice with sufficient specificity. A mere reference to a section of the Labor Code is not enough.
The notice must describe the specific circumstances: what exactly the employee did or failed to do, when, and under what conditions. Without this, the court will call the notice into question and may declare it invalid.
“We dealt with a case where an employee was harassing colleagues in the workplace. Although it seemed a clear-cut case, the key was first to carry out a thorough internal investigation – interviews with witnesses and documentation of specific incidents. Only on the basis of this evidence was it possible to draft the notice in a way that held up in court, describes Ondřej Chlada.
Notice on the grounds of redundancy is one of the most frequently used, but also most abused grounds for notice. Some employers use it as a pretext for dismissing an employee without any real organizational change having taken place.
The court is able to uncover such a situation. If the employee proves, for example, that someone else was put in their position and that the job content remained the same, the notice may be declared invalid.
In the case of genuine redundancy, there is also an obligation to pay severance of one to three average monthly earnings, depending on the length of employment. This, too, must be factored in when implementing organizational changes.
An employer cannot give notice based on an immediate feeling that the employee is not achieving the required results. Such a notice requires a step-by-step procedure:
Skipping this procedure renders the notice invalid regardless of how justified the employer’s dissatisfaction is.
The Labor Code lays down a strict regime for delivering notices and summary terminations. The notice should preferably be handed over in person, directly at the workplace. Alternatives are personal delivery anywhere else, delivery via the data box (datová schránka) or electronically, but only if the conditions required by law are met. Only if delivery directly at the workplace is not possible is the employer entitled to deliver by post – and even that has its specific rules, and an ordinary letter is not enough.
If the employee refuses to accept the notice when it is handed over in person, the Labor Code states that it is deemed delivered on the day of refusal. The employer must, however, properly document such a situation.
The process of ending employment does not end with handing over the notice and the expiry of the notice period. In connection with the end of employment, the employer also has, among other things, further obligations:
No. The employer must always state a specific ground for notice in line with the Labor Code. A notice without a reason or with an insufficiently described reason is invalid. The employee, on the other hand, may give notice at any time and without stating a reason.
When notice is given for organizational reasons (redundancy of the employee), the employee becomes entitled to severance pay. The amount depends on the length of the employment.
The Labor Code expressly states that if the employee refuses to accept the notice, it is deemed delivered on the day of refusal. The employer must document this situation – ideally in the presence of two witnesses who draw up a record of the refusal to accept.
Only for a particularly gross breach of work duties – one where the employer cannot fairly be expected to keep the employee at work for the duration of the notice period. Exactly where this line lies is determined by Supreme Court case law. Without knowing it, summary termination is a very risky step for the employer.
An agreement is a bilateral act – both parties must agree on the terms and the end date. No reason needs to be stated, and no notice period runs. For the employer, it is the safer option; for the employee, it may be advantageous or disadvantageous – depending on the specific terms.
Together against employment law pitfalls. We are your partner – always ready to defend your interests. Contact us at info@endors.cz or fill in the form and Ondřej Chlada will arrange a no-obligation consultation with you.
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Attorney Ondřej Chlada is a partner at endors and a leading expert in employment law. He is ranked in Chambers Europe and Best Lawyers, has 15+ years of experience and has handled hundreds of employment cases – on the side of both employers and employees.
→ Schedule a consultation with Ondřej. Or contact us directly: info@endors.cz | +420 601 501 630
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