19.04.2023

HOW TO REFUSE AN OFFER TO TERMINATE AN EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT BY MUTUAL CONSENT

The law in our country states that regardless of whether they are fixed-term or open-ended, all types of employment contracts can be terminated by mutual agreement. In practice, even employers (and often employees) prefer to terminate employment contracts with their employees by mutual agreement.

For employers, this is the most profitable option for terminating employment, because in this way they owe the worker or employee less benefits. Also, let's not forget that the termination procedure by mutual consent is the fastest and easiest from an administrative point of view.

On the other hand, when someone's contract is terminated on this basis, they can, in extremely rare cases, successfully win a potential lawsuit against their employer when they choose to contest the termination.

In many cases, employers offer their subordinates a ready-made termination form, which is designed as an agreement to terminate their relationship by mutual consent, and employees do not know what to do to refuse. What are the options for this and what rights do people have?

First of all, you should know that you should read all the details in the documentation - the reason for the dismissal, the legal basis, the notice periods, the benefits you are charged, etc. Also note that you are not required to sign the documents right away.

Ask the officer to allow you time to familiarize yourself with the documents. If you do not feel sure that you understand what is written in the documents, be sure to consult a person who is familiar with the matter to explain in detail what follows in each case.

The proposal and agreement to terminate the contract must be in writing and the agreement must be received by the party making the proposal within 7 days of receiving the request. This means that you have the right within 7 days to consider your decision. If the procedure for this is not followed, the termination of the employment contract will be outside the legal norms.

Since it is a matter of termination by mutual consent, it follows that it is sufficient not to write the offer, which will be quite sufficient to make your refusal. There are no additional requirements in law to provide reasoned answers as to why you did not accept this offer. If someone tries to pressure you and make it difficult with such demands, then you should know that this action on their part is absolutely illegal.

The same applies to employers, when the initiative to terminate the contract by mutual agreement is on the part of the worker or the employee - there is no requirement that the employer immediately decide on the proposal made, and there is no reason to ask him for reasons in case of a possible refusal to accept.

In cases of lack of any response from any of the parties, this is tantamount to tacit refusal. If one of the parties agrees to the termination, but wants the termination of the contract to be on a different date, it is again not considered a mutual agreement.

Reference:

Art. 325, para. 1, item 1 of the Labor Code