How to dismiss an employee in disciplinary mode in Poland?

Employers often ask whether they can dismiss an employee by disciplinary action and how to do so in accordance with the law. For such a dismissal to be legal, certain formal requirements must be met.

What is a disciplinary dismissal?

Disciplinary dismissal is the termination of an employee’s contract without a notice period and through no fault of the employee. It is an extraordinary way of ending the employment relationship, which requires special circumstances. Disciplinary dismissal should therefore always be preceded by a case-by-case analysis.

When can an employee be dismissed by disciplinary action?

There are a number of possible reasons for disciplinary dismissal, but the most common one is a serious breach of basic employee duties. The Labour Code does not define specific examples of such a breach. It is therefore up to the employer to assess whether a particular behavior justifies disciplinary dismissal.

It has to take into account whether the behavior should be unlawful, culpable and whether it has caused negative consequences for the company.

In practice, this type of dismissal is rarely used, usually in situations of gross misconduct. Determining whether an employee’s behavior is grounds for disciplinary dismissal can be difficult, so it is recommended that you consult a lawyer specializing in employment law. He or she will help to analyze the situation and assess the case based on court decisions in similar cases.

Reasons for disciplinary dismissal – examples

The most common reasons for disciplinary dismissal are:

• inebriation at work,
• theft of company property,
• bullying,
• fraud against the employer,
• sexual harassment in the workplace,
• unexcused absences and lateness.

An employee may also be dismissed if he or she has committed a crime that makes it impossible for him or her to continue in his or her position. In such a situation, the condition for such dismissal is that the crime is obvious or established by a final court judgment. Disciplinary dismissal is also possible in the event of the loss of a licence or qualifications necessary to perform the job.

Do you know how much time an employer has for disciplinary dismissal?

The time limit for disciplinary dismissal in Poland is one month from the date the employer learns of the breach. After this period, an employee cannot be disciplinary dismissed for this violation.

However, the jurisprudence of the courts allows the deadline to be counted from the completion of the employer’s investigation. This mainly applies to situations where the determination of the circumstances of the case is more complicated and requires more time.

Therefore, the employer should first undertake an investigation. If the employer establishes that the employee has committed a serious breach of his or her duties, he or she may, within one month, hand him or her a disciplinary discharge, i.e. a unilateral statement of termination without notice through the fault of the employee.

What should the disciplinary dismissal contain?

The employer’s statement should include:

• place and date,
• information about employer and the employee,
• modes of employment termination
• the date of conclusion of the employment contract,
• the reason for dismissal,
• signature,
• an instruction about the employee’s right of appeal to the labor court.

The reason for dismissal should be sufficiently clear and specific so that the employee can verify the conduct in question. However, describing the reason in too much detail may work against the employer. We therefore recommend that you seek specialist advice before handing the dismissal to the employee.

In addition, the document may also include a space for the employee’s signature and the date the letter was received. However, the refusal of the employee to sign does not affect the effectiveness of the dismissal.

Electronic or handwritten signature?

The employer’s statement must be in writing and signed by hand. If the document is signed with a qualified electronic signature, it should be delivered electronically.

Appeal to court

The employee has the right to appeal to the labor court within 21 days of receiving the dismissal. In such a case, the court will examine the reason for the dismissal, so it is advisable to secure evidence to prove it and identify potential witnesses.

Employer’s obligations after dismissal

The employment contract is terminated with immediate effect on the day the notice is handed in.

However, the employer is obliged to:

• pay the employee his/her salary for his/her previous work
• to settle other benefits resulting from the employment relationship, e.g. compensation for unused holiday calculated proportionally to the date of termination of employment
• immediately issue an employment certificate to the employee
• de-registering the employee from the Social Insurance Institution

However, it should be remembered that both the issuance of an employment certificate and the de-registration of the employee from the Social Insurance Institution should take place within a maximum of 7 days from the termination of the contract. In addition, the employer should indicate on the employment certificate that the contract was terminated by disciplinary action.

Disciplinary dismissal and risk of litigation – how to prepare?

Disciplinary dismissal involves a much higher risk of litigation than ordinary dismissal and requires compliance with numerous formal requirements. Therefore, we recommend consulting an employment law specialist. The specialists at our law firm will help you to draw up the disciplinary dismissal correctly and will advise you on how to conduct the meeting with the employee.