SLOVENIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Jernej Jeraj and Katja Triller Vrtovec, PFP Law
the violations are so severe that the employer cannot reasonably be expected to continue the employment relationship until the end of the notice period. The severity of a violation is a legal standard that must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Extraordinary terminations typically occur in situations involving criminal offences against the employer, intentional breaches of critical obligations that could lead to sig - nificant material damage to the employer, violations of sick leave policies, or failure to report to work for several consecutive days without a valid excuse. Certain categories of workers enjoy special protec - tion against ordinary termination, which needs to be considered in the termination proceeding (certain par - ents, disabled persons, older employees, trade union representatives, employees on sick leave, etc). Termination Procedure The procedures for termination vary depending on the grounds for termination. ZDR-1 regulates the manda - tory elements of the termination letter, as well as the manner in which it must be served. It needs to be emphasised that the employer’s termination always needs to contain a justification therefor. The termi - nation needs to be as detailed as possible (particu - larly with regard to the relevant facts), as the court assessment of the termination – in case the employee decides to file a lawsuit challenging the termination – is always limited only to the termination reasons stated in the termination, meaning that the employer is later prevented from justifying the termination with any reasons that were not stated in the termination. Collective bargaining agreements or even an employ - er’s internal regulations often regulate individual types of termination procedures in more detail. Termination for business reasons For termination based on business reasons, the employer needs to prepare a written termination con - taining justified reasons for termination and serve it to the employee in accordance with the law. The busi - ness reasons must be such that the employer will be able to prove their existence in case of a legal dis - pute. Although the courts are not allowed to assess the business decisions of the employer (and thus assess whether a decision leading to termination is
economically sound, necessary, prudent, etc), in case of dispute the employer will still need to prove that the reasons for termination actually existed and explain why the work of the terminated employee has become redundant. Employees are entitled to the mandatory notice peri - ods (or longer if contractually agreed) and to a statu - tory severance pay, which depends on the length of the employee’s employment with the employer and their average salary prior to the termination. Termination for incompetence For termination due to an employee’s incompetence, the employer needs to monitor the employee’s work for a certain period and, based on this, prepare a writ - ten justification of the termination summarising their findings. “Employee’s incompetence” means that the employee is not able to provide the contractually agreed performance because they are not performing their work with the expected level of quality, profes - sionalism or on time, or no longer meet the statutory job requirements. The termination reasons cannot be based on an employee’s health issues, and termina - tion for incompetence does not come into question when the employee’s non-performance is based on the employee’s violation of obligations in the employ - ment relationship. As in the case of termination due to the employee’s fault (ie, breach of obligations in the employment rela - tionship (see below for more)), the employee needs to be invited to a hearing (at least three business days before the scheduled hearing) in which they are allowed to present their statement with regard to the termination reasons and also the evidence in their favour. After the hearing, the employer decides whether the termination will be issued. If the employer proceeds with the termination, the termination must also contain the employer’s position on the main argu - ments provided by the employee during the hearing or in the employee’s written statement. The termina - tion cannot be issued later than six months after the employer became aware of the employee’s incom - petence. In the case of termination due to incompetence, the employee generally has the right to the same notice
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