SLOVENIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Jernej Jeraj and Katja Triller Vrtovec, PFP Law
7.2 Notice Periods ZDR-1 determines the statutory notice periods that apply to various types of ordinary terminations. No notice periods apply for extraordinary terminations. The law sets forth minimum notice periods in favour of the employee, which can be extended either by collective bargaining agreements or by individual employment agreements. The shortest notice periods apply to terminations dur - ing the probationary period, where either side can ter - minate the agreement with seven days’ notice. If the employee terminates the employment agree - ment outside of the probationary period, the notice period cannot exceed 60 days (unless a longer notice period is agreed upon with a legal representative of the employer). If the parties agree upon no notice period, then the 15-day notice period applies if the employee has been employed for less than a year, and a 30-day notice period applies when the employee has been employed for more than a year with the employer. When the employer terminates the contract for busi - ness reasons or due to employee incompetence, the notice period is 15 days for up to one year of service and 30 days for service exceeding one year. After two years of employment, the 30-day notice period increases by two days for each completed additional year of service, up to a maximum of 60 days. After 25 years of service, the notice period is 80 days, unless otherwise specified by a branch collective agreement, but it cannot be less than 60 days. In cases of termination by the employer due to the employee’s fault, the notice period is 15 days. Severance Payment Employees are entitled to a statutory severance pay - ment in the following cases: • employer’s termination due to business reasons or incompetence; • extraordinary termination by the employee (due to the employer’s fault); and • lapse of a fixed-term agreement (with certain exceptions).
Mass Dismissals Special rules apply to mass layoffs (ie, situations when an employer plans to dismiss a certain number of employees within a 30-day period) when they affect: • at least ten employees if the company has between 21 and 99 employees; • at least 10% of employees if the company has between 100 and 299 employees; or • at least 30 employees if the company has 300 or more employees. In such situations, the employer must inform and consult with a recognised trade union and a works council, if they exist within the company. The subject of these consultations is mostly the criteria by which the employer will determine (individual) redundant employees and measures for preventing the loss of employment and those easing the loss of employment (and other elements of the redundancy programme). While the employer is obliged to discuss the redun - dancy programme with the above-mentioned employ - ee representatives, it is not obliged to reach an agree - ment with them on this matter. However, an agreement is still recommendable, as the employer otherwise faces the risk of the employee representatives doing everything in their power to delay or even prevent the mass dismissal. After the consultations with the employee representatives (if applicable), the employer must also submit information on the redundancy pro - gramme to the ESS, which is also entitled to provide its own suggestions to the employer with regard to the measures proposed in the redundancy plan, which the employer must consider as far as possible. If there is no trade union or works council in the com - pany, the redundancy program must be presented to all employees in a meeting. The employer can issue dismissal notices to affected employees 30 days after notifying the ESS in writing about the redundancy plan. The ESS has the authority to extend this 30-day peri - od to 60 days. If the period is extended, the employer may only terminate the employment contracts 60 days after providing the required notification to the ESS as mentioned above.
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