Briefing, negotiations and hidden rights. How not to lose on group leave

Statutory severance pay is not the “good will” of the company, but an obligation resulting from the Act on special rules for terminating employment relationships with employees for reasons not attributable to the employees.

To get it, two basic conditions must be met:

● the employer employs at least 20 employees,

● the reason for terminating the contract does not concern the employee but lies with the employer, such as liquidation of a position, reorganization or job reduction.

Severance pay is not limited to large layoffs involving many people. You may also be entitled to some individual leave if it takes place for reasons not related to the employee.

— The key condition is that the employer employs at least 20 employees. If someone has 18 employees, we do not enter into this Act at all and there is no question of severance pay – explains Tomasz Czerkies.

The amount of severance pay depends on the length of service with a given employer:

● one month's salary – for less than two years of experience,

● two months' salary – for two to eight years of experience,

● three months' salary – for more than eight years of experience.

It is worth remembering that the act also provides for an upper limit for severance pay. It may not exceed 15 times the minimum wage applicable on the date of termination of the employment relationship.

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The reason for dismissal must be specific, true and real

Termination of an employment contract for a fixed or indefinite period by the employer should include the reason for the dismissal. This also applies to situations where the company applies the collective layoff procedure.

According to experts, this is the part of the document that employees should read particularly carefully.

— This reason must be true, specific and real. It cannot be general, such that the employee is not able to find out why his employment contract was terminated – says Tomasz Czerkies.

In practice, the problem arises when the company includes in the notice of termination reasons relating to the employee, such as loss of confidence, lack of availability or improper performance of duties, even though the actual reason for dismissal is employment reduction.

This is important because the right to severance pay may depend on the nature of the reason. If the employee finds that the reason given is fictitious or untrue, he or she may try to challenge it before the labor court.

You have the right to know why you were chosen

If the reduction affects only some people in the same position, the employer should be able to demonstrate the selection criteria for dismissal.

A general statement about job cuts is not enough.

— If the employer reduces employment in a group of people performing the same job, he should also indicate the criteria for selecting employees for dismissal. The lack of such criteria may result in the employee winning the case in court – explains the legal advisor.

The criteria should be documented and communicated to the employee. They may concern, for example, qualifications, work results, experience or internship.

The parties' agreement may be beneficial – but once signed, there is virtually no going back

The parties' agreement does not necessarily have to be unfavorable. On the contrary – it often allows you to achieve more than the regulations provide for.

Employers then offer additional benefits, higher severance pay or the possibility of using the benefits for some time after leaving.

— Every court case takes time, money and the risk of losing. That is why employers often prefer to offer additional benefits in exchange for an agreement, says Tomasz Czerkies.

Simultaneously It is much more difficult to withdraw from the parties' agreement later than from a classic notice of termination. Therefore, each such document should be read carefully and consulted before signing.

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You can negotiate more than just severance pay

Most employees focus on the amount of severance pay. Meanwhile, during conversations you can often also get:

● longer use of private medical care,

● retaining some of the benefits,

● additional cash benefits,

● more favorable settlement of leave and compensation.

As the expert emphasizes, Even the date of termination of the employment relationship itself may be of great importance.

Depending on the structure of the agreement, the employee may gain additional days of leave and a higher allowance for unused leave. Therefore, it is worth calculating not only the amount of severance pay, but also all other elements of the settlement.

It is also worth checking your financial situation beyond the employment contract itself. As Tomasz Czerkies explains, employees covered by group layoffs generally do not have to pay back study costs Whether training financed by the employerif the reason for terminating the contract is the company's fault.

However, the situation is different with loans from employee benefit and loan funds. After termination of the contract, they may become due immediately, so it is worth checking the repayment rules in advance and possibly negotiating them with the union's representatives.

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You only have 21 days to appeal

If you believe that the termination notice is illegal or contains false information, it is not worth postponing the decision until later.

You have 21 days from the date of delivery of the notice to appeal to the labor court.

Claims arising from the employment relationship generally expire after three years, but this does not replace the deadline for contesting the termination itself.

An additional obstacle is the length of such proceedings. — Depending on the region, the court case may take up to three years. For many people, this is reason enough to give up, notes Tomasz Czerkies.

Check if you do not belong to a particularly protected group

During group layoffs, some employees benefit from additional protection.

This includes, among others:

● pregnant women,

● people of pre-retirement age,

● employees taking maternity and parental leave,

● protected trade union activists,

● social labor inspectors.

In some cases, the employer may change working or pay conditions, but cannot terminate the contract in the standard manner. If such a change means a reduction in pay, the protected employee may be entitled to a compensatory allowance paid throughout the protection period.

Getting fired doesn't always mean a final breakup

The entitlement to priority re-employment is little known.

If, after carrying out collective layoffs, the company starts looking for employees from the same professional group again, a former employee may have employment priority.

However, you must remember about the formalities. The intention to return must be reported to the employer within one year of termination of the contract. The employment priority obligation operates through 15 months from the termination of the employment relationship.

Importantly, the regulations do not provide for the obligation to return the statutory severance pay upon returning to the company. However, the situation may be different in the case of additional benefits granted by the employer above the statutory minimum.

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Biggest mistake? The assumption that we have no influence on anything

Information about group layoffs it does not mean that all decisions have been made and nothing depends on the employee.

It is at the stage of analyzing documents, negotiating the terms of departure or checking the grounds for termination that you can avoid costly mistakes. Severance pay, additional benefits, contract termination date or the possibility of returning to the company in the future – all of this is worth checking before you sign the first document.