In case of employment relationships established for indefinite period, the Labor Code does not require the employee to terminate his employment, however, this does not mean that the employee is entitled to terminate his employment without downloading the applicable notice period and / or in writing.
A typical case of employee illegality is failure to download the notice period. In many cases, employees forget the fact that they are obliged to “work off” the entire period of the – at least – 30-day notice period applicable to them, since in the event of employee termination we cannot speak of a mandatory dismissal period. The conduct of the disappearing employee, who did not prove his absence, could be assessed as an unlawful termination of employment, even under the scope of the 1992 Labor Code, on the basis of judicial practice. But what does this mean in everyday life?
In the event of the unlawful termination of an employment relationship of indefinite duration, the employee may be demanded the amount of the absence fee for the period of notice applicable to him or her, and in the case of termination of employment. Upon determining this, it must be taken into account that the parties may deviate from the 30 days in an employment contract and a notice period of up to 6 months may be stipulated.
In fixed-term legal relationships, the employee is obliged to pay an absence fee for the remaining time of the fixed term, but not exceeding 3 months, in case of illegality. That is, if there are still 2 months left in the employment relationship, the employee is liable with a 2-month absence fee, and if there are more than 3 months left, with a 3-month absence fee, regardless of whether it is 4 months or just 4 months. there are still years left in the legal relationship.
The amount thus determined functions as a flat-rate compensation, although the employer does not have to prove any damage or disadvantage in order to enforce it. The employer is entitled to claim damages in excess of this, up to a maximum of the employee’s 12-month absence fee. In practice, however, given that the occurrence, amount and causal link of the damage must be proved by the employer upon termination of the employee’s illegal employment, itemized compensation is established only in exceptional cases.
As a general rule, the employer can enforce a claim for damages against the employee in court (in an employment lawsuit), but up to three times the current minimum wage, ie currently up to HUF 502,200, can be avoided: the employer can enforce the claim by demanding payment. In the event of a conflict, the summons for payment also becomes a lawsuit, but in the absence thereof, an enforcement clause can be requested from that court, and thus the summons for payment becomes directly enforceable.
It should be noted that the legal consequences of the termination of an employee’s illegal employment relationship and the employer’s immediate termination are mutually exclusive legal institutions. That is, if the employer terminates with immediate effect due to the employee’s unjustified absence, the unlawful termination of the employee can no longer be interpreted because the employment relationship has been terminated by the employer.
