Termination of employment

Termination of employment relations is possible, according to the Labour Code of the Republic of Belarus, on the following basic grounds:

· Agreement between the parties. An employment contract, both for a definite and indefinite period, can be terminated upon agreement between employer and employee.

· Expiration of the period for which employment contract was concluded is another ground for terminating an employment contract, except in the cases where employment contract continues de facto and neither party demands that employment relations be terminated. This ground for termination of employment contract can be raised in relation to all contracts concluded for a definite period. The transfer of employee to another employer leads to termination of existing employment contract and is only possible with prior consent of employee which should be given in writing. The Labour Code stipulates as a ground to terminate an employment contract, for instance, the refusal from continuation of work because of significant changes of work conditions, as well as refusal to continue work because of change of the ownership, or because of reorganization (merger, annexation, changing of legal form). An employer can dismiss an employee according to the termination of employment contract with prior probation period, only in the case of unsatisfactory probation period. The employer must justify why the employee did not meet expectations. If the justification given is unsatisfactory, such termination may be challenged in court.

· Termination of employment relations irrespective of parties' will constitutes another group of grounds for termination of employment contract. The reason for such termination is usually an initiative of the third parties or emergence of objective obstacles, which prevent continuation of employment relations. Other grounds, not depending on the will of the parties, include reinstatement of employee, who previously performed the work (for example where the court declared unlawful dismissal, or if the former employee finished his or her term at elective office).

Basically, labour legislation provides a number of limitations for termination of employment contract on the initiative of employer.

The exhaustive list of grounds for termination of employment contract according to initiative of employer can be found in the Labour Code. It is emphasized that no other grounds for dismissal of an employee can be raised by an employer besides:

a) Inadequacy of employee to his or her position or performed work because of state of health.

b) Inadequacy of employee to his or her position or work because of insufficient qualification, which prevents carrying out his or her work.

c) Non-fulfillment by employee of his or her duties according to employment contract or rates of work without good reason. If the employee has previously been a subject of disciplinary sanction, is another ground of termination of employment contract.

d) Absence from work for three hours or more at workplace without good reason.

e) Non-appearance at work for more than four successive weeks because of temporary incapacity to work, unless the legislation provided for a longer period of reservation of working place.

f) Appearance at work under the influence of alcohol or drugs, as well as consumption of alcoholic beverages in working time at the work place.

g) Theft of employer's property, which is established by a court sentence, or administrative sanction by a competent body.

The legislation does not provide for the obligation of the employer or employee to give a notice on the intention to terminate the employment contract on the expiration of its term. However, this rule can be included in a collective agreement. In these cases, the notice will be obligatory.

Employment contract concluded for a definite period of time implies that the parties have agreed on the limitation of the term of contract for a particular duration. Employment contract concluded for the definite period of time ‘worsens’ the position of the employee because the employer has the right to dismiss the employee on the ground of expiration of the contract without any additional procedures, such as prior notice or justification.

As regards contracts concluded for both limited or indefinite duration, the employee has to notify the employer at least one month in advance about his/her desire to terminate employment relationship.

In case of redundancy, the employer must inform the employee two months in advance of the expected dismissal, as well as notify the public employment service. Upon the employee's consent, the employer can replace the period of notice by the two-month salary compensation instead of notice.

Find in the text the English equivalents for the following word combinations:

1. основание для расторжения договора, 2. фактическое продолжение трудового договора, 3. перевод работника на другую работу, 4. предварительное согласие работника, 5. существенные изменения условий труда, 6. неудовлетворительные результаты испытательного срока, 7. работник не оправдал надежды, 8. увольнение можно обжаловать в суде, 9. возникновение объективных причин, препятствующих продолжению трудовых отношений, 10. незаконное увольнение, 11. несоответствие занимаемой должности, 12. временная нетрудоспособность, 13. уведомление о намерении расторгнуть договор, 14. истечение срока действия договора, 15. уведомлять бюро по трудоустройству.

Define whether the statements are true or false. Justify your choice.

1. Employment contract continues de factoif neither party demands that employment relations be terminated.

2. The transfer of employee to another employer leads to termination of existing employment contract and doesn’t require prior consent of employee.

3. Significant changes of work conditions may be a ground to terminate an employment contract.

4. An employer can always dismiss an employee according to the termination of employment contract with prior probation period.

5. Termination of employment contract may be challenged in court.

6. Reinstatement of unlawfully dismissed employee can’t be a ground for termination of employment contract.

7. If the employee has previously been a subject of disciplinary sanction, is not a ground for termination of employment contract.

8. Non-appearance at work for more than two successive weeks because of temporary incapacity to work may be a ground to terminate an employment contract.

9. Absence from work for three hours or more at workplace without good reason is not a ground for termination of employment contract.

10. The employer has the right to dismiss the employee on the ground of expiration of the contract without prior notice if the employment contract was concluded for the definite period of time.

11. In case of redundancy, the employer must inform the employee three months in advance of the expected dismissal, as well as notify the public employment service.

Read the text and get ready to discuss it.

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