I’ve skimmed through several previous threads and the Labor Standards Act to no avail - does anyone know what the required notice period is for leaving a job with a fixed-term contract lasting two years? Asking for a friend.
Articles 15 and 16 of the LSA seem to refer to fixed-term contracts of more than 3 years (30 days notice after 3 years) and non-fixed-term contracts of any length (10 days notice for more than 3 months but less than one year, 20 days notice for more than 1 year but less than 3 years, and 30 days notice for more than 3 years), but I don’t see anything in the LSA for fixed-term contracts of less than three years. Am I missing something? The required notice period doesn’t seem to be specified in the contract itself, either.
The person has held the job for slightly over a year so far, if that’s relevant.
Article 15
In the case of a specific fixed term contract for a term of more than three years, a worker may, upon completion of three years’ work, terminate the contract by giving the employer an advance notice thirty days before he/her severance.
In the case of a worker terminating a non-fixed term contract, the provisions of Paragraph 1 of Article 16 pertaining to the prescribed time limit for serving an advance notice shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Article 16
Where an employer terminates a labor contract pursuant to Article 11 or the provisions of Article 13, the provisions set forth below shall govern the minimum period of advance notice:
Where a worker has worked continuously for more than three months but less than one year, the notice shall be given ten days in advance.
Where a worker has worked continuously for more than one year but less than three years, the notice shall be given twenty days in advance.
Where a worker has worked continuously for more than three years, the notice shall be given thirty days in advance.
Edit - thanks for moving, @tempogain - wasn’t sure which of the two would be more suitable.
unless stared in the contract, to the best of my knowledge it depends on how long you actually worked, not how long you plan to work there or how long the contract is.
Thanks for answering…but I’m a bit confused - are you saying that there’s no defined notice period for such contracts, or that you’re “not allowed” to end them?
There doesn’t appear to be anything in the employment contract about this (from what I’m told - I can’t read it, personally).
I don’t know how Article 489 defines a “serious occurrence”, but I think one could make the case that at least 4 of the 6 situations specified in Article 14 (subparagraphs 1, 2, 5, and 6) apply here, although these may have lasted longer than the “within 30 days of the date the employee became knowledgeable of the situation”.
Thanks for your answer. That would be my interpretation too…but do you know where these periods are defined - are they just those given in Article 16, despite the fact that the preceding text seems to suggest that those refer to the employer terminating the contract? Is it just a translation issue?
Unless stated in the contract, the option does not exist. The point of LSA Art. 15 is that if you have an especially long contract or an indefinite contract, you don’t need an oppressive boss or force majeure as your excuse to terminate – you can just say okay I’ve had this job long enough, time to move on. But it only applies to long-term and indefinite contracts, as stated in the article.
(NB: As a foreigner, you cannot have an indefinite contract unless you are a permanent resident. If you are not a PR but have an “indefinite” contract anyway, the law automatically reduces the length of the contract to max. 3 years. This is where LSA Art. 9 contradicts Employment Service Act Art. 52, but the Supreme Court has found, at least twice, that the ESA prevails over the LSA on this question.)
Otherwise, you can still terminate if you have an oppressive boss (LSA Art. 14) or a “serious occurrence” (CC Art. 489), and in either of these cases no notice period is required.
Of course, you can try to quit anyway, but if the contract is not legally terminated, the employer does not need to accept your resignation, and the employer can sue for breach of contract. In most cases this won’t be worth the time, energy, and money required, so the employer will instead make the termination official by firing you via LSA Art. 12, which means no notice period and no severance pay.
The best option, if you have no legal way to resign, is to negotiate a settlement with the employer. You can ask the labor department to help by arranging mediation (for free).
I’m not 100% sure, but I would guess it’s calendar/total days, i.e., working days plus leave days and rest days. At least, that’s how days are counted for other stuff where it’s in the employer’s interest to do it like that, so it would be inconsistent to do it differently here.
I think if the LSA meant “working days” it’d say that anyway.
