Dismissal for professional unfitness. What is meant by “the date of establishing the cause of dismissal” for professional unfitness, for the purpose of Art. 62 para. (1) of the Labour Code

DEZBATERI

Abstract

According to Art. 62 para. (1) of the Labour Code, in case the dismissal occurs for the reasons referred to in Art. 61 letter c), namely for the employee’s physical and/or mental unfitness, which does not allow them to fulfil their job duties, the employer is required to issue the dismissal decision within 30 calendar days from the date of establishing the cause of dismissal. In order to trigger the dismissal procedure, according to the provisions of Art. 61 letter c), the employer must establish that there is a “cause of dismissal”, namely it must have information, concrete data that the fitness for work statement issued by the occupational physician, which shows that the employee does no longer have the necessary skills for the position held, is final, either by not being challenged within 7 working days of receipt of the fitness for work statement, or by rejection of the employee's objection against this decision. We also emphasize the need for additional information to employees regarding the importance of the fitness for work statement issued by the occupational physician for their professional career, the consequences that may arise from this document during the performance of the employment relationship. 

Keywords: dismissal for professional unfitness; date of establishing the cause of dismissal; fitness for work statement – time limit for filing an objection