According to the Labor Code, there are various ways of terminating the employment contract, the rule being one of the following: Expiry (cfr. arts. 343 ff), Revocation (cfr. arts. 349 ff); Dismissal for a fact attributable to the employee (cfr. arts. 351 ff); Collective dismissal (cfr. arts. 367 ff); Dismissal for redundancy (cfr. Arts. 367ff); Dismissal due to unsuitability (Arts. 373ff); Termination by the employee (Arts. 394ff) and Termination by the employee (Arts. 400ff) (all articles refer to the Labor Code).
For the purposes of this article, article 400 of the Labor Code lays down the general rules regarding the periods of notice with which the employee must terminate the contract (i.e. give the employer notice of this intention).
Thus, in the case of an open-ended employment contract, the minimum notice period for the employee to terminate the employment contract is 30 days if they have up to and including two years' seniority; or 60 days if they have more than two years' seniority.
In the case of a fixed-term employment contract, the minimum notice for the employee to terminate the employment contract will be 30 days if the duration of the contract is 6 months or more, or 15 if it is less than 6 months - in this context, the time already elapsed, inc. renewals, will be relevant.
Finally, in the case of an employment contract for an uncertain term, the minimum notice for the employee to terminate the employment contract will be 30 days if the contract has been in force for 6 months or more, or 15 if it has been in force for less than 6 months.
It should be emphasized that this behavior corresponds to a notice, and the time limit begins to run (as well as its effectiveness) from the moment it reaches the employer's sphere of knowledge as the addressee, or that, through no fault of its own (e.g. refusal), this has not happened (cf. art. 224 of the Civil Code).
It is also a communication which does not require written form to be effective, but which is preponderant for evidential purposes (for the benefit of the employee).
Finally, it should be noted that the purpose of the legally established notice period is to protect the counterparty in the event of an untimely termination, which they are not expecting, so that they can take precautions and safeguard the performance of their duties and/or the proper functioning of the company/establishment when the contract comes to an end.
As for absences - "absence of a worker from the place where he or she was supposed to work during the normal daily working period", as is well known, they can be justified or unjustified.
As far as this article is concerned, justified absences are those caused by the inability to work due to a fact not attributable to the worker, namely illness (see Article 249(2)(d) of the Labour Code).
Absences due to illness (unforeseeable) must be reported "as soon as possible", and the employer may require proof of the facts, which in this case can be proved by a statement from a hospital, health center or medical certificate (see Article 253(2) and Article 254(2), both of the Labour Code).
As for its effects, Article 256(1) of the Labour Code states that "justified absence shall not affect any right of the worker", except for the provisions of Article 256(2), i.e. with regard to remuneration, and provided that the worker benefits from a social security sickness protection scheme (see Article 255(2)(a) of the Labour Code).
Therefore, in the event of illness, most of the general obligations inherent to the contractual / employment relationship are maintained, including the employee's right to terminate the employment contract and the employee's duty to give the legally required notice.
In this case, it is also forbidden (for the most part) for the employer to allow the employee to take the vacation days he has left to take during the notice period, under the terms of the provisions of no. 5 of art. 241 and no. 3 of art. 243, both of the Labor Code.
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Final notes:
(1)
If the employee does not comply with the notice period, Article 401 of the Labour Code stipulates that he/she must pay the employer compensation equal to the basic salary and seniority corresponding to the missing period, which, as a rule, operates through compensation on the employer's initiative, when paying the amount due for termination of the employment contract - e.g. proportional untaken vacation days, proportional vacation and Christmas bonuses, salary due on the date proportional to the days worked, etc. - and the remainder will be paid.
In addition to the amount owed, the employer may also claim from the employee the amount owed by way of compensation for damage caused by the failure to observe the notice period (since the notice period is based on the possibility of the employer ensuring that a third party can carry out their duties, which is made impossible by this failure), or for an obligation assumed by a permanent contract.
(2)
Under the applicable social protection legislation, sickness benefit is only payable to the worker from the fourth day of illness, which does not prevent the loss of pay referred to in this article.
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