Abandonment of work by an employee and compensation for the employer?
An employment contract, which is the most popular form of employment in Poland, is extremely valued because it provides employees with security of their interests and stable employment. At the same time, the employer’s rights are also protected by it. The employment contract provides for a notice period that both parties are obliged to observe. In the light of the law, it is not possible for an employee who unilaterally terminates the employment relationship to leave their job overnight. Is the employer entitled to compensation in such a case? If so, how to apply for it?
Abandonment of work – when is an employee entitled to such a right?
The employment contract can be terminated by both parties, but then the employee is obliged to observe the notice period. The employment relationship can also come to an end by mutual agreement and if both agree to it, the notice period may lose its meaning. Otherwise, it is not possible for the employee to leave the job, except for the notice period, but there are two exceptions to this rule.
The Labour Code provides that an employee may leave work without notice if there is a serious breach of the employer’s basic obligations towards the employee. The definition of a serious breach is not clear, so if the employee takes advantage of such a solution, the case may end up in court and the employee is not necessarily right, because the burden of proving the employer’s misconduct that resulted in the abandonment of work rests with the employee.
The second exception concerns the employee’s health situation. An employee may leave work if, after a medical examination, it is found that the duties he or she performs have a detrimental effect on the employee’s health. However, abandonment of work in such a case is legal only if the employer does not transfer the person concerned to another job suitable for his or her professional qualifications and health condition.
The consequences of an employee’s abandonment are not drawn only in these cases. However, if the abandonment of work was due to the fault of the employee, in such a situation the employer may want to apply for compensation.
Abandonment of work due to the employee’s fault – can the employer apply for compensation?
Apart from these two exceptions, it is illegal for an employee to leave their job. At the same time, the Labour Code does not provide for the possibility of directly applying for compensation for such a reason. According to the law, despite the abandonment of work by the employee, the employment relationship has not been terminated and it continues. The employer may seek justice in another way – by proving a serious breach of employee duties by an employee who has left work. The employer of those who decide to follow this path may then terminate the employment contract without notice due to the employee’s fault. This solution can be used when the employee terminated the contract immediately and unjustifiably. The possible consequences of abandoning work will then be determined by the Labour Court. The amount of such compensation is the amount of remuneration due for the notice period.
It happens that employees simply leave their workplace overnight. In such a case, you can also apply for compensation. In this case, it will concern failure to appear at work and the resulting damage. When applying to the court for compensation, the employer must prove the damage resulting from the employee’s abandonment of work. The content of the lawsuit must contain a detailed list of losses incurred by the company that resulted from the employee’s absence. If the court agrees with the employer, the former employee will be obliged to cover the damage.
How to avoid the risk of abandoning your job?
Job abandonment is rare, as employees are aware of the risks they take by deciding to do so. Regardless of the reasons, it is definitely better and safer to get along with the employer. However, when a job is abandoned, the situation is not comfortable for the company, because the losses resulting from a sudden change in the situation are real. Therefore, it is worth making every effort to ensure that job abandonment does not occur in the future. In this context,recruitment and selection of employees from the outset is crucial. If the company does not have an extensive HR department, the way to reduce the risk of the employee leaving the job is to use external support in the form of a recruitment agency.
In the case of positions where there is a lot of turnover by nature, and which do not require particularly high qualifications, a very popular solution is to work with a temporary employment agency. Thanks to this, the employer does not incur costs related to recruitment. It only pays the remuneration for employees de facto employed by the agency. This greatly reduces the number of interviews, reduces the risk of ineffective selection of suitable candidates and the occurrence of a situation such as job abandonment. Money spent on temporary employment becomes fixed costs of the company, which is beneficial for tax reasons.
Another advantage of such a solution is flexible employment – additional hands to work appear in the company only when they are necessary. In the remaining period, the employer does not have to maintain unnecessary jobs and incur financial losses on this account. A classic employment contract is therefore a good solution for hiring specialists whom the employer wants to attract for a longer period of time. The remaining positions can be successfully filled with temporary workers employed by the agency.
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