Notice period and severance pay
Short answer
The notice period is at least one month. Where the employer gives notice because it is being wound up, because the employee is redundant or because of a long-term loss of medical fitness, it is at least two months for an employment relationship of one to five years and at least three months for one lasting over five years. On other grounds, and where the employee gives notice, it is at least two months if the relationship lasted at least a year. The period always starts on the first day of the month following delivery of the notice.
5 statutory citations below · law as at
The length of the notice period depends not only on the time worked but also on who gives the notice and on what ground. That is the source of most misunderstandings.
The Labour Code sets a minimum. An employment contract or a collective agreement may agree a longer period, but not a shorter one.
Length by situation
The basic length is one month. It applies where the employment relationship lasted less than a year.
Where the employer gives notice because it is being wound up or relocated, because the employee is redundant or because of a long-term loss of medical fitness, the period is at least two months for a relationship of one to five years and at least three months for one lasting at least five years.
Where the employer gives notice on other grounds, the period is at least two months if the relationship lasted at least a year.
Where the employee gives notice and the employment relationship lasted at least a year, the period is at least two months.
When it starts to run
The notice period begins on the first day of the calendar month following delivery of the notice and ends on the last day of the relevant month.
Notice delivered on 2 March and notice delivered on 30 March therefore both start to run on 1 April. The day within the month does not change the length.
Notice must be in writing and delivered, otherwise it is invalid. Once delivered, it may be withdrawn only with the consent of the other party and in writing.
When severance pay is due
Where the employer gives notice because it is being wound up or relocated, because of redundancy or because of a long-term loss of medical fitness: one average monthly wage for a relationship of two to five years, twice that from five to ten years, three times from ten to twenty and four times for over twenty years.
Where the relationship ends by agreement on the same grounds, severance pay is one step higher and is due even to someone who worked less than two years: one wage below two years, twice that from two to five years, then three times, four times and five times for over twenty years.
Where an employee may not carry out work because of an occupational injury or an occupational disease, severance pay is at least ten times the average monthly wage. The Act lists exceptions to this, for example an injury caused by a breach of occupational safety rules.
What tends to be overlooked
Ending the relationship by agreement on organisational grounds tends to be more favourable for the employee than notice, because severance pay is higher in every band. The agreement has to state the ground, otherwise the entitlement is hard to prove.
Where the employer gave notice for redundancy, it may not re-create the abolished position and fill it with another employee for two months.
Financial compensation for not staying during the notice period is due to the employer only where it was agreed in writing in the employment contract, and at most in the amount of the average wage for the length of the notice period.
What the statute says word for word
The wording comes from the same verified corpus of statutes the Paragrafo advisor runs on. Every link opens Slov-Lex, the official register, so you can compare it yourself.
Výpovedná doba je najmenej jeden mesiac, ak tento zákon neustanovuje inak.Výpovedná doba začína plynúť od prvého dňa kalendárneho mesiaca nasledujúceho po doručení výpovede a skončí sa uplynutím posledného dňa príslušného kalendárneho mesiaca, ak tento zákon neustanovuje inak.Ak výpoveď dáva zamestnanec, ktorého pracovný pomer u zamestnávateľa ku dňu doručenia výpovede trval najmenej jeden rok, výpovedná doba je najmenej dva mesiace.Výpoveďou môže skončiť pracovný pomer zamestnávateľ aj zamestnanec. Výpoveď musí byť písomná a doručená, inak je neplatná.Ak zamestnávateľ dal zamestnancovi výpoveď podľa § 63 ods. 1 písm. b), nesmie počas dvoch mesiacov znovu utvoriť zrušené pracovné miesto a prijať po skončení pracovného pomeru na toto pracovné miesto iného zamestnanca.Common misconceptions
The notice period starts on the day the notice is delivered
It starts only on the first day of the following calendar month. Notice delivered in the middle of a month does not start to run straight away.
The employer may give notice without stating a ground
The employer may give notice only on the grounds laid down by the Act, and the ground has to be defined in the notice in terms of the facts so that it cannot be confused with another one. It cannot be changed afterwards.
Severance pay is due whenever the employment relationship ends
It is due only on the grounds the Act lists, that is mainly on organisational changes and on medical unfitness. Where the employee gives notice or where work discipline was breached, no severance pay is due.
An agreement and a notice lead to the same severance pay
They do not. Where the relationship ends by agreement on organisational grounds, severance pay is one step higher in every band and is due even for a relationship shorter than two years, where notice carries none.
Frequently asked questions
What is the notice period after a year of work?
At least two months, regardless of whether the employee or the employer gives the notice. Where the employer gives notice for redundancy or medical unfitness it is also two months, and three months after five years.
Can the notice period be shortened by agreement?
The Labour Code sets a minimum, so a shorter period cannot be agreed. The parties may, however, agree to end the employment relationship by agreement on an earlier date, which is a different way of ending it than notice.
What if the employee does not come to work during the notice period?
The employer is entitled to financial compensation of at most the average monthly wage multiplied by the length of the notice period, but only if such compensation was agreed in writing in the employment contract.
When is ten times the average wage due?
Where an employee may not carry out work because of an occupational injury, an occupational disease or the threat of such a disease, or because the maximum permissible exposure has been reached. The Act lists exceptions to this, for example an injury caused by a breach of safety rules.
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