Termination of Employment in Serbia

1) What types of employment termination are there?

In Serbia, there are several ways employment can be terminated: mutual agreement, termination by the employer, resignation by the employee, and termination of employment by force of law.

2) What are the legal grounds for termination initiated by the employer?

An employer can terminate an employment contract for reasons stipulated by the Labor Law, and there are several grounds for termination prescribed by the Law. An employer can terminate an employment contract if there is a justified reason related to the employee's work ability and behavior, if an employee is at fault for violating a work obligation, if an employee does not respect work discipline, and if there is a justified reason related to the needs of the employer.

3) What are the legal procedures required for terminating an employee?

Depending on the reason for termination, the employer must send a warning to the employee and give them a deadline to respond. After that, they can terminate the employment contract by issuing a reasoned decision. The employee has the right to initiate a court dispute against the mentioned decision.

4) What are the mandatory notice periods for termination?

If the termination is due to a violation of work discipline or breach of work obligations, the employer must give the employee a period of 8 days to respond to the warning. If this warning cannot be delivered to the employee, it shall be posted on the employer notice board, and the employer must wait 8 more days to issue termination decision.The same deadline applies to the termination decision as well.

5) What severance pay and compensation are employees entitled to?

Employees are entitled to severance pay when they retire or if their employment contract is terminated due to technological redundancy. The amount of severance pay is determined by a collective agreement or an employment contract, but it cannot be lower than the sum of one-third of the employee's salary for each year worked in the employment relationship with the employer with whom they are entitled to severance pay. Besides the aforementioned, employees may also be entitled to other compensations in accordance with the law, general acts, or the employment contract.

6) How should employers handle termination due to poor performance or misconduct?

In the case of termination due to failure to achieve work results, it is necessary to give the employee a deadline to improve their work, after which the termination procedure can be initiated. In the case of a violation of work discipline or a work obligation, employers can immediately terminate the contract with a prior warning and allowing time for the employee to respond, as described in one of the previous points.

7) What legal recourse is available to employees in case of unlawful termination?

Employee can address to court by filing a lawsuit for annulment of unlawful termination, within 60 days from delivery of the decision or knowledge of committed violation of employee's rights. The employee is entitled to compensation for damages in the form of lost wages and has the right to request reinstatement to work.

8) What is the procedure for terminating an employment contract with foreign nationals?

A foreign national who is employed or temporarily employed in the Republic of Serbia in accordance with the Law on Employment of Foreigners has equal rights and obligations regarding work, employment, and self-employment as citizens of the Republic of Serbia, if the conditions in accordance with the law are met. The procedure for terminating an employment contract does not differ from the procedure prescribed for domestic citizens.

Author: Medo Zornić