Practice Areas
Employment and Social Security Law
Support on both the employer and employee side — from drafting employment contracts to termination, employee claims and workplace accident litigation.
The legal relationship between employee and employer is subject to delicate balances and strict formal requirements, from the conclusion of the employment contract through to termination and the settlement that follows. In practice, a significant proportion of disputes arise from incomplete or incorrectly maintained personnel files, from terminations carried out without meeting the duty to inform, and from negotiations not conducted in accordance with proper procedure.
Our work covers both bringing human resources processes into line with employment legislation (preventive counsel) and pursuing employee receivables, reinstatement and compensation claims arising after termination. In mandatory and voluntary mediation in particular, our guiding principles are to protect the free will of the parties, to provide comprehensive legal information, and to prevent the risk that a settlement record is later set aside on grounds of defective consent or unconscionable advantage.
Scope of Services
- Employment Contracts and Internal Procedures: fixed and indefinite term contracts, non-competition and confidentiality undertakings, disciplinary regulations and written notices to staff, prepared in compliance with the legislation
- Termination Processes and Preventive Law: establishing the conditions for termination with just or valid cause, managing warning and defence procedures, and calculating severance and notice pay exposure
- Mandatory and Voluntary Mediation: representation in mediation meetings and legal review of settlement documents so that they carry no risk of defective consent or unconscionable advantage
- Reinstatement Actions: pursuing claims for invalidity of termination and reinstatement within the statutory periods, through mandatory mediation and the proceedings that follow
- Employee Receivable Claims: severance pay, notice pay, overtime, national and public holiday pay, annual paid leave entitlements and outstanding wage disputes
- Workplace Accident and Occupational Disease Claims: pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages and recourse actions
- Social Security Disputes: determination of service, determination of earnings subject to premium, and objections or proceedings against institutional decisions
Frequently Asked Questions
- What deadlines and procedures apply before bringing a reinstatement action?
- Under Article 3 of the Labour Courts Act No. 7036 and Article 20 of the Labour Code No. 4857, an employee whose contract has been terminated must apply to a mediator, as a procedural condition, within one month of being served with the termination notice. If the mediation ends without agreement, the reinstatement action must be brought before the labour court within two weeks of the date of the final minutes. These are forfeiture periods, and an action brought directly will be dismissed on procedural grounds.
- Can a mediation settlement record later be set aside?
- As a rule, a mediation settlement document has the character of a judgment. However, in line with the settled case law of the Court of Cassation, annulment may be sought where the settlement was signed without allowing the party (particularly the employee) adequate time to consider it, under pressure, without being informed of the true extent of the claims, or where consent was vitiated by mistake, fraud, duress or unconscionable advantage. Informing the parties and ensuring their will is expressed freely is therefore essential to the binding effect of mediation.
- Is mediation mandatory for claims arising from workplace accidents or occupational disease?
- No. Under Article 3/3 of Act No. 7036, claims for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages arising from a workplace accident or occupational disease, together with related actions for determination, objection and recourse, fall outside mandatory mediation. Such claims may be brought directly before the competent labour court without first applying to a mediator.
- What are the basic conditions for entitlement to severance pay?
- Under Article 14 of Act No. 1475, the employee must have worked for at least one full year at workplaces belonging to the same employer. The contract must also have ended in one of the ways expressly listed in the legislation: termination by the employer without just or valid cause, termination by the employee for just cause under Article 24 of Act No. 4857, retirement, compulsory military service, or termination by a female employee within one year of the date of marriage.
The explanations on this page are for general information only and do not constitute legal opinion. Every dispute must be assessed on its own facts.
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