Termination of the employment agreement by the employee, what must the employer take into account?
An employee who terminates an employment contract must observe the notice period. This is usually one month for employees. If the employee does not observe this period, the employer could claim compensation equal to one month’s salary. The consent of an employer is not formally required, but the employer may not simply accept notice of dismissal from an employee in view of the serious consequences. There must be a clear and unambiguous statement by the employee aimed at effecting the termination of the employment agreement. Under certain circumstances, the employer therefore has a duty to investigate whether the employee actually wanted to terminate and an obligation to inform the employee about the consequences of the termination.
To assess whether the employee was serious about resigning, the employer will have to consider at least the following circumstances:
– The state of mind of the employee: if an employee is calm and behaving normally, then it is more likely to be assumed that he actually wanted to resign.
– The extent to which the employee realizes the consequences: if the employee makes it clear that he knows what the consequences are, then the employer may assume resignation sooner than if the employee does not make it clear that he realizes the consequences.
– The time the employee has had to come back to his decision: the more time the employee has had to come back to the decision, the sooner the employer may assume that the resignation was serious.
