Flexinovela amendment to Labour Code in practice: changes to notice periods

Under the Labour Code, from 1 June, if an employee or employer wishes to terminate employment by notice, it is essential when the notice is served to the other party. If this happens, for instance, on 15 July, the employment will end on 15 September. If there is no day in the month in which the employment ends that is numerically identical with the date on which the notice was served, the end of the notice period will fall on the last day of that month. For example, if the notice is served on 30 December, the employment will terminate on 28 (or 29) February of the next year.

 

The notice period has been shortened to one month for terminations by the employer on any of the following grounds:

The above rules apply to termination notices served after 1 June 2025.

 

In practice, however, it is quite common for employers to stipulate the rules for termination notice periods in employment contracts. Employment contracts thus often contain the older wording of the law: it is agreed that the notice period shall start to run on the first day of the calendar month following the service of the notice, or that the length of the notice period is without exception two months, or both. How to deal with a situation where the employment contract stipulates something different than the law?

 

The Flexinovela amendment does not give clear guidance on this, and interpretations vary. Even after the amendment, the Labour Code still allows for contractual arrangements different from the law, so we are inclined to take the (prevailing) view that the differing rules arising from the contract will prevail over the wording of the Labour Code even if they had been agreed on before the Flexinovela entered into effect. However, only future case law will provide certainty on this.

 

 

First, it is necessary to check whether the employment contract merely refers to the law, or whether it contains a specific provision on the running and/or length of the notice period. If the employment contract does not contain a specific provision on notice periods or only refers to the law, then the new rules will automatically apply from 1 June 2025. If the parties wish to apply the earlier rules, they must agree on it by means of an amendment to the contract.

 

However, if the employment contract contains the earlier legal regulation in whole or in part, this contractual arrangement will prevail over the law. Depending on the specific content of the employment contract, the (new) shorter notice period for punitive terminations and/or the (new) provision on the running of the notice period from the date of service will not apply. Should the parties wish to apply the new rules (in whole or in part), an amendment to the employment contract will need to be negotiated.

 

We therefore recommend reviewing the wording of existing employment contracts, revising any unsatisfactory wording by means of amendments, and preparing new templates for new employees. When terminating an employment relationship by notice, it is necessary to keep the new legislation in mind and always check the wording of the particular employee´s employment contract.