Talk to a lawyer<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe preliminary disciplinary investigation begins with notifying the employee about the process. The employee must receive a written summons to appear at the designated place, date, and time set by the employer to discuss the circumstances surrounding the alleged misconduct. The summons must mandatorily include the purpose, date, time, and location of the meeting.<\/p>\n
The summons is signed and communicated by the person authorized by the employer or by members of the disciplinary investigation committee, rather than by the employer\u2019s legal representative.<\/p>\n
The summons must be personally handed to the employee. If the employee refuses to sign for receipt, it will be sent to their home or residence via registered mail.<\/p>\n
How Should the Employee Prepare for the Disciplinary Hearing?<\/h3>\n
During the hearing, the employee may present a written and\/or verbal defense before the authorized individual or disciplinary investigation committee. The employee can propose evidence they deem necessary, such as supporting documents, witness testimonies, or technical expert evaluations. Additionally, the employee may attend the hearing accompanied by a legal representative or a union representative.<\/p>\n
What Happens If the Employee Fails to Appear for the Disciplinary Hearing?<\/h3>\n
If the employee fails to attend the hearing without a justified reason, the employer may proceed with disciplinary dismissal without conducting the investigation.<\/p>\n
If the employee is unable to attend the hearing due to reasons beyond their control, they must notify the employer within a reasonable timeframe. The authorized individual or disciplinary committee will then set a new date and summon the employee again.<\/p>\n
What Constitutes Serious Disciplinary Offenses and Repeated Disciplinary Violations?<\/h3>\n
The Labor Code does not explicitly list disciplinary offenses. Instead, these are specified in the employer\u2019s internal regulations, the collective labor contract, or, where applicable, the individual employment contract and its additional clauses. The employer has the discretion to determine what constitutes a serious disciplinary offense and what qualifies as repeated violations (e.g., two or three repeated offenses).<\/p>\n
Article 247 of the Labor Code<\/h3>\n
The Labor Code defines a disciplinary offense as \u201can act related to work that consists of an action or inaction committed by the employee with fault, through which they violate legal regulations, internal rules, the individual or collective employment contract, or the lawful orders and instructions of their superiors.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a disciplinary dismissal to be enforced, labor law does not require that a lesser disciplinary sanction be applied first.<\/p>\n
What Can an Employee Do in Case of an Unlawful Disciplinary Dismissal?<\/h3>\n
A disciplinary dismissal is ordered by the employer, not by the authorized individual or disciplinary committee. It must be issued within 30 calendar days from the date the final investigation report is registered with the employer’s records but no later than six months from the date of the offense.<\/p>\n
The dismissal decision must be communicated to the employee within five calendar days from its issuance. It is handed personally to the employee or, in case of refusal to sign, sent to their home or residence via registered mail.<\/p>\n
If the disciplinary dismissal is unlawful or unjustified, the employee has the right to challenge it in court. The employee may request the annulment of the dismissal decision, compensation equal to the indexed, increased, and updated wages and other benefits they would have received, and reinstatement to their previous position. Additionally, the employee may seek legal interest on all salary-related rights they would have been entitled to during the period following the dismissal.<\/p>\n
When Is a Disciplinary Dismissal Unlawful?<\/h3>\n
For instance, a dismissal decision may be unlawful if it lacks justification and does not describe the specific offense. The disciplinary offense must be clearly and comprehensively detailed in the dismissal decision, including the date it was committed and the corresponding violated regulations.<\/p>\n
Deadline for Challenging a Disciplinary Dismissal Decision<\/h3>\n
A disciplinary dismissal decision must be challenged within 30 calendar days from the date it is communicated to the employee.<\/p>\n
Previously, the Labor Code and Law No. 62\/2011 on social dialogue set different deadlines for contesting disciplinary dismissal. According to Article 252 (5) of the Labor Code, the decision must be contested within 30 calendar days from the date of communication. Meanwhile, Article 211 (a) of Law No. 62\/2011 allowed for a 45-day period from when the employee became aware of the employer\u2019s unilateral decision. However, Article 211 (a) of Law 62\/2011 was repealed by Law No. 269\/2021, which modified the Social Dialogue Law and the Labor Code.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, Law 269\/2021 also amended Article 268 (1) (a) of the Labor Code, which now states: “Requests for resolving a labor dispute may be filed within 45 calendar days from the date the concerned party became aware of the decision related to the conclusion, execution, modification, suspension, or termination of the individual employment contract, including financial obligations.”<\/em><\/p>\nThis amendment extended the deadline for employees to contest a unilateral decision regarding employment contract modifications from 30 to 45 calendar days.<\/p>\n
However, the legislator did not amend Article 252 (5) of the Labor Code. Therefore, in the case of disciplinary dismissal, the employee must contest the decision within 30 calendar days from the date of communication, as the Labor Code establishes a specific deadline for contesting disciplinary sanctions.<\/p>\n
Is the Employee Entitled to a Notice Period in Case of Disciplinary Dismissal?<\/h3>\n
No, employees dismissed for disciplinary reasons are not entitled to a notice period.<\/p>\n
If you have a legal issue, contact the Cluj law firm<\/a>, Blaj Law, today!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Disciplinary Dismissal or Termination of the Employment Contract for Disciplinary Reasons An individual employment contract may be terminated due to disciplinary dismissal if the employee commits a serious disciplinary offense or repeated disciplinary violations. Legal Framework for Disciplinary Dismissal \u2013 Article 248 of the Labor Code The legislator has established a special procedure for disciplinary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blaj-law.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blaj-law.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blaj-law.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blaj-law.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blaj-law.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4646"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/blaj-law.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13240,"href":"https:\/\/blaj-law.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4646\/revisions\/13240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blaj-law.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blaj-law.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blaj-law.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blaj-law.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}