When an employment relationship ends, questions crowd into a short space of time. Am I entitled to notice? How much is payment in lieu if I am not given it? Must my employer provide an experience certificate? What if they refuse or write something damaging? And should I sign the discharge placed in front of me? This brief stage determines the rights of years of work, and errors within it are hard to correct. This article answers these questions under Labour Law No. 6 of 2010.
Notice Periods
Notice is the period during which the other party is informed of the intention to terminate before it takes effect:
- Purpose: giving the employee time to find alternative work and the employer time to find a replacement. It is a mutual obligation rather than one falling on a single party.
- Duration: three months for employees paid monthly and one month for others, unless a longer period is agreed in the employee's favour.
- Fixed-term contracts: end on expiry of the term without notice, and early termination gives rise to liability in damages.
- The relationship continues: the contract subsists with all its effects during the notice period, so the employee receives full pay and must perform their duties.
- Notice during leave: a notice period may not run concurrently with the employee's leave, the two having different purposes.
Payment in Lieu of Notice
What an employee receives where service is ended immediately without notice:
- Entitlement: where the employer terminates without observing notice, they must pay the employee an amount equal to their wage for the notice period.
- Calculation: calculated on the total wage with its components rather than the basic alone, a frequent source of disagreement.
- Where the employee leaves: where the employee leaves without observing notice, the employer may claim payment in lieu, a point often overlooked.
- Excepted cases: no payment is due where termination occurred for reasons permitting dismissal without notice as exhaustively defined by law.
- Independent of compensation: payment in lieu of notice is separate from compensation for arbitrary dismissal, and both may be due.
Time Off to Seek Work
A right most employees are unaware of despite its clarity:
- Entitlement: during the notice period the employee is entitled to time off to seek new employment without deduction from pay.
- Purpose: not leaving the employee choosing between attending work and losing an alternative opportunity.
- Arrangement: its use is arranged by agreement so as not to disrupt the work, and the employee may not be denied it entirely.
- Proof: request it in writing, as a refused oral request is difficult to establish later.
The Experience Certificate
A small document that may nonetheless obstruct an entire career:
- An employee right: the employer must give the employee an experience certificate on termination and may not refuse.
- Free of charge: issued without payment, and it may not be made conditional on waiving a right or signing a discharge.
- Contents: the start and end dates, the type of work, and the final wage.
- What is not permitted: it may not contain anything damaging the employee's reputation or reducing their employment prospects, which would render the employer liable in damages.
- Return of documents: the employer must return original certificates and papers deposited by the employee and may not withhold them.
- Refusal: where the employer refuses, the employee may apply to the competent authority and then the courts and claim damages if an employment opportunity was lost.
Settlement and the Discharge
The final step that determines everything:
- Components: wages for the final period, payment for untaken leave, end-of-service gratuity, payment in lieu of notice where due, compensation for arbitrary dismissal where established, and a return ticket for recruited employees.
- Timing: entitlements are paid on termination without delay, and unjustified delay may give rise to compensation.
- Risk of the discharge: signing a general discharge confirming receipt of all rights may bar later claims, so it should not be signed before the sums are actually received and the calculation reviewed.
- Signing with reservation: if you must sign, record your reservation in writing as to the disputed items.
- Separate receipt: a receipt for a specified sum is preferable to a broadly drafted discharge.
- Limitation: employment claims are subject to time limits, and delay of years may extinguish the right.
Frequently Asked Questions
- May I be dismissed without notice? Yes in cases exhaustively defined by law, and otherwise payment in lieu is due.
- Does the notice period count as service? Yes, as the contract subsists during it.
- May the employer deduct sums from my entitlements? Only within the limits the law permits and on a clear basis.
- What if they will only give the certificate after I sign the discharge? Linking the two is not acceptable. The certificate is an independent right.
- Am I entitled to a return ticket if I resign? This varies with the reason for termination and what was agreed, and the contract must be examined.
Practical Guidance
- Request notice in writing and dated, as its date determines everything that follows.
- Calculate your entitlements yourself before any settlement meeting rather than relying on the other side's figures.
- Do not sign a discharge before the sum is actually credited to your account.
- Request the experience certificate in writing and keep a copy of the request.
- Retain copies of payslips, the contract, and any variation to it.
- In a dispute, begin with a complaint to the competent authority before litigating, as many disputes are resolved at that stage.
The end of an employment relationship is a brief but decisive stage, and handling it well preserves the rights of years. Yamnak Law Firm reviews end-of-service calculations and prepares claims, and represents employees and employers before the competent authorities and the labour circuits.
