Immediate termination of employment is one of the instruments of labour law that almost automatically comes into play in the workplace once tensions escalate into a physical conflict. However, in its resolution of 22 July 2025, file no. 21 Cdo 1154/2025, the Supreme Court emphasised that reality is often more complex, and that even a physical attack on a colleague does not automatically mean that the employer could validly terminate the employment relationship from one day to the next. Does this seem incomprehensible? It depends on what actually happened and in what context.
Not everything is black and white
The Supreme Court stressed that immediate termination of employment based on a gross breach of an employee’s duties is an extreme measure, which should be applied only after all other instruments protecting workplace order and the employer have been exhausted. When assessing whether there has been a truly serious breach of employment duties, factors such as the employee’s prior conduct, the degree of provocation, or whether the incident was an isolated excess play an important role. In other words, even an unpleasant situation may involve mitigating circumstances and may lead to the invalidity of immediate termination due to the unjustified use of this instrument.
What to take away for practice
For employees, it is important to know that immediate termination of employment does not always have to be final and that it makes sense to defend oneself. Employers, on the other hand, should realise that immediate termination must be very well justified; otherwise, it often does not stand up in court. This approach of the Supreme Court supports a human perspective with an emphasis on the specific circumstances of the case when assessing labour-law conflicts. Precisely this method of terminating employment – justified by the need to act quickly – often ends up in court, because employers underestimate the preparation of documentation and do not seek advice on its content, as well as on the fundamental feasibility or risks of terminating employment in this manner in the given situation.
