In a judgment dated March 17, 2016, in the case ref. III PK 84/15, the Supreme Court indicated that “the one-month period for termination without notice due to the employee’s fault (Article 52 of the Civil Code) begins to run only when the employer has obtained reliable information justifying the belief that the employee has committed a gross violation of his employment duties.”
The Supreme Court held that the mere knowledge of the employer that the employee has violated his basic duty is not sufficient to start running one-month period for terminating an employee without notice. The Supreme Court stressed that the employer, acting not only in its own interest, but also in the interest of the employee, before deciding to terminate the employment contract without notice, should obtain confirmation that the violation of the employee’s duties was of a gross nature, i.e. that the employee acted intentionally or was grossly negligent, and that his behavior caused a threat or damage to the employer’s interest.