Procedure for challenging a dismissal
Steps and deadlines when challenging a dismissal (otkaz ugovora o radu) before the competent court.
Course of the proceedings
The procedure begins with receipt of the written dismissal decision, which should contain a statement of reasons, a specific statutory ground, and legal instructions on the possibility of judicial protection. From the date the decision is received (or from the day the violation of the right became known, if the decision was not properly served), the 60-day deadline for filing a claim with the competent basic court runs - the deadline is preclusive, so gathering documentation and any consultation with a lawyer should, as a rule, not be left until the last moment.
The claim is filed in writing and must clearly state the relief sought - most often annulment of the dismissal decision, reinstatement, and damages equal to lost earnings for the period of unemployment caused by the unlawful dismissal. Once the claim is received, the court schedules a preliminary hearing, followed by hearings for the main trial at which evidence is presented - documents, witness testimony, and, where necessary, expert examination (for example, a financial expert calculation of lost earnings). During the proceedings, the parties may at any point conclude a court settlement and thereby end the dispute without waiting for a judgment.
If the court upholds the claim, the employer is obliged to reinstate the employee, pay the awarded damages, and reimburse the costs of the proceedings. The dissatisfied party has the right to appeal to the competent higher court within the statutory deadline.
The dismissal decision, fixed-term contracts and retirement
Dismissal by the employer: what the decision must contain. A dismissal decision (rešenje o otkazu) must be written, give reasons and include instructions on legal remedies (Art. 185 of the Labour Law). The reasons should show which ground from Art. 179 was applied and on what facts. For a dismissal over a breach of work duties or work discipline, the employer must first serve a written warning stating the ground, the facts and the evidence, and allow at least eight days for a response (Art. 180). A decision without reasons, or one not served in the prescribed way, is one more point to raise in court.
Termination of a fixed-term contract (otkaz ugovora o radu na određeno vreme). A fixed-term contract ends when its term expires (Art. 175(1)), but the employer may dismiss the employee earlier, on the same grounds and under the same procedure as for an open-ended contract. The claim deadline is the same 60 days (Art. 195). Dismissal is not allowed during pregnancy or maternity leave, and the contract term is extended until the leave ends (Art. 187).
Retirement (otkaz zbog odlaska u penziju). When an employee turns 65 and has at least 15 years of insurance, employment ends by operation of law, unless the employer and employee agree otherwise (Art. 175(2)). This is not a dismissal under Art. 179, and the employer cannot dismiss someone merely because they qualified for a pension before that age. On retirement the employee is entitled to severance of at least two average salaries (Art. 119).
Jurisdiction
The basic court has jurisdiction, and territorial jurisdiction lies with the court for the employer's registered seat or, at the employee's choice, the court in whose area the work is or was performed (Art. 60 of the Civil Procedure Law). Labor disputes are, as a rule, treated as urgent matters in civil proceedings, which affects the pace of scheduling hearings but does not change the 60-day deadline for filing the claim itself.
Sources
- Labour Law (Zakon o radu, Official Gazette RS Nos. 24/2005 ... 109/2025 - other law), Arts. 37, 119, 175, 178-180, 185, 187 and 195
- Civil Procedure Law (Zakon o parničnom postupku, Official Gazette RS Nos. 72/2011 ... 18/2020 and 10/2023), Arts. 60, 367 and 436-441
- Law on Court Fees (Zakon o sudskim taksama, Official Gazette RS Nos. 28/94 ... 91/2025), Tariff No. 1 note 8 and Tariff No. 2 note 12
- Tariff on Attorneys' Fees and Costs, tabular overview applied from 5 July 2025
- Pension and Disability Insurance Law (Zakon o penzijskom i invalidskom osiguranju, Official Gazette RS Nos. 34/2003 ... 94/2024), Arts. 19 and 19a
- Law on Employment and Unemployment Insurance (Zakon o zapošljavanju i osiguranju za slučaj nezaposlenosti, Official Gazette RS Nos. 36/2009 ... 49/2021), Arts. 66 and 67
What to do
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1
Receiving the dismissal decision and checking its grounds
Deadline: No specific deadline for this step, but the date the decision is received starts the clock on the deadline for the claim
Check whether the decision is reasoned, whether it states a specific statutory ground under Article 179 of the Labor Law, and whether it includes legal instructions. If the decision was not properly served, the deadline runs from the day you otherwise learned of the violation of your right.
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2
Gathering evidence
Deadline: In parallel with the previous step, before the deadline for the claim expires
The employment contract, the employer's general acts, salary statements, correspondence, and, if relevant, medical documentation (sick leave, pregnancy) should be gathered before the claim is filed, since they become harder to obtain once proceedings are underway.
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3
Filing the claim with the competent basic court
Deadline: The deadline is 60 days from the date the dismissal decision was served, or from when the violation of the right became known (Article 195 of the Labor Law)
The deadline is preclusive. The claim can seek annulment of the dismissal decision, reinstatement, and damages for lost earnings for the period from termination until reinstatement, together with reimbursement of proceeding costs.
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4
Preliminary hearing and the course of the proceedings
Deadline: The Civil Procedure Law (Zakon o parničnom postupku) does not prescribe a fixed overall duration for a labor dispute
The court schedules a preliminary hearing, then hearings for the main trial; evidence is presented during the proceedings (documents, witnesses, and, where necessary, expert examination). Under the Civil Procedure Law, in labor disputes the court must take particular account of the need for urgent resolution, especially when setting deadlines and hearings (Art. 438), which affects the scheduling of hearings but does not fix a specific conclusion date.
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5
Judgment and any legal remedies
Deadline: The deadline to appeal a first-instance judgment is 15 days from service of the judgment, under the general rules of civil procedure (Art. 367 of the Civil Procedure Law); the special rules for labor disputes (Arts. 436-441) set no different deadline
The dissatisfied party may file an appeal with the competent higher court; if the court upholds the claim, the employer is obliged to reinstate the employee and pay the awarded damages and proceeding costs.
Required documents
- The dismissal decision (with a statement of reasons and proof of service or receipt)
- The employment contract and any annexes
- Salary statements (payslips) for the period before the dismissal
- The employer's general acts relevant to the grounds for dismissal (work rulebook, job classification), if available
- Medical documentation, if the dismissal is related to sick leave or pregnancy (sick-leave certificates, a physician's certificate of pregnancy)
- Correspondence with the employer (emails, letters) relating to the circumstances of the dismissal
Jurisdiction
The basic court (osnovni sud) has jurisdiction over disputes concerning the dismissal of an employment contract. Territorial jurisdiction lies with the court of general jurisdiction for the defendant employer (by its registered seat), and an employee as claimant may also choose the court in whose area the work is or was performed (Art. 60 of the Civil Procedure Law).
What it costs
| Item | Amount | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Court fee on the claim | No fee for the claim to annul the dismissal and for reinstatement; if the claim also includes a monetary claim (e.g. lost earnings), the fee is paid according to the value of that part | The Law on Court Fees (Zakon o sudskim taksama), Tariff No. 1 note 8 and Tariff No. 2 note 12 |
| Attorney's fee for representation | Depends on the agreement with the lawyer; the Tariff on Attorneys' Fees and Expense Reimbursement serves as the basis for the court to award costs, using a point value of 50 dinars (as of July 2025) | The Tariff on Attorneys' Fees and Expense Reimbursement ('Sl. glasnik RS', no. 43/2023 and 56/2025) |
| Costs of any expert examination | Depends on the type of examination (e.g., a financial expert calculation of lost earnings) | Advanced by the party proposing the expert examination, and ultimately borne by the party that loses the dispute, in proportion to the outcome, under the general rules on civil-proceeding costs |
FAQ
Do I have to complain to my employer first before filing a claim?
No - for challenging a dismissal, the law does not require an internal objection to the employer as a precondition for a claim. Some employers provide for an internal objection in their general acts, but this, as a rule, neither extends nor interrupts the 60-day deadline for the claim, so it should not be relied on as a substitute for filing the claim on time.
What happens if the court finds the dismissal unlawful?
The court can annul the dismissal decision and order the employer to reinstate the employee, along with damages equal to lost earnings for the period from termination until reinstatement, as well as reimbursement of proceeding costs. The specific content of the judgment depends on how the claim was framed.
Does the procedure go faster if the parties settle?
Yes - the parties can conclude a court settlement during the proceedings, ending the dispute without waiting for a judgment. This is an option that depends on the will of both parties and is most often considered when both sides want to avoid the length and uncertainty of continuing the dispute.
Dismissal by the employer - what must a valid dismissal decision contain?
The employer terminates the employment contract by a written decision (rešenje), which must contain a statement of reasons and instructions on legal remedies (Art. 185(1) of the Labour Law, Zakon o radu). The reasons should name the specific ground from Art. 179 and the facts it rests on. For a dismissal over a breach of work duties or work discipline, the employer must first give the employee a written warning and at least eight days to respond (Art. 180). The decision is served in person, at the employer's premises or at the employee's address. If service fails, the employer makes a written note, posts the decision on its notice board, and it is deemed served eight days later (Art. 185(2)-(4)). Employment ends on the day of service unless the law or the decision sets another date.
Can a fixed-term employment contract be terminated early?
Yes. A fixed-term contract ends when its term expires (Art. 175(1) of the Labour Law), but the employer may also dismiss the employee before then, on the same grounds and under the same procedure as for an open-ended contract (Arts. 179, 180 and 185). The same 60-day deadline for a claim applies (Art. 195). Dismissal is not allowed during pregnancy, maternity leave or childcare leave, and a fixed-term contract is extended until that leave ends (Art. 187). If the employee keeps working at least five working days after the term expires, the employment is deemed open-ended (Art. 37). The end of fixed-term employment gives a right to unemployment benefit from the NSZ if the insurance-period conditions are met (Arts. 66 and 67 of the Law on Employment and Unemployment Insurance).
Can I be dismissed because I have reached retirement age?
Technically this is not a dismissal but termination by operation of law. Employment ends when the employee turns 65 and has at least 15 years of insurance, unless the employer and employee agree otherwise (Art. 175(2) of the Labour Law), so the parties can agree that the employee keeps working. Qualifying for a pension is not one of the dismissal grounds in Art. 179, so the employer cannot dismiss an employee merely because they qualified for a pension earlier, for example with 45 years of insurance, or a woman under the transitional rules of the Pension and Disability Insurance Law (Arts. 19 and 19a). In that case employment ends by the employee's resignation (Art. 178) or by agreement. On retirement the employer pays severance of at least two average salaries (Art. 119(1)(1)).