I was dismissed, what now
Deadlines and steps after termination of an employment contract - including dismissal while on sick leave or during pregnancy.
What to do
A dismissal (otkaz) is a unilateral decision by the employer and must be based on one of the grounds exhaustively listed in the law (e.g., breach of work duties, violation of work discipline, failure to achieve work results, technological, economic, or organizational reasons). The first step is not an appeal to the employer or a complaint to the labor inspectorate - it is checking whether the dismissal is lawful at all and, if it isn't, filing a claim within the statutory deadline.
Two common cases deserve particular attention. A dismissal during sick leave requires checking whether the actual (not merely stated) reason for dismissal is connected to the absence due to illness - such a ground is not lawful (Article 183 of the Labor Law), even though the law does not protect this situation in the same way it protects pregnancy. A dismissal due to pregnancy or maternity leave is explicitly prohibited under Article 187 of the Labor Law; if the employer learned of the pregnancy only afterward, the employee has 30 days from the termination of employment to notify the employer of this in writing, together with a medical certificate, which renders the dismissal decision void.
In every case, the decisive date is when the written dismissal decision was received - from that date (or from when the violation of the right became known, if the decision was not properly served) the 60-day deadline for filing a claim runs. Until then, all relevant documentation should be gathered: the employment contract, the dismissal decision with its statement of reasons, salary statements for the last several months, and, if relevant, medical documentation.
When to consult a lawyer
The 60-day deadline for the claim is the sharpest fact in this entire process - it is a preclusive deadline that, unlike a limitation period, cannot be interrupted or extended, so legal review is recommended as early as possible after receiving the decision, not right before the deadline expires. Consultation is especially useful when the grounds for dismissal are disputed (e.g., an alleged breach of work discipline that the employer failed to document), when the dismissal coincides with sick leave or pregnancy, or when the dismissal decision was not properly reasoned or served at all.
Sources
What to do
- Request the written dismissal decision with a statement of reasons and legal instructions, if you have not already received it - without it, it's hard to assess whether the dismissal is based on a ground provided by law under Article 179 of the Labor Law.
- Note the exact date you received the decision - the 60-day deadline for the claim runs from that date (or from when you learned of the violation of your right, if the decision was not formally served).
- Keep your employment contract, salary statements, correspondence with the employer, and any medical documentation (sick-leave certificates, findings) - these are key pieces of evidence in any resulting dispute.
- Check whether, at the time of dismissal, you were on sick leave, pregnant, on maternity leave, or on leave to care for a child - in those cases special statutory protection against dismissal applies, and a dismissal given contrary to it is void.
- File the claim with the competent basic court before the 60-day deadline expires; the claim may seek annulment of the decision, reinstatement, and damages for lost earnings.
- Before the filing deadline expires, consider consulting a lawyer to review the grounds for dismissal and formulate the claim - an error in the claim or a missed deadline cannot be corrected afterward.
What it costs
Employee claims to annul an unlawful dismissal are, as a rule, exempt from court fees, since they concern the termination of employment. The cost that remains is the attorney's fee (if a lawyer is engaged) and any expert-witness costs. A detailed overview of labor-dispute costs is provided on the dedicated costs page.
Basis for the attorney fee: Tariff item 14 of the Tariff on Attorneys' Fees and Expense Reimbursement (Tarifa o nagradama i naknadama troškova za rad advokata) (employment disputes concerning dismissal, 550 points) for annulment of the dismissal and reinstatement, and item 13 for the monetary claim for lost earnings. Where a claim combines several cumulative requests, the fee is increased by 50% for the second and each further request.
FAQ
Is a dismissal given while on sick leave valid?
The mere fact that an employee is on sick leave at the time the dismissal is served does not automatically render the dismissal void in the same way as a dismissal during pregnancy - the Labor Law explicitly protects pregnant employees, new mothers, and parents on child-care leave from dismissal (Article 187), while temporary incapacity for work due to illness is not specifically listed in that provision in the same way. The dismissal must still rest on a ground provided by law under Article 179 of the Labor Law, and Article 183 of the Labor Law expressly provides that temporary incapacity for work due to illness, an accident at work or an occupational disease is not a justified reason for dismissal. If the real reason for the dismissal is the absence due to illness, the dismissal can be challenged by a claim within 60 days.
Is a dismissal due to pregnancy valid?
No - the law explicitly prohibits dismissing an employee during pregnancy, maternity leave, child-care leave, and special child-care leave (Article 187 of the Labor Law), and a dismissal decision issued contrary to that prohibition is void if the employer knew of the pregnancy at the time of dismissal, or if the employee notifies the employer of the pregnancy within 30 days of the termination of employment, along with a certificate from an authorized physician.
What if I miss the 60-day deadline?
The court will, as a rule, dismiss a claim filed after this deadline has expired, regardless of the merits of the objection to the dismissal itself, because it is a preclusive deadline that cannot be extended or reinstated under the general rules on limitation periods.
Can I seek reinstatement instead of damages?
The claim may cover both annulment of the dismissal and reinstatement, together with compensation for lost earnings for the period from termination until reinstatement - the choice between these claims depends on the specific circumstances and the time elapsed since the dismissal, so it is a matter for individual assessment with a lawyer.