The Polish Supreme Court has confirmed the case law about determining the scope of compensation for unfair dismissal by statutory notice period.
In the judgment of 14th November 2019 (ref. III PK 150/18), the Supreme Court sustained the standpoint that granting the right to a longer than statutory period of notice in the employment contract, connected with the necessity to pay remuneration to the employee for a longer period of time, does not mean the employer’s consent to pay a compensation higher than provided for in article 47 (1) of the Labour Code (max. 3 months’ salary) in case of unjustified termination of the employment relationship.
➡️ Example: the employee was entitled to 6 months’ notice in an employment contract for an indefinite period. Even if this employee has been dismissed incorrectly, the max. compensation for unfair dismissal will not be higher than the salary for 3 months, unless the parties have expressly provided in the employment contract that the compensation will be paid in a higher amount than that specified in the Labour Code.
The above judgment is a confirmation of the current line of the Supreme Court’s rulings. (judgments of of 22.4.2015, II PK 176/14; 5.11.2015, III PK 26/15; 7.11.2017, I PK 308/16).
