Ask the Law: Can my company terminate me during my annual leave?

Question: I have been working in a private company for two years. A month ago, I took  annual leave and went to my home country. Two weeks after my annual leave, I received an e-mail from the employer about the termination of my services and said the annual leave period was the warning period. My question: What is the position of the new labour law on the behaviour of the employer? Am I entitled to a salary after the vacation? In the event of the employer’s refusal, what are the procedures that must be taken against the employer to claim my right?

Answer: The termination will be valid from the day following the day scheduled for the worker’s return from the leave. At that day the employee will start to work the notice period agreed upon in the employment contract as per Article 35 of the new law: “If either party to the employment contract wishes to terminate the contract in accordance with the provisions of this decree-law and its implementing regulation, while the worker is on leave, the validity of the notice period agreed upon in the employment contract shall not begin, except from the day following the day scheduled for the worker’s return from the leave, unless both parties agree otherwise.”

Notice period

The employer cannot consider the annual leave as notice period if the employee did not accept it and the employer cannot prevent the employee from the payment of the annual leave and that of the notice period. When you return from your annual leave you should work the notice period and you will be entitled to its salary.

The employment contract continues to be valid throughout the notice period and is terminated upon expiry of such period. The worker shall be entitled to his full wage for that period according to the last wage he was obtaining and he shall work during that period if the employer requests the same from him.

Exemption

It may be agreed upon exemption from the notice period condition or reducing its period while preserving all the rights of the worker for the notice period agreed upon in the employment contract. The party who did not abide by the notice period shall pay to the other party compensation, which is called notice period allowance, even if the absence of notification does not cause damage to the other party and the compensation shall be equal to the worker’s wage for the full notice period or the remaining part. (Article 43 of the law).

File a case

In the event of the employer’s refusal, you have the right to file a complaint in the labour office which will try to settle the matter amicably. In case it is not settled then the labour office will transfer the matter to the competent court through an NOC (no objection certificate) and you have to file the case in front of the court that will take the decision as per the situation and the related documents.