In order not to violate the dismissal procedure, it is necessary to comply with the notice period for dismissal. There are cases when it is necessary to notify 10 days in advance, and there are cases when it is necessary to notify a month or two months in advance. In all cases, the employer must have documents confirming compliance with this period. Otherwise, the employee may challenge such dismissal and be reinstated at work on the basis of a court decision.
The procedure for informing an employee of dismissal is established by Article 112(1) of the Labor Law of Latvia, which must be followed when dismissing.
There are the following options for notifying of dismissal:
- the notice of termination is submitted personally to the employee at the workplace (it is desirable that the employee signs the second copy of the employer, confirming receipt of the notice);
- using the services of a courier (here the employee’s signature is also required, confirming receipt of the notice);
- through the mediation of a sworn bailiff (in this case, the bailiff draws up an act on the delivery of the document, which is proof of receipt of the notice of termination);
- by sending a notice of termination to the employee’s email address using an electronic signature, but if this procedure was specifically defined in the employment contract. If the employee refuses to accept the notice of termination, including signing for its receipt, is absent from work, or is not possible to locate him/her at their place of residence, then the only possible option is to send the notice to the residential address specified in the employment contract by registered mail.
The notice of termination is considered received on the seventh day after it has been handed over to the post office (Part 2 of Article 112(1)).
Thus, the postal document on sending the notice and the notice itself will be proof of informing the employee of the dismissal.
If the notice of termination is sent by mail, then one must not forget to add seven days to the established notice period, since the notice period will be calculated from the day the employee receives the notice of termination.
It should be clear from the employer’s documents (a written notice of termination, a postal document or act of a bailiff, possibly a screenshot from the mail server about sending a message to the employee’s email address) that the notice period established by law was observed.
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