Dismissal by agreement: what you need to know

Dismissal by mutual agreement is a common way to end an employment relationship, which has its own peculiarities. We will talk about them further.

The main feature of dismissal under Article 36(1) of the Labor Code of Ukraine is that the employee and the employer may terminate the employment relationship at any time. In the event of dismissal, an employee may not work for two weeks, as is required for voluntary resignation, or vice versa, after writing a letter of resignation, he or she may work for more than two weeks.

If the employee and the employer cannot agree on the date of dismissal and determine the time of service, then dismissal by agreement cannot be made, because no agreement has been reached.
Once an employee submits a resignation letter, the date and time of the resignation are set, and the employee cannot withdraw the letter. If the employee changes their mind and decides to continue working, they will not be able to withdraw their resignation. From a legal point of view, an agreement to resign has been reached. However, if the employer does not mind the employee continuing to work, i.e. if both parties change their minds about terminating the employment relationship, then the notice can be revoked.

If the employer, having received the resignation letter with reference to Article 36(1) of the Labor Code of Ukraine, refuses to terminate the employment agreement by agreement of the parties, the employee may rewrite the letter and indicate the reason for the resignation: voluntary (for good or bad reasons). Employees cannot be refused voluntary resignation. The employer may only require the employee to work for two weeks if the reason for dismissal is disrespectful.

Regardless of the reason for dismissal, the employer must provide the employee with a copy of the dismissal order on the last working day, make the final payment, and, if the employee has a work record book and wishes to do so, make a corresponding entry.

As for the dismissal of employees during the quarantine, the Labor Code does not prohibit the termination of employment contracts. Employees may resign both at their own request and by agreement of the parties. Employees cannot be forced to resign in order to save on salaries or taxes. In this case, the employee has the right to go to court or the State Labor Service to protect his or her rights.

Unlawful dismissal of employees is subject to criminal liability under Article 172 of the Criminal Code.