The Labour Code enables the employer to issue internal rules unilaterally at its own discretion.
The objective of our client, a large, foreign-owned company, wanted to ensure that the frequent misconduct and damages caused by employees at work could be dealt with based on pre-defined rules familiar in advance to the parties.
Therefore, a code was created, specifying exactly what is considered misconduct in the given structure, the procedure to be followed when it occurs, who is entitled to establish misconduct, the penalties that can be imposed, and how they are to be enforced, and the legal remedies available.
The Code did not only regulate misconduct based on a breach of duty, but also regulated misdemeanour within the responsibility of the employee. It also sets out when and to what extent the employee is liable to pay compensation to the employer and the procedures to be followed in the event of damage.
The concept behind the code was to clearly distinguish between material and non-material non-compliance so that in the case of minor non-compliance, there is no need to consider or apply termination of employment, but less severe penalties are available to resolve the situation.
The content and form of the written warnings and possible fines, the measures that the employer can take simultaneously, and the mutually exclusive measures were covered in detail.
We set time limits in line with the law and made proposals to amend the labour documents to adapt them to the code. We have regulated the methods and participants in internal investigations that can be carried out on the employer's premises, the way internal decisions are made, and the deadlines for lodging claims.
Following the adoption of the code, the company has seen a significant drop not only in the number of misconduct-related anomalies but also in the number of labour disputes (lawsuits).
