According to the facts underlying the decision, the employee had moved from his registered address but failed to notify the employer of this change, despite being contractually obligated to do so. At the same time, the employee arranged for a so called “mail forwarding services” with the post office.
After the employee moved out, the employer sent a termination notice by post (to the previous address), which the employee has received as proved by the return receipt. Subsequently, during the communication related to the termination process of the employment relationship the employee indicated that the termination had not been delivered to him. However, the employer relying on the evidence of the return receipt dismissed the claim and proceeded with further steps, such as deregistering the employee.
For the reasons set out above, the employee filed a lawsuit against the employer, claiming unlawful termination of the employment relationship. During the legal proceedings, it was established that the postal worker had not acted in compliance with the delivery procedures when delivering the mail: despite the mail forwarding service, the termination notice was delivered to the employee’s former address, and the postal worker had failed to verify the identity of the person who received it.
The employer argued that the postal worker breached the forwarding agreement between the employee and the post office, but this breach should not affect the termination and could not be held against the employer.
However, the court did not accept this argument. Under the provisions of the Labour Code, in the event of a dispute, the burden of proof regarding proper delivery of a legal statement lies with the party making the statement—in this case, the employer. Since the employer was unable to demonstrate that the delivery was carried out properly (through no fault of its own), the Supreme Court declared the termination unlawful.
The decision highlights that, even if an employer acts lawfully when arranging the postal delivery of a termination notice, unforeseen circumstances outside the employer’s control may still result in adverse consequences, creating a potential risk for the employer. Therefore, before delivering any kind of an employer’s acts, it is advisable to consider alternative delivery methods and assess whether those might be preferable to postal delivery.
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