You need a written decision on an organisational change adopted before the notice, an employee who became redundant precisely as a result of it, and the duty to offer other work discharged. The burden of proof lies with the employer, and the court also examines whether the change was not merely feigned. On top of that you must watch the protected period, discussion with the employee representatives, the notice period and severance pay; and you may not recreate the abolished post for two months.
A company is merging departments, automating part of its workload or simply needs fewer people. Redundancy notice exists for that purpose. If the employee challenges it, the court does not examine whether reducing headcount was sensible, but whether the employer can prove each step that the Labour Code (Act No. 311/2001 Coll.) requires for this ground.
What the employer must prove
An employer may give an employee notice only on the grounds that […] the employee becomes redundant by virtue of a written decision of the employer or of the competent body on a change in its tasks or technical equipment, on a reduction in the number of employees with a view to ensuring efficiency of work, or on other organisational changes […]
— Section 63(1) of the Labour Code (unofficial English translation)
Three conditions follow from the provision, which the courts examine in turn: a written decision on the organisational change, the redundancy of the particular employee, and a causal link between them. In decision 7Cdo/173/2022, the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic emphasised that it is for the employer to plead and prove both the adoption of the decision and the fact that the employee became redundant precisely as a result of it. The decision must therefore already exist at the time of the notice, bearing a date and an intelligible description of which post is being abolished and why. The notice itself must then define the ground in factual terms so that it cannot be confused with another, and it cannot be changed subsequently (Section 61(2)).
Selecting the employee and a feigned change
Which of the employees in the same position you designate as redundant is, according to settled case law, exclusively for the employer, and the court does not in principle review that selection. The position is different with the decision itself. In the dispute cited, the Supreme Court set aside the judgment of the appellate court, which had upheld the dismissal of an action for a declaration that the notice was invalid, because the courts had not sufficiently addressed whether the organisational change was not merely feigned: shortly beforehand the employer had been recruiting people for the same position, it advertised the abolished post after the notice, and it could not say how abolishing the post was supposed to increase efficiency. Redundancy is therefore not a suitable route for getting rid of an employee with whom you have a disciplinary problem; other procedures serve that purpose, for instance notice for breach of work discipline.
The offer of other work
On grounds of redundancy you may give notice only where you cannot continue to employ the employee, not even on reduced working hours at the agreed place of work, or where the employee refuses other suitable work offered to them at that place, or prior training for it (Section 63(2)). Make the offer in writing and keep their reply on file. If a vacancy existed and you did not offer it, the notice may fall on that alone, even where the organisational change was genuine.
What not to forget before delivery
The prohibition on giving notice during a protected period applies to redundancy as well; the exceptions in Section 64(3) concern, for example, the winding-up of the employer or part of it, and redundancy is not among them. Notice on this ground therefore cannot be given to an employee on sick leave, a pregnant employee or a parent on parental leave. For an employee with a disability you need the prior consent of the Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, otherwise the notice is invalid (Section 66(1)). If employee representatives operate at your workplace, discuss the notice with them in advance, otherwise it is invalid; they have seven working days for that discussion (Section 74).
For redundancy, the notice period is at least one month; where the employment has lasted at least a year, at least two months, and where it has lasted at least five years, at least three months (Section 62(2) and (3)); the details are set out in how long is the notice period. Where the employment has lasted at least two years, the employee is entitled to severance pay graduated according to its length (Section 76(1)); on termination by agreement on the same ground it is one level higher and applies regardless of how long the employment lasted (Section 76(2)); we give the amounts in when is severance pay due. For two months you may not recreate the abolished post and, after the employment ends, engage another employee in it (Section 61(3)). If you are abolishing several posts at once, check also the thresholds for collective redundancies under Section 73, which carry special obligations towards the employee representatives and the labour offices.
How we can help
We prepare the decision on the organisational change, the offer of other work and the notice itself as part of our notice of termination of employment service. If you are still considering whether an agreement with higher severance pay would be more advantageous, or you are abolishing several posts at once, begin with termination of employment.
This answer provides general information on the law as at 12 September 2026. It does not constitute legal services or replace an assessment of an individual case. The details of your situation may differ. Book a consultation to discuss them.
