Employment with an open-ended employment agreement is considered to be employment for a probationary period for the first 12 months from the date that it comes into force, which may be terminated without notice and without severance pay, unless otherwise agreed by the parties. An open-ended employment agreement of a private employee that has a duration of more than 12 months cannot be terminated without prior written notice from the employer, which will take effect from the day after the employee is notified, under the following conditions:  

• For employees who have served from 12 completed months to two years, one month's notice is required before dismissal;
• For employees who have served from two to five years, two months' notice is required before dismissal;
• For employees who have served from five to 10 years, three months' notice is required before dismissal; and
• For employees who have served 10 years or more, four months' notice is required before dismissal.  

An employer who gives an employee written notice in accordance with the above pays half of the statutory severance pay to the dismissed employee.

These provisions apply for all forms of dismissals, including collective dismissals.

A fixed-term contract can be terminated before its end immediately, i.e. without notice period, for a significant reason, either by the employer or by the employee. 'Significant reason' consists of the existence of events during the contract which make it impossible to continue the agreement in good faith (for instance, breach of contractual obligations and damage caused by the employee with failure to comply with the essential terms of the contract and detraction of the employee by the employer, etc.). If a significant reason exists, the employer is not obliged to pay compensation. If the contract is terminated and no significant reason exists, the employee can go to court to claim the wages that would have been received until the end of the contract.