Dismissal from employment: legality, compensation, and provisional enforcement

The contract and the notice period

For an indefinite-term contract, Article 141 of the Albanian Labour Code provides that the relationship ends after the contract has been terminated and the notice period has expired.

Under Article 143, notice is two weeks for employment lasting up to six months; one month for more than six months and up to two years; two months for more than two and up to five years; and three months where employment has lasted more than five years. As applicable, the period is extended to the end of the week or month.

A fixed-term contract normally ends when its agreed term expires. If it is terminated earlier, Article 149 requires compliance with the procedure in Article 144 and the consequences of unjustified immediate termination may arise.

Procedure is a duty, not a formality

“The employee must be given an opportunity to respond.” — Article 144 of the Labour Code

Article 144 requires the employee to be notified in writing at least 72 hours before the meeting, to be informed of the reasons for the proposed measure, and to be given an opportunity to respond.

The final decision must be communicated in writing between 48 hours and one week after the meeting and must state the specific reasons. Failure to follow this procedure entitles the employee to two months’ salary in addition to other possible compensation. The employer bears the burden of proving compliance.

When is there a justified ground?

For ordinary termination, the reasons must relate to the employee’s capability or conduct, or to the undertaking’s operational requirements. Article 146 also protects employees against abusive or discriminatory dismissal and against reasons that do not comply with the Labour Code.

Immediate termination under Article 153 requires serious circumstances which, according to the principle of good faith, make continuation of the relationship unreasonable. The breach must involve serious fault or repeated lesser fault despite a written warning. The court decides whether the ground actually existed.

Compensation consists of distinct heads

The law does not provide one single amount for every unlawful dismissal. Depending on the form of termination and the evidence, several separate claims may arise.

• Salary for the notice period, or salary until the end of a fixed-term contract, under Article 155(1).
• Two months’ salary for breach of procedure under Article 144(5).
• Compensation of up to one year’s salary for unjustified termination under Articles 146 or 155.
• Seniority compensation of at least fifteen days’ salary for each completed year where employment lasted at least three years, under Article 145.

What has the case law clarified?

In unifying decision no. 00-2023-5686 (724) of 12 December 2023, the Supreme Court held that advance payment of the salaries corresponding to the notice period does not replace actual compliance with that period. The legal relationship continues until notice expires, even when the employer does not require the employee to work.

In decision no. 47 of 11 June 2024, in Arlinda Mulgeci, the Constitutional Court found a breach of legal certainty because the interpretation had departed from unifying case law and undermined the legitimate expectation of uniform application of the law.

In decision no. 00-2025-3989 (523) of 12 November 2025, the Supreme Court stressed that failure to comply with a transfer order that changes essential contractual conditions cannot automatically be treated as abandonment of employment.

Time limits and the competent court

For unjustified immediate termination, Article 155(4) provides a 180-day period from the termination of employment. For termination without reasonable cause under Article 146, the period runs from the expiry of notice. Where an abusive motive is discovered later, the law provides thirty days from its discovery.

The fact that the employer is a public institution does not automatically make the dispute administrative. The decisive issue is whether the relationship is governed by the Labour Code or by a special statute that regulates the employee’s status comprehensively.

Provisional enforcement of the judgment

“The court decides on provisional enforcement case by case, in the exercise of its discretion.”

Article 317(b) of the Code of Civil Procedure allows a judgment awarding employment compensation to be made provisionally enforceable. The first-instance judgment may therefore be enforced while an appeal is pending.

In decision no. 00-2025-1392 (124) of 25 March 2025, the Supreme Court clarified that the court decides case by case, in the exercise of its discretion, with the aim of preventing deterioration of the claimant’s economic position.

Under Article 318, the grant or refusal may be appealed separately. Decision no. 00-2024-4405 (613) of 6 November 2024 requires proof of serious and irreparable consequences when a stay is sought. If the judgment is set aside and the claim is finally dismissed, Article 319 requires restitution of what was received provisionally.

The European standard

Albania has ratified the Revised European Social Charter and accepted Article 24 on protection in cases of termination of employment. The standard requires a valid reason for dismissal, access to an impartial body, and adequate compensation or other appropriate relief.

This reinforces the need to review dismissal in substance and procedure, rather than merely checking the form of the employer’s act.