The resignation letter regarding the employment contract sent by electronic means is considered effective when it is signed with a qualified electronic signature.
Pursuant to Art. 30 § 1 of the Labor Code, the following forms of termination of the employment contract are possible:
- by agreement of the parties
- by a declaration of one of the parties with a notice period
- by a declaration of one of the parties without notice.
Due to the above, one of the parties is sufficient to terminate the employment contract, however, pursuant to Art. 30 § 3, it should be in writing.
In practice, the contract is most often terminated by submitting a written notice. In cases where it is not possible to provide the other party with a written notice in person, a possible and widely practiced method of delivery is sending it by registered mail.
In the era of coronavirus and increasing digitization, it is worth mentioning the effectiveness of sending the notice of termination of employment by e-mail.
In accordance with the position adopted by the Supreme Court in the judgment of 24 August 2009 (file reference number I PK 58/09), the termination sent by e-mail is effective only if it is signed with a qualified electronic signature.
A declaration of will sent by e-mail without a certified signature does not constitute a written form, which is required when terminating the employment relationship. Only a handwritten signature is valid, while in the case of a sent scan, fax, etc. there is no such option as it only shows a copy of the handwritten signature. However, such electronic service of the termination notice is valid and produces legal effects but is noneffective and may be challenged before an employment tribunal.