Terminating an Employment Contract at the Employer’s Will: Does Expensive and Simple Mean Safe? Lithuanian Model

Abstract

Abstract This paper aims to reveal the nature, specifics and limits of application of one of the legal grounds for termination of employment relationships established in the labour law of the Republic of Lithu ania – termination of the employment contract at the employer’s will. The analysis tests the hypothesis that the goal of increasing flexibility by simplifying the termination of employment relations, which was set at the initiation of the reform of the legal regulation, was not achieved. The presumption is put forward that this ground for terminating the employment contract is neither new nor safely applicable, and the benefits of relatively simplified procedural requirements do not outweigh increased financial burden. To reveal the impact of statutory amendments in question on the regulation of termination of employment relations in Lithuania, the historical background and the impact of obligations established in international documents on it are assessed, key indicators (such as legal grounds, procedural requirements, burden of proof and order of its distribution, etc.) are identified, and the relevant case law is examined.