Contractual Penalty in Labour Law? A Brief Reflection on the Agreement on Monetary Compensation in Paragraph 62(8) and Paragraph 83a(5) of the Labour Code

Abstract

In the paper, the author deals with the issue of a contractual penalty in labour relations, while the reason for reopening this issue was the ongoing unclear nature of the agreement on monetary compensation in the provision of § 62 paragraph 8 and § 83a paragraph 5 of the Slovak Labour Code. After a theoretical introduction to the contractual penalty, its nature, functions and relationship to liability for damage under civil law and commercial law, she concludes that monetary compensation agreements, in fact, are contractual penalty agreements. However, they are characterized by peculiarities that affect the potential relationship of the general civilian regulation of the contractual penalty, especially in terms of the relationship of monetary compensation and liability for damage caused by violation of the same obligation and the moderating right of the court. In conclusions, she briefly formulates possible future relation between the Slovak Civil Code and the Slovak Commercial Code and she agrees with the need to set up full subsidiarity of the Civil Code to the Labour Code.