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Written explanations under чл. 193, ал. 1 of the Labour Code

You have been handed a demand for written explanations — often soon after you complained.

Verified 14 August 2026

Before he can sanction you, your employer must hear you out or accept your written explanations. If he did not, the court annuls the sanction on that ground alone (чл. 193, ал. 2 КТ) — if you challenge it in time. So you give them on paper, with a filing number.

Goes to: The employer — the registry office or HR, against an incoming number on your copy. If a named manager signed the demand, leave a copy for them too.
Who else reads it: The explanations become part of the disciplinary file: HR, your manager, the company lawyer — and the man you complained about — all read them. If it reaches court the file goes into the case, and the judge and the other side’s lawyer read it too.
Can this be taken back: No. Once registered they stay in the file and cannot be pulled back. That is why they have to be true, and why they stay inside what you were actually asked.
Deadline: The deadline is the one in the demand — meet it. The employer sets it, not the law. If it is impossibly short, file whatever you have inside it and say you will supplement it. A second clock runs: a sanction is imposed within 2 months of discovering the breach and within 1 year of the act (чл. 194, ал. 1 КТ).
Legal basis: чл. 193, ал. 1 и 2 КТ — a hearing or written explanations before any sanction; otherwise the court annuls it without examining the merits. чл. 194, ал. 1 КТ — a sanction is imposed within 2 months of discovering the breach and within 1 year of the act. чл. 195, ал. 2 КТ — the order is served against signature, with the date. § 1, т. 3 ЗЗДискр and чл. 5 — victimisation is discrimination.

Before you write

Give your explanations in writing, even if they call you in „just for a chat“ — the minutes are written by the other side. If they hear you out, walk in with the page printed, read it aloud, leave it against a filing number. Photograph the demand before you hand anything back or sign it.
Answer only what you are asked. If the demand does not say what exactly, when, and which duty it breached — write precisely that: the allegation is not specified and you are explaining it as far as you understand it.
Do not admit anything you are not sure of. „Може би съм закъснял(а)“ — I may have been late — with your signature under it becomes „he admits the lateness“. If you do not remember, write that you do not remember. That is a permitted and honest answer.
Do not out anybody else: nobody else’s orientation, nobody’s HIV status, nobody else’s relationship.
Do not sign a resignation and do not accept termination by mutual consent in the meeting. Say you will read it at home: you have 7 days to answer and silence counts as refusal (чл. 325, ал. 1, т. 1 КТ).

What can follow

The sanction may come anyway — your explanations do not stop the proceedings, they give you what to challenge it with. There are three: a reprimand, a warning of dismissal, and disciplinary dismissal.
For dismissal you have 2 months from termination to challenge it in court (чл. 358, ал. 1, т. 2 КТ); for a reprimand or a warning — 1 month (чл. 358, ал. 1, т. 1 КТ). The clock runs from service of the order (чл. 195, ал. 3 КТ) — which is why you ask for it against signature, with the date. Not three years: this is the deadline people miss while waiting on some other check.
If the employer never demanded explanations at all, or refused yours, the court annuls the sanction on that ground alone (чл. 193, ал. 2 КТ). That is why you keep a stamped copy, not a sent email.
If the sanction arrives more than 2 months after the employer learned of the breach, or more than a year after the act — tell a lawyer (чл. 194, ал. 1 КТ).
If all of this comes after a complaint of yours, the law calls it victimisation. Keep the demand, the stamped explanations, the order and the dates together — a lawyer looks at the chronology before the content.

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The document

To [ name of the employer ] via the registry office

WRITTEN EXPLANATIONS under чл. 193, ал. 1 of the Labour Code

from [ given name, patronymic, surname ], position [ position under the contract ] at [ name of the employer ] RE: demand for written explanations [ number of the demand ]

Dear Sir or Madam,

Within the period given me, I give these explanations under чл. 193, ал. 1 КТ. Please accept them, register them with an incoming number and add them to the disciplinary file.

I. ON THE ALLEGATION

The demand requires me to explain the following:

[ copied from the demand ]

Variant — I deny it entirely

I dispute the above entirely. I did not commit the act, I do not accept the characterisation in the demand, and I do not admit any culpable failure to perform my duties.

Variant — I admit part of the facts, but not the breach

I admit part of the facts, but dispute that they amount to a breach of labour discipline. Which I admit and which I dispute — in section II.

Variant — The facts are correct, but there are circumstances

I do not dispute the facts as described. I dispute that they amount to a culpable failure to perform my duties. The circumstances are in sections II and III.

II. THE FACTS

[ your account, by date ]

The above is known to the following persons:

[ names and positions ]

III. CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER ЧЛ. 189, АЛ. 1 КТ

Under чл. 189, ал. 1 КТ a sanction is determined by the gravity of the breach, the circumstances in which it was committed and the conduct of the worker. Should you nevertheless find that a breach was committed, I ask that those circumstances be weighed in the light of the above and of my employment record.

I also draw attention to чл. 194, ал. 1 КТ: a sanction is imposed no later than two months from the discovery of the breach and no later than one year from its commission.

Variant — Yes — I filed a complaint or a report before this

IV. CONNECTION WITH A COMPLAINT I FILED

Variant — Yes — I filed a complaint or a report before this

[ dates — complaint, reaction, demand ]

Variant — Yes — I filed a complaint or a report before this

I draw attention to the chronology above. Under § 1, т. 3 ЗЗДискр, victimisation is less favourable treatment of a person because they have taken, or are presumed to have taken or to be about to take, action to defend against discrimination; under чл. 5 victimisation counts as discrimination. I ask that this be taken into account in deciding whether a disciplinary sanction is to be imposed on me.

REQUESTS

In the light of the above, I ask you:

1. to accept these written explanations and register them with an incoming number, returning me a copy bearing that number and date;
2. to collect and assess the evidence indicated and to hear the persons named, before deciding on the file (чл. 193, ал. 1 КТ);
3. to take into account the gravity of the alleged breach, the circumstances in which it is said to have occurred, and my conduct (чл. 189, ал. 1 КТ);
4. should a sanction nevertheless be imposed, to serve the order against signature, with the date of service noted, and to give me a copy (чл. 195, ал. 2 КТ).

ATTACHMENTS

[ list of the documents attached ]

Yours faithfully,

Date: [ date ]

Signature: ______________________

[ given name, patronymic, surname ]

No printer? Print the blank form at a copy shop and fill it in by hand — a handwritten document is just as valid. It is also the safest: no file, no print queue, no Downloads folder.

Before you press Print: untick "Headers and footers" in the print settings. Otherwise the page title and the site address appear on the sheet — and whoever receives the document sees them.

How to file it so that it counts

Print two copies and sign both in ink. One stays with you — with an incoming number, a date and the signature of whoever accepted it. That page is the proof, not the content. Photograph it immediately, in the corridor, and keep the photo off the work phone and cloud.
If they refuse to register it — send it by licensed postal operator, with acknowledgment of receipt and a declared list of contents, to the registered address. Keep the receipt: it proves the date.
Email does not replace a filing number: if you send one, send it from your personal mailbox — and take the paper in anyway. Do not forward work email to your private address: that alone can earn you a second allegation. Do not write or print this on a work device, and do not use the work Wi-Fi — the printer at work keeps a queue with the document’s name in it. Print at a copy shop, at home or at a friend’s.
If there is time before the deadline, show the text to a lawyer — „Действие“ answer for free: legal@deystvie.org. If you have one day, file on time and show it afterwards.

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