Documents

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

You have been handed a demand for written explanations — often not long after you complained.

Verified 14 August 2026

This letter tells your employer: here are my explanations, in writing, on time — please register them. Before imposing a sanction the employer is obliged to hear you out or to accept your written explanations. If they did not, the court annuls the sanction on that ground alone, without ever examining who was right on the facts (чл. 193, ал. 2 КТ) — provided you take it to court in time. That is why you give the explanations, and why you give them on paper, with a registration number.

Goes to: The employer — through the registry office or HR, against an incoming number stamped on your own copy. If a named manager signed the demand, leave a copy for them too.
Who else reads it: HR, your line manager and the company lawyer. The explanations become part of the disciplinary file and are read by everyone who moves it along. If you complained about somebody, assume he will learn what you wrote as well — the file passes through the same hands. If it later reaches court, the file goes into the case: the judge and the other side’s lawyer read it. Write it expecting people in your own office to read it.
Can this be taken back: No. Once registered, the explanations are part of 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 written in the demand — meet it. But it is not a statutory deadline: the Labour Code says nothing about how many days you get for explanations. If the time given is impossibly short, file whatever you have inside it and say in writing that you will supplement it. A second clock runs separately — a sanction is imposed no later than 2 months from discovery of the breach and no later than 1 year from its commission (чл. 194, ал. 1 КТ).
Legal basis: чл. 193, ал. 1 КТ — before imposing a disciplinary sanction the employer is obliged to hear the worker or to accept their written explanations, and to collect and assess the evidence indicated. чл. 193, ал. 2 КТ — where the employer has not done so, the court annuls the sanction without examining the merits of the dispute. чл. 189, ал. 1 КТ — in determining the sanction, the gravity of the breach, the circumstances in which it was committed and the conduct of the worker are taken into account. чл. 194, ал. 1 КТ — a sanction is imposed no later than 2 months from discovery of the breach and no later than 1 year from its commission. чл. 195, ал. 2 КТ — the order imposing a sanction is served against signature, with the date of service noted. § 1, т. 3 of the Supplementary Provisions to the Protection Against Discrimination Act — what victimisation is; under чл. 5 of the same Act victimisation counts as discrimination.

Before you write

Look at the date in the demand and meet it. And remember who set it: the employer, not the law — the Labour Code says nothing about how many days you get for explanations. If they give you until 9am tomorrow, file whatever you have inside that time and add one sentence saying you will supplement it in writing.
Give the explanations in writing even if they call you in „just for a chat“. A meeting leaves no record of what you actually said — the minutes are written by the other side. If they do hear you at a meeting, walk in with the page already printed, read it out and leave it against an incoming number.
Answer only what you are asked. If the demand does not say what exactly you are said to have done, on what date, 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 volunteer anything nobody asked about.
Do not admit anything you are not sure of. „Може би съм закъснял(а)“ — I may have been late — on a page with your signature becomes „признава закъснението“, he admits the lateness. If you do not remember, write that you do not remember. That is a permitted and an honest answer.
Do not out anybody else. This page goes into a file that travels round the office and ends up with a lawyer. Do not put anybody else’s orientation, HIV status or relationship into it — even when it is part of the story.
Do not sign a resignation and do not accept termination „по взаимно съгласие“ — by mutual consent — in that meeting. If they push a page at you, say you will read it at home. On a mutual-consent offer you have 7 days to answer, and silence counts as refusal (чл. 325, ал. 1, т. 1 КТ) — do not sign because the room is uncomfortable.
If this arrives after a complaint you made, the chronology is the single most valuable thing on this page. Write the dates: when you complained, to whom, on what document, and the date the demand arrived. Day and month, not „преди няколко седмици“.
Photograph the demand before you hand back or sign anything, and print the explanations in two copies. Do not write or print this on a work device.

What can follow

The sanction may still be imposed despite your explanations. They do not stop the proceedings — they give you what you need to challenge them afterwards. There are three sanctions: забележка, предупреждение за уволнение and дисциплинарно уволнение — a reprimand, a warning of dismissal, and disciplinary dismissal.
If the sanction is dismissal, you have 2 months from the day of termination to challenge it in court (чл. 358, ал. 1, т. 2 КТ). Not three years. This is exactly the deadline people miss while waiting for the outcome of something else.
If the sanction is забележка or предупреждение за уволнение — a reprimand or a warning of dismissal — the period to challenge it is 1 month (чл. 358, ал. 1, т. 1 КТ), and the sanction counts as imposed on the day the order was served on you (чл. 195, ал. 3 КТ). That is why the requests below ask for the order to be served against signature with the date noted — that date is where your clock starts.
If the employer never demanded explanations at all, or refused to accept yours, that is a standalone ground for the court to annul the sanction without examining the merits (чл. 193, ал. 2 КТ). That is precisely why you keep a stamped copy rather than 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 itself, tell a lawyer (чл. 194, ал. 1 КТ).
If all of this comes after a complaint of yours, what is happening has a name in law: преследване, victimisation. Keep the demand, the stamped explanations, the order and the dates in one place. A lawyer looks at the chronology before looking at the content.

What you type here stays here

The form has nowhere to submit to: the rule form-action 'none' in the site's security policy forbids your browser from submitting it anywhere at all. We receive nothing, and could not.

But the network sees that you opened the page. Do not open this on a work or school device, and not over the work Wi-Fi.

Nothing is saved. Reload the page and what you typed is gone — that is deliberate.

Employer — the exact legal nameAs written in your employment contract, with the legal form — ЕООД, ООД, АД. Not what you call it in the office.Your three namesAs they appear in the employment contract.PositionThe one in the contract, not the one you actually do.Number and date of the demandCopy it exactly from the demand, e.g. № 47 от 11.08.2026 г. If the demand carries no number, write „връчена ми на“ and the date.What you are accused of — in the words of the demandCopy the wording as it stands, even if it is vague. If it is vague, that helps you — say so plainly in your account.Your position on the allegationPick only what is true. The first option stands by default — a complete denial; if that is not true for you, change it before you print. The middle option is not a compromise: it is for the case where part of the facts really did happen.What actually happenedBy dates and by facts: who, when, where, what exactly. No insults, no guesses about anybody else’s motives, no „винаги“ and „никога“. If you do not remember something, write that you do not remember it.Who can confirm thisNames and positions, one per line. Ask them first — this page will be read inside the office.Did this arrive after a complaint or report you filed?If the answer is yes, section IV with the chronology is added to the document — it repeats in black and white, to the same people, that you were the one who complained. Choose yes only if you have dates you can point to; if there is time before the deadline, show the text to a lawyer.The chronology: the complaint and what followedDates and events only. On what date you complained, to whom, on what document; what followed; the date the demand arrived. No judgements — the dates speak for themselves.AttachmentsOne per line, numbered. Copies, never originals. If you have nothing to attach, write „няма“.Date of the explanationsThe date you hand them in. It has to fall inside the period set by the demand.

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 ], holding the position of [ position under the contract ] at [ name of the employer ] RE: demand for written explanations [ number of the demand ]

Dear Sir or Madam,

In connection with the demand referred to above, and within the period given to me, I give the following written explanations under чл. 193, ал. 1 of the Labour Code. I request that these explanations be accepted, entered in the register with an incoming number, and placed in the file of the disciplinary proceedings.

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 in its entirety. I did not commit the act for which explanations are demanded, and I do not accept the characterisation given to it in the demand. 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 stated, but I dispute that they amount to a breach of labour discipline. Which facts I admit and which I dispute is set out in section II below.

Variant — The facts are correct, but there are circumstances

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

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 of the Labour Code, in determining a disciplinary sanction the gravity of the breach, the circumstances in which it was committed and the conduct of the worker are taken into account. Should you nevertheless find that a breach was committed, I request that those circumstances be weighed on the basis of what is set out above and of my employment record.

I also draw attention to чл. 194, ал. 1 of the Labour Code: a disciplinary 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 set out above. The Protection Against Discrimination Act defines victimisation as 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 (§ 1, т. 3 of the Supplementary Provisions), and under чл. 5 of the Act victimisation counts as discrimination. I request 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 enter them in the register with an incoming number, returning to me a copy that bears that number and date;
2. to collect and assess the evidence indicated in these explanations, and to hear the persons named above, before any decision is taken in 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 been committed, and my conduct as a worker (чл. 189, ал. 1 КТ);
4. should a disciplinary sanction nevertheless be imposed on me, to serve the order on me against signature, with the date of service noted, and to provide me with a copy of it (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 option: no file, no print queue, no Downloads folder.

Before you press Print: in the print settings, untick "Headers and footers". 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; the content is not.
If they refuse to register it, send it through a licensed postal operator with acknowledgment of receipt and a declared list of contents, to the company’s registered address. Keep the receipt and the acknowledgment — they prove the date.
Email does not replace an incoming number. If you do send email, send it from your personal mailbox to the company’s official address, and take the paper in anyway. Do not forward work email or internal documents to your private address — that alone can earn you a second allegation.
Photograph the stamped copy immediately, in the corridor. Keep the photo off the work phone and out of the work cloud.
Do not use the work printer, the work email or the work Wi-Fi. Print at a copy shop, at home or at a friend’s — the printer at work keeps a queue with the name of the document in it.
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 the explanations on time and show the text afterwards.

Crisis lines Free legal help What the law says