In 2025, the Supreme Court of Lithuania issued several important rulings shaping national labour law. The Court clarified employers’ rights to test job candidates, defined the scope of conflicts of interest and double pay for rest-day work, and addressed liability for illegal employment of foreign nationals, providing practical guidance on key employment law issues.
Ruling of the Supreme Court of Lithuania of 16 June 2025 in civil case No. 3K-3-108-1120/2025
The Supreme Court of Lithuania ruled on the employer’s right to test the abilities of potential employees before concluding an employment contract with them.
The Court noted that the law does not prohibit an employer from checking, before concluding an employment contract with a prospective employee, whether they will be able to perform the agreed job functions and whether they have the necessary qualifications and skills, and, if it is established that the data provided by the employee does not correspond to his or hers actual abilities, not to conclude a contract with them.
In the case examined by the Supreme Court, the data on qualifications submitted by the person being tested by the employer did not correspond to their actual abilities. This information was necessary for the employer to decide whether to enter into an employment contract with the person being checked, so the employer had the right to terminate the pre-contractual employment relationship without entering into a contract.
Ruling of the Supreme Court of Lithuania of 10 April 2025 in civil case No. e3K-3-49-1120/2025.
The Supreme Court of Lithuania ruled on the employee’s obligation to avoid conflicts of interest and the employer’s right to terminate the employment contract due to gross violation of work duties.
The court stated that the parties to an employment contract are not prohibited from agreeing on what constitutes a conflict of interest and from establishing this in the employer’s internal legal acts.
A conflict of interest in the context of employment relations is a situation in which an employee may be required to act against the employer’s interests due to the interests of other persons or their own personal interests that are contrary to the employer’s interests. A conflict of interest situation does not necessarily mean that the employer’s interests will inevitably be violated, as the wording of Article 24 of the Labour Code implies that the parties to the employment contract must avoid even the threat of violating the employer’s interests.
In this case, the concept of conflict of interest was broadened to encompass not only situations in which the employer’s interests are violated, but also situations in which the employee could potentially violate those interests. Therefore, an employee may also be held liable for failing to comply with the obligation to avoid a conflict of interest.
Ruling of the Supreme Court of Lithuania of 25 September 2025 in civil case No. e3K-3-128-1120/2025
In this case, the Supreme Court of Lithuania clarified the circumstances under which an employee is entitled to double pay for work on rest days.
The court stated in the case under consideration that, on the one hand, an employee is entitled to double pay in cases where they work on a day off at the employer’s request, but on the other hand, the employee cannot have a legitimate expectation of receiving double pay for work on their day off if the change is initiated by the employee themselves exclusively in their own interests. The burden of proving in whose interests and at whose request the employee’s schedule was changed lies with the employer.
In the case under consideration, the Court also clarified the circumstances in which it is permissible to deviate from the “loser pays” rule in distributing litigation costs. The court stated that in cases where the award of litigation costs would result in the complete loss of monetary compensation to which the party is reasonably entitled, the courts, in order to ensure the right to effective judicial protection, should apply Article 93(4) of the Code of Civil Procedure, which allows for a deviation from the “loser pays” rule and ensures a fair distribution of litigation costs in the case.
Ruling of the Supreme Court of Lithuania of 13 October 2025 in administrative offence case No. 2AT-30-891/2025
The Supreme Court of Lithuania ruled on the punishment of a company director for illegal employment, in which the employer continued the employment relationship with a foreigner after the legal basis for the foreigner’s presence in Lithuania had ceased to exist.
The court noted that the laws of the Republic of Lithuania establish additional requirements for the employment of foreigners. An employer may enter into an employment contract with a foreigner only if the foreigner holds a work permit, except in certain cases. The employment of a foreigner in the Republic of Lithuania is illegal if he or she works without a work permit and/or employment contract, and without a temporary residence permit or visa when required.
The Supreme Court of Lithuania emphasised that a person’s administrative liability under Article 95(1) of the Code of Administrative Offences arises only if they are at fault. In the case under consideration, the continuation of the employment relationship with the foreigner after the expiry of his residence permit in Lithuania was determined by an incorrect date entered in the company’s software. The company’s manager took steps to ensure that its data on foreign nationals working for the company was properly managed. Taking into account that the company’s manager continued the employment relationship with the foreign national after the expiry of his residence permit in Lithuania in only one situation, even though a significant number of foreigners worked for the company, and that the continuation of the employment relationship in this case was determined by a clerical error in the company’s software that was not noticed in time, the Supreme Court of Lithuania concluded that the company director’s conduct could not be considered negligent (careless).
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