The contract is signed, the registration is filed and the start date is set for 1 September 2026. Then the new employee never turns up. No call, no email, no explanation. For many Hungarian employers, the first instinct is to treat the hire as if it never happened and quietly delete the registration.

That instinct is wrong. A recent analysis published by Adózóna, based on exactly this scenario, shows that a worker who doesn’t show up is still legally an employee. Ending that relationship means a formal termination, and handling it carelessly can turn a recruitment headache into an unlawful dismissal case.

Why the signature creates the employment relationship

The analysis is based on Hungary’s labour code, the Munka Törvénykönyve (Act I of 2012, known as Mt.). It applies to employment relationships governed by Hungarian law. Under the Mt., employment is created when the contract is signed, not when the employee walks through the door on day one.

That has a practical consequence: the registration cannot simply be deleted. On paper, a real employment relationship exists, so it has to be ended through one of the routes the law recognises.

The three ways to end it, all in writing

The Adózóna analysis sets out three possible forms of termination. Each one must be made in writing:

• Termination by notice, the ordinary route with a notice period.
• Dismissal with immediate effect, used for serious breaches of obligations.
• Termination by mutual agreement, which is only possible if you can actually reach the person.

For an absent new hire, the analysis concludes that after two weeks of unexplained absence the employment can very likely be ended with immediate effect. The written dismissal should be delivered to the employee’s home address, but only after the employer has genuinely tried to make contact.

“Try to reach the employee somehow; if that fails, terminate the employment.”

That is the advice of dr. Kéri Ádám, a lawyer and compliance expert, writing for Adózóna (translated from Hungarian). The order matters: first contact, then termination.

The risk hiding behind every no-show

Not every absence is ghosting. What if the new hire is in hospital and physically unable to call? According to the analysis, if the worker was genuinely incapacitated and could not notify the employer, a dismissal would be unlawful. The employer would have to withdraw it and pay for the period as sick leave.

Hungarian courts take this seriously. Adózóna cites a case in which a court found a dismissal unlawful because the worker had suffered a workplace accident, had been on sick pay continuously and had 9 years of service. The analysis also notes that the employer’s duty to cooperate can grow with the length of employment. A brand-new hire is at one end of that scale, but the duty does not disappear.

For HR: a defensible process

If a new starter fails to appear, a short, documented sequence protects the organisation:

• Don’t delete the registration. Treat the person as an employee from the moment the contract was signed.
• Try every contact channel and log it. Record phone calls, emails and messages with dates and times, so you can later show that you made a real effort.
• Let the absence run its course. The analysis points to two weeks of absence before immediate-effect dismissal becomes very likely defensible.
• Put it in writing and send it home. Deliver the dismissal to the home address on file.
• Be ready to reverse course. If medical incapacity surfaces later, withdraw the dismissal and handle the period as sick leave.

Teams that build this into their onboarding playbook avoid improvising under pressure. They also spend less time between a failed start and refilling the role.

For employees: what this means if you can’t start

If you have signed a contract with a Hungarian employer, you are already their employee, even before your first day. Your rights and obligations start from that signature.

If you accepted another offer or changed your mind after a final interview, silence is the worst option. An unexplained absence can lead to dismissal with immediate effect, which stays on your record with that employer. Contacting them and agreeing a mutual termination in writing is cleaner for both sides.

If illness or an accident stops you from starting, tell the employer as soon as you can and keep the medical documentation. Under the reasoning in the Adózóna analysis, a dismissal issued while you were genuinely unable to give notice would be unlawful.

The takeaway

A no-show new hire is not a cancelled booking. In Hungary, it is an employment relationship that has to be closed properly. For employers, that means documented contact attempts, patience and a written termination. For people weighing several jobs, it means one honest message before day one, which costs far less than the consequences of disappearing. How each side handles that moment often shows up later in employer reviews and in a candidate’s reputation.