The author analyses the legal regulation of the cessation of employment in different time periods, trying to illustrate how it gradually moved away from the clear principles of civil Iaw. In the middle of the 19th century, when the newly introduced trade freedom enabled the development of the capitalist manner of production and gave rise to the large working class, the employment was almost wholly left to the autonomy of different parties. This de facto denoted that the employer determined the contents of this relationship, deciding when to hire a worker, or for how long. Gradually more and more provisions curbed the freedom of the employer to terminate employment, enabling the worker to enjoy greater employment protection and growing rights connected with the termination of his employment.