European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
Eurofound's ERM database on restructuring-related legal regulations provides information on regulations in the Member States of the European Union and Norway which are explicitly or implicitly linked to anticipating and managing change.
Article 228a and Art. 228b
Employees are obliged to take part in the forms of training organised or financed by their employer for maintaining and improving professional qualifications and skills, and also to make efforts to improve their qualification levels in compliance with the performed work.
The Labour Code settles obligations from both sides - for the employer (228a) and employee (228b) for improving professional qualification and skills. The employer is obliged to organise and finance such training courses, the employee is obliged to participate.
The employee obligation corresponds to the legal requirement that the employer is obliged to provide conditions for maintaining and improving professional qualifications of employees for the effective performance of their obligations under the employment relationship in accordance with the requirements of the performed work and their future professional development (Labour Code, Article 228 a). In the case of a long absence of the employee, the employer is obliged to provide him/her with conditions for acquaintance with the work and any innovations implemented during the absence and for achieving the necessary qualification level for the effective performance of work obligations.
Art. 228 (2) (new - SG 62/02/2022, in force from 01.08.2022) provides an additional employer's obligation to cover the costs for training, as well as the training time shall be counted as working time. Whenever possible, training shall take place during the employee's established working hours.
Eurofound (2015), Bulgaria: Employees obligation to undertake training, Restructuring legislation database, Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/legislationdb/employees-obligation-to-undertake-training/bulgaria
This Eurofound research paper explores key trends in restructuring in recent years, highlighting the companies that announced the largest job losses and job gains in the EU. It builds on an analysis of company announcements recorded in Eurofound’s European Restructuring Monitor (ERM), alongside a new classification of restructuring events involving changes in company location.
:quality(80))
Employers increasingly use tools such as email, SMS and messaging apps like WhatsApp or Signal to communicate with employees. While these technologies offer both efficiency and convenience, their use in communicating sensitive information, particularly for notifying employees of dismissal, raises legal concerns. This article explores the legal framework on dismissals across the EU, with a special focus on the use of digital means for communicating employment dismissals. Drawing on examples from various Member States, it examines the legal validity of digital dismissals.
:quality(80))
In 2023, thousands of workers in big tech lost their jobs. Meta, Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft and Salesforce had been considered to offer good and secure jobs up to this point. Giants of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector, these companies are among the highest paying, with Eurostat data from 2022 indicating that workers in ICT had the second-highest median gross hourly earnings (surpassed only by earnings in the financial sector).[1] These layoffs were a shock, especially as the biggest companies had hired extensively during the COVID-19 pandemic. What happened in the two years after this redundancy wave – was that the end of the cuts or did the companies start expanding again?
:quality(80))
In 2024, the automotive sector in the EU came to the fore in public and policy discussions. The focus was on the slowdown in electric vehicle (EV) sales, rising global competition, belated investments in new technologies, and the potential closure of production lines in Europe. A number of European car manufacturers and suppliers announced their intention to make large-scale redundancies and change long-standing collective agreements on job security and wages, while workers raised concerns amid demonstrations and industrial action.
:quality(80))