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.
Art. 9 Royal Decree 801/2011; Art. 51 Statute of Workers’ Rights; Royal Decree 43/1996; Art. 18.3 Law 3/2012
During the consultation period of a collective dismissal (within 90 days, more than 5 employees made redundant if the whole workforce is affected; at least 10 employees in companies with fewer than 100 employees; 10% of the employees in companies between 100 and 299 employees; and at least 30 employees in companies with more than 299 employees), employers and workers’ representatives discuss not only the motivating reasons of the restructuring or downsizing, but also the possibility of avoiding or reducing its effects, as well as on the necessary measures to attenuate its consequences for the affected workers.
For example, management and workers' representatives can agree on measures such as the use of outplacement companies or training for the improvement of workers' employability or others measures to guarantee the future viability of the undertaking.
In undertakings with 50 or more employees, the employer must provide a social plan to the public authorities and workers’ representatives. The social plan must include: * measures intended to avoid or reduce the effects of restructuring – for instance, internal redeployment, functional or geographical mobility, substantial modifications of contractual conditions, training or retraining measures; * measures aimed at reducing the effects of restructuring on employees; * external relocation, training and retraining actions; * promotion of self-employment; * financial compensations for geographical mobility; * economic, technical, organisational and other types of measures intended to make the continuance of the undertaking and its activity possible.
Companies have to carry out a special training and redeployment plan of at least 6 months implemented by means of an authorised outplacement company if the collective dismissal affects over 50 employees.
Overall, measures and practices that are reported in the media that are more common across several sectors are: early retirement, voluntary and incentivised exits and, to a lesser extent, relocation. Restructuring measures involving training and retraining actions or promotion of self-employment are not commonly used. Recent collective dismissals (since 2012, when the financial assistance programme for the recapitalisation of financial institutions was approved) reported in the media affecting the financial sector show, for instance, that voluntary and incentivised leaves, together with early retirement measures, are the most common alternatives implemented.
Eurofound (2015), Spain: Obligation to consider alternatives to collective dismissals, Restructuring legislation database, Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/legislationdb/obligation-to-consider-alternatives-to-collective-dismissals/spain
Between the end of 2022 and the first half of 2023, almost 300,000 employees working for ‘big tech’ companies were laid off across the world, making headlines for months in global media. This development has been a shock, considering the high numbers of jobs in well-known tech corporations with a reputation for offering good working conditions and well-paid positions.
The retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions. Many banks in the sector have been undergoing serial restructuring since the global financial crisis, and it is one of the few service sectors with stagnant or declining employment.
Since 2011, the Restructuring support instruments database of the EU PolicyWatch has been collecting information on measures that assist companies and workers to anticipate and manage restructuring. This article looks at measures in the database aimed at supporting employees and employers during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022).
Eurofound’s European Restructuring Monitor database reveals the impact of the energy crisis on employment in the EU. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, energy prices have hit record highs. The European Commission imposed sanctions and limitations on the import of oil and gas from Russia, which has reacted by reneging on supply commitments to many Member States.
