Restructuring legislation

If the employer wants to dismiss, within a 30 day period,:

• at least 5 employees in a company with more than 20 and fewer than 100 employees,
• at least 5% of employees in a company with 100-600 employees,
• at least 30 employees in a company with more than 600 employees,
• at least 5 employees aged 50+ irrespective of company size,

the employer must inform the regional office of the Austrian public employment service (AMS) in writing at least 30 days before the first planned dismissals. The notification must include:

• the reason for terminating the employment contract,
• the timing of dismissals,
• the number and function of regular staff and of employees to be made redundant, as well as their qualifications, gender, age, tenure,
• selection criteria for dismissals,
• possible planned measures to mitigate the negative consequences for affected employees.

The employer also has to prove that the works council has been informed and consulted. If there is no works council in the company, a copy of the notification to the public employment service has to be submitted to all potentially affected workers. The public employment service has to start consultations with the employer, the works council, trade unions and employers' organisations and inform the social assistance office. If needed, also experts could be involved. The consultation should consider the optimal use of public support, particularly as regards older workers. If the employer provides a sound justification (for example, establishment of a social plan or economic necessity), the public employment service can also authorise the dismissals before the 30 day period.

As soon as unions' representatives have been informed about the intention to proceed to collective dismissals (namely, within 60 days, dismissals of at least 10 workers in firms with 20-99 employees, of at least 10% of the workforce in companies with 100-299 employees or at least 30 workers in firms with 300 or more staff), the employers are required to notify the regional employment office (VDAB in Flanders, FOREM in Wallonia and ACTIRIS in Brussels). From that moment, the information and consultation procedure starts with no time limit with regards to when it should end. As soon as this step is completed, employers are required to notify the regional employment office in writing, providing proofs that the consultation procedure has been respected and providing information related to the affected employees, the activities of the employer, and the characteristics of the consultation (who was consulted when on what) that has taken place with the works council. A copy of the notification letter must be also sent to the Federal Public Department for Employment, Labour ans Social Consultation. The law does not specify any obligation for the public authority to respond to the notification. From that moment, union representatives have 30 days to object about the information and consultation process. During this period, the employer cannot proceed to any layoff. If no objections are expressed during this period, at the end of it the employer is allowed to proceed with the collective dismissal. However, if objections are expressed, the regional employment office can extend this period up to 60 days. In this case, the employer has to address the issue raised by the unions by the end of the extended period.

In relation to collective dismissals (within 30 days, at least 10 dismissals in companies with 20-99 workers, at least 10% in companies with 100-299 workers, at least 30 dismissals in companies with 300 or more workers) the employer must notify the Employment Agency in writing not later than 30 days before the date of dismissal. The Employment Agency must send a copy of the notification to the municipal administration, the territorial division of the National Insurance Institute and the territorial division of the Executive Agency of the General Labour Inspectorate. The employer must also present a copy of the notification to trade unions and employees' representatives. Upon receipt of this notification, teams consisting of representatives from the employer, the workers' and employees' organisations in the enterprise, the Employment Agency and the municipal administration must be formed. The teams must work out the necessary measures and projects for mediation for employment, the retraining of adults, starting independent economic activity and employment programmes.

The employer is obliged to notify the competent public employment service of the consultations related to collective redundancies of at least 20 employees, of whom at least 5 made redundant on grounds of severe business conditions. The notification has to contain the information on the duration of consultations with the works council, outcomes and conclusions resulting therefrom, with a statement of the works council attached thereto. The works council may send any comments and suggestions they may have to the competent public authority responsible for employment and to the employer, with regards to the mentioned notification.  Projected collective redundancies notified to the competent public authority responsible for employment take effect no earlier than 30 days after the mentioned notification. The competent public authority responsible for employment may within a period of 30 days request the employer to postpone either collective or individual redundancies for a maximum 30 days if the employer is able to ensure the continuation of employment during this extended period.

Collective Dismissals Law The Minister of Labour and Social Insurance must immediately be notified in writing about any intended collective dismissals (at least 10 dismissals in companies with 21-99 employees, 10% of workforce in companies with 100-299 employees or at least 30 dismissals in larger firms) by the employer. The notice must be given on a standard form and include all information disclosed to the employee representatives. There must be a minimum of 30 days from the date that the employer gives notice to the Minister of Labour and Social Insurance before the redundancy can take effect. Within the 30-days timeframe the Minister of Labour and Social Insurance may seek solutions for the problems that may arise from the intended collective dismissals. As part of this obligation, the employer is also obliged to inform the Minister of the reasons for the proposed redundancies, the number of the employees that will be dismissed and total number of employees, their employment positions, their names, family status and obligations, the period during which redundancies should take effect, whether consultations between the employer and the employee representatives took place and their context and outcome. In many cases, when companies have informed the Minister of Labour and Social Security regarding their intention to proceed with collective redundancies, the Ministry has informed the Human Resources Development Authority along with the Cypriot Productivity Centre so they can work with the company concerned to try to overcome its difficulties and avoid dismissals. Termination of Employment Law According to Termination of Employment Law  (Law 24/1967 as amended), an employer has the obligation to provide notice to the Minister of Labour and Social Insurance for any intended redundancy, even if the redundancy does not qualify as collective dismissals. The notification to the Minister has to be submitted at least 30 days before the redundancy takes effect and should include information on the number of employees and department of the enterprise concerned, profession and family situation of the employees concerned and the reason for redundancy.

The employer shall inform in writing the regional branch of the Labour Office (that is competent according to the employer's place of activities) of collective dismissals (within 30 days, dismissals of at least 10 workers in companies with 20-100 employees, at least 10% in companies with 101-300 employees, or at least 30 workers in companies with more than 300 workers). In particular the employer shall inform of the reasons for such measures, the total number of employees and the number and professional structure of those employees affected by the measures, the period within which the collective dismissals will take place, the criteria proposed for the selection of employees to be made redundant and also the commencement of consultation with the trade union organisation and the works council. The employer shall deliver to the regional branch of the Labour Office a written report on his/her decision on collective dismissals and on the results of consultations with the trade union organisation and the works council. One copy of this report shall be delivered to the trade union organisation and one to the works council. The trade union organisation and the works council have the right to give each its independent opinion on the employer's written report and deliver it to the regional branch of the Labour Office.

Employers must inform the relevant regional employment council of the negotiations with the employees’ representatives on collective dismissals (within 30 days, dismissals of at least 10 workers in companies with 21-99 employees, at least 10% in companies with 100-299 employees and at least 30 dismissals in larger firms). The outcome of such negotiations must be sent to the regional employment councils in writing at the same time as the first notice to employees. Information to be provided: reason for the proposed redundancies, total number of employees employed and period during which the proposed redundancies will be made. The earliest date that the dismissals can take effect is 30 days after notice of the dismissals has been given to the regional employment council and the staff. In the case of a company with at least 100 employees where at least 50% of the workforce is to be dismissed, the dismissals cannot take effect until eight weeks after notification.

Collective dismissals means termination, within 30 calendar days, of the employment contract of no less than:

• 5 employees in an enterprise where the average number of employees is up to 19;
• 10 employees in an enterprise where the average number of employees is 20–99;
• 10% of the employees in an enterprise where the average number of employees is 100 to 299;
• 30 employees in an enterprise where the average number of employees is at least 300.

Before an employer decides on collective dismissals they shall send a transcript of the following information to the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund (Töötukassa), concurrently with the submission of the information to employees' representative or, in his or her absence, the employees:

• the reasons for the collective dismissals;
• the number and official titles of all employees;
• the number and official titles of those employees and the selection criteria determining the persons whose employment contracts are to be cancelled;
• the period of time during which the employment contracts are to be cancelled;
• the method of calculation of the compensation to be paid to the employees in addition to the benefits prescribed by law or the collective agreement.

After consultations, an employer shall submit the information specified above and the information about the consultations to the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund in a format which can be reproduced in writing. The employer shall send a transcript of the information to the employees or their representative concurrently with the submission of the information to the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund. The employees' representative may submit to the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund his or her opinion on the collective dismissals within seven calendar days as of sending the transcript of the information specified above. Collective dismissals of employment contracts enter into force upon the expiry of the term for advance notice of dismissals, but not sooner than 30 calendar days after the time when the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund received the information specified above. During the period, the Fund shall seek solutions to the employment problems relating to the collective dismissals.  The Fund has the right to shorten the term if the employment problems can be resolved within a shorter term. The Fund may extend the term up to 60 calendar days if it finds that it cannot resolve the employment problems relating to the collective dismissals within 30 calendar days. The  Fund shall communicate a decision to change the term to the employer in a format which can be reproduced in writing within 14 calendar days as of the receipt of the information specified above. The term of entry into force of the cancellation shall not be applied if employment contracts are cancelled collectively due to termination of the activities of the company on the basis of a court judgement which has entered into force.

When planning to dismiss or to temporarily lay off one or more employees, or when planning to turn one or more full-time employment relationships into a part-time, the employer is obliged to deliver the negotiation proposal with relevant details to the public employment services (TE Office) before the beginning of the negotiations. When planning to dismiss 10 or more employees the employer must draw up a plan of action specifying ways to promote the reemployment of workers who are about to lose their jobs. In cooperation with the public employment services, the employer must chart the availability of services available for supporting employment. The plan must include the estimated schedule of the negotiations, the procedures to be followed therein, and principles for the use of public employment services and for supporting reemployment and training during the dismissal notice period. The clauses are applicable to companies with 20 or more employees. The Law on Amending the Employment Contracts Act [Laki työsopimuslain muuttamisesta] (403/2023), which will enter into force as of January 1st, 2025, states that the employer must immediately notify the labor authority of the dismissal of employees, if there are at least ten employees to be dismissed on economic or production grounds. The notification must state the number of employees to be dismissed, their hometowns, occupations or job duties, and the dates of termination of employment.

Any employer has to notify the labour inspectorate of each collective redundancy plan affecting a minimum of 10 or more employees over a 30-day period. In companies with less than 10 employees, the employer notifies the labour inspectorate in maximum 8 days after sending the dismissal letters to the redundant employees. If employee representative bodies are present within the company, notification has to be provided to the labour inspectorate the day following the first meeting with the employee representatives. The information provided to the employee representatives are sent to the regional labour authorities at the same time ('Direction régionale de l'économie, de l'emploi, du travail et des solidarités - DREETS'). On or before the same day, the employer has to notify its intention to launch negotiations on a Job saving plan ('Plan de sauvegarde de l'emploi'). In companies with fewer than 50 employees, administrative authorities have 21 days to make sure that existing employee representatives have been informed and consulted in compliance with legal provisions and collective agreements, that worker representatives have been informed of any measures to avoid forced dismissals, or to reduce the number of job reduction and to facilitate employees' redeployment. Finally, the administrative authorities have to check that these measures are properly implemented.

The employer has to inform the local Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) within a period of 1 to 30 days before employees are notified about dismissal or redundancy. The procedure applies to companies with 21–59 employees enacting at least 6 dismissals or termination contracts, to companies employing 60–499 employees and reducing their staff by at least 10% or 26 and more persons and to companies employing 500 or more workers dismissing (or terminating the work contract of) at least 30 persons. Employers must provide the following information:

• the reasons for the proposed redundancies;
• the number and occupational groups of proposed dismissals and employed regularly;
• the timeframe within which the dismissals are to be effected;
• the positions and professions which are affected;
• the selection criteria for dismissals;
• the criteria for the calculation of compensation payments, if applicable.

A copy of this notification also needs to give information on gender, age, occupation and nationality and show that the selection has been approved by the works council. If a works council is in place in the establishment or in the mother company, the employer has to inform and consult the council in due time before the notification of the employment agency. The opinion of the worker representatives should be attached to the notification. If a statement is not available because of ongoing consultations or disputes, the employer has to prove to the agency that the works council has been informed. Otherwise a decision will not be taken. The works council may attach its statements to the notification or send this to the agency separately.   The employment agency's decision is either taken by the local agency's manager or by a standing committee. The agency is not allowed to take decisions without information on the works council's opinion. It holds the right to extend the waiting period to two months if it feels that the interests of the local employment market and the more general public would otherwise be affected. It cannot altogether reject the planned collective redundancy, however.

Consultation takes place in order to reach an agreement between the employer and the employee representatives. When defining or implementing practical arrangements for information and consultation, the employer and the employee representatives have a legal obligation to act in a spirit of cooperation, with due regard to their reciprocal rights and obligations and taking into account both the interests of the undertaking or establishment and those of the employees. The period of consultation between the employees and the employer shall be 30 days, starting from the invitation of the employee representatives to consultations by the employer. Upon completion of the consultations, the employer must submit the consultation minutes to the Supreme Labour Council. The result of the consultations is set out in minutes submitted by the employer to the SLC. The employee representatives may submit a statement on the consultations to the SLC. The SLC can invite and listen to the employee representatives and the employer, and to persons with expert knowledge of specific technical issues. If the SLC considers that the employer has complied with the above obligations, the redundancies take effect 20 days after the date of the decision. If not, the SLC extends the consultation period or sets a deadline within which the employer must take the necessary steps to meet the above obligations. If the SLC finds in a new decision that the employer has complied with the above obligations, the redundancies take effect 20 days after the date of the decision. In any case, the redundancies take effect 60 days after notification (publication of the minutes of the consultation). If an agreement is reached during the consultations, the redundancies can proceed accordingly following a lapse of 10 days from the submission of the consultation minutes. If no agreement is reached, the council must issue a decision within 10 days from the submission of the consultation minutes regarding the employer's compliance with the information and consultation obligations. Prior to issuing its decision, the council can hear the parties involved as well as technical experts. If the decision of the council finds that the employer has complied with its information and consultation obligations, the redundancies can be implemented after a lapse of 20 days from the council's decision. If not, the council can either extend the consultations or set a deadline for compliance. If the council then finds that the employer has met its obligations, the redundancies can take effect after the lapse of 20 days from the council's (new) decision. In any case, the redundancies become effective 60 days after the submission of the consultation minutes to the council. Under the law the employer may submit a social plan for the affected employees during the consultations. The social plan may include measures for mitigating the consequences of the redundancies for the employees, such as coverage of self-insurance costs, training and outplacement services, utilisation of state programmes against unemployment and possibilities for redeployment. Furthermore, the employer is obliged to submit all supporting documentation not only to the employee representatives (which applied also under the previous legal regime), but also to the Supreme Labour Council - a special committee within the Ministry of Labour that consists of an equal number of representatives from the state, the employee associations and the employer association.  

The employer shall notify the government employment agency of its intention regarding collective redundancies and of the details and aspects of collective redundancies as negotiated with the works council and shall supply a copy thereof to the works council. Collective dismissals are defined as those affecting at least 10 workers in companies with 21-99 employees, 10% of workers in companies with 100-299 employees, and at least 30 workers in companies with 300 or more employees. Regarding the intention of collective redundancies, the employer shall notify in writing the government employment agency of its decision at least 30 days prior to delivering the notice of dismissal. This notification shall contain:

• the identification data;
• the job position; and
• the qualification of the employees to be made redundant.

The employer shall negotiate on collective redundancies with the works council. The agreement concluded between the employer and the works council in the course of these negotiations shall be made in writing, and a copy shall be sent to the government employment agency (regarding the content of the negotiations and the agreement (see ’Staff information and consultation on collective dismissals’). Furthermore, the employer shall notify in writing the workers affected from the decision regarding collective redundancies at least 30 days prior to delivering the notice of dismissal or the dismissal without notice as defined in the law. The notice of dismissal or the dismissal without notice may be delivered after 30 days following the time of notification. The notification shall be sent to the works council and the government employment agency as well. Any notice of dismissal delivered in violation of the above regulations regarding the notification of workers affected shall be considered unlawful.

The Protection of employment act makes it mandatory on employers proposing a collective redundancy to engage in an information and consultation process with employees’ representatives and to notify the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment of the proposed collective redundancy at the earliest opportunity and in any event at least 30 days before the first dismissal takes effect. Collective redundancy, for the purpose of the act, is defined as at least 5 redundancies in an establishment employing 21-49 employees; at least 10 redundancies in an establishment employing 50-99 employees; at least 10% of employees made redundant in an establishment employing 100-299 employees; and at least 30 redundancies in an establishment that employs 300 or more people.  The following information has to be provided: name and address of the employer, indicating whether he or she is a sole trader, a partnership or a company; the address of the establishment where the collective redundancy is proposed; the total number of persons normally employed at the establishment; the number and description or categories of employees proposed to be made redundant; the period during which the collective redundancies are proposed to be effected; the reasons for the proposed redundancies; the names and addresses of the employees' representatives consulted about the proposed redundancies; the date on which those consultations commenced and the progress achieved to date of notification. The minister must also be supplied with a copy of all the information given to employee representatives, and all information supplied to the minister has to be supplied to employee representatives. The minister cannot prevent the redundancies, but may require employers to consult various authorities in order to seek solutions to problems caused by the redundancies, or attempt to reduce the number of planned redundancies. In some redundancy situations, likely to have a major impact in a region, special interagency task forces designed to fast track the design and provision of services in response to significant impending job losses are in place. IDA Ireland is often consulted during the 30-day period at companies that come under its remit and which are affected by redundancies.  No redundancies can take place during the 30-day consultation period. If an employer fails to comply with the notification process, they are guilty of an offence and can be fined up to €5,000. Where redundancies have taken effect during the 30-day period, the employer can face a fine of up to €250,000. However, if the company is in formal wind-up/liquidation, the penalty for carrying out redundancies before 30 days does not apply. The Companies (Rescue Process for Small and Micro Companies) Act 2021 provides new rights to employees as creditors in liquidation scenarios. The main change is that it is now a right of creditors to form an inspection committee, on which there must be at least one employee creditor. There is also recourse to the Workplace Relations Commission and Labour Court built into new provisions, in the event of a dispute during the liquidation consultation phase. This inspection committee facilitates a direct employee voice in the liquidation scenario; the chosen employee creditor would most likely be chosen through a trade union or works council process.

The mandatory procedure foreseen by law no. 223/1991 in case of collective dismissals (i.e. the dismissal of at least five workers within 120 days in companies with more than 15 employees) foresees that the employer needs to give a written preventive communication to company employee representatives (RSU or RSA), trade unions, and to the local branch of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, that is the territorial labour inspectorates (Ispettorati Territoriali del Lavoro). If the redundancies concern production units located in various provinces of the same region or in several regions, the communication must be sent directly to the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies. After the mandatory communication, under request of the trade unions, a first consultation phase between the management and unions begins, lasting up to 45 days. After this deadline, the company communicates the results of the consultation and the reasons for any negative outcome to the relevant territory labour inspectorate. When the joint examination has given a negative outcome or has not taken place because it was not requested by the trade unions, the territory labour inspectorate has the power to convene the parties for further examination and can formulate proposals for reaching an agreement. This further examination must be completed within 30 days. After these two procedures, lasting 75 days in total, employers can proceed with the collective dismissals.

In case of collective redundancy (within 30 days, dismissals of at least 5 workers in companies with 21-49 employees, at least 10 workers in companies with 50-99 employees, at least 10% in companies with 100-299 employees or at least 30 workers in larger firms), the public authorities (State Employment Agency and the municipality) have to be informed. Employers are required to notify in writing public authorities at least 30 days in advance of planned collective redundancies. The notification has to include the given name, surname or company name of the employer, location and type of activity of the undertaking, reasons for the intended collective redundancy, number of employees to be made redundant stating the occupation and qualifications of each employee, number of employees normally employed by the undertaking and the time period within which it is intended to carry out the collective redundancy, as well as provide information regarding the consultations with employee representatives. The employer has to send a duplicate of the notification to the employee representatives. In exceptional cases the State Employment Agency may extend the time limit to 60 days. The State Employment Agency has to notify in writing the employer and employee representatives regarding extension of the time period and the reasons for it two weeks before expiry of the time period mentioned before. Law on the Management of the Spread of COVID-19 Infection (in force since 5 April 2020) sets that the State Employment Agency may shorten the time period for a notification of collective redundancy specified in Section 107 of the Labour Law by determining it shorter than 30 days. The State Employment Agency must immediately notify in writing an employer and representatives of employees of the shortening of the time period. This norm will expire on 1 January 2024.

According to the Labour code, an employer must notify the Employment service in writing of any projected collective redundancies (at least 10 dismissals with a workforce of 20-99 employees, at least 10% with a workforce of 100-299 employees or at least 30 dismissals with a workforce of at least 300 employees in any 30-day period). The notification requires filling in a form, determined by the government. The notification follows consultations with the works council (or in the absence thereof – the employer-level trade union) and it needs to be made no later than 30 days before the termination of the employment relationship. The employer shall submit a copy of this notification and a notice of group redundancies (in the event of employer's bankruptcy) to the works council or the employer-level trade union, which may submit its observations and proposals to the Employment service. In case of individual dismissals, an employer does not have the obligation to inform public authorities of the dismissal. The specification of the procedure for giving notices of intended group redundancies to the local employment office approved by Order No A1-383 sets out the procedure for employers for notifying the Employment service of the projected group redundancies. When filing a notification form to the employment service, an employer must provide the following information:

• the number of employees in the company;
• the number of redundancies;
• terms of dismissals;
• qualifications of redundant employees;
• causes of dismissals;
• information regarding consultations with employees' representatives on planned layoffs.

An employer who intends to dismiss at least 7 employees over a period of 30 days or at least 15 employees over a period of 90 days for reasons not related to employees' conduct must follow the procedure set up for informing public authorities about collective redundancies. In the first instance, the employer must inform the national public employment agency [ADEM] (http://www.guichet.public.lu/entreprises/en/organismes/adem/index.html) and employees' representatives or the employees themselves if the company regularly employs fewer than 15 employees. Before proceeding with dismissals, the employer must begin negotiations with the employees' representatives in order to establish a redundancy plan. In order to do this, the employer must notify employees' representatives of the employee's intention to implement a collective redundancy and provide them with the following information in writing preferably before the start of negotiations, or at the latest at the start of negotiations:

• detailed reasons for the collective redundancy;
• number and categories of employees to be made redundant;
• number and categories of employees that are usually employed;
• period during which the redundancies will take place;
• criteria to be used to identify the employees for redundancy;
• method used for calculating any financial compensation that goes beyond the amounts established by law or collective agreement, or failing this, the reasons for refusing such compensation.

The employer must send a copy of  the document addressed to the employees' representatives to ADEM at the latest when negotiations begin. ADEM, on its part, will forward a copy to the national Labour and Mine Inspectorate (Inspection du travail et des mines, ITM). The employer must also provide employees' representatives or, should there be no employees' representative, the employees themselves, with a copy of the notification sent to ADEM. Employees' representatives may also report their observations to ADEM, which will forward a copy to the labour inspectorate. In addition, if the company regularly employs 15 employees or more, the employer must notify each individual dismissal for economic reasons to the Conjuncture Committee (Comité de Conjoncture). The notification must be sent at the latest when employees receive notification of their period of notice. The Committee can then invite the social partners to negotiate on a job retention plan which must at least explore the scope for avoiding redundancies, mitigating their consequences, taking steps to assist redeployment, and providing the provision of financial compensation.

The Collective Redundancies (Protection of Employment) Regulations stipulates that in the case of collective redundancies, the employer shall forward to the Director General responsible for Industrial and Employment Relations (IER) a copy of the written notification given to the employee representatives regarding the proposal to make redundancies. The Director General should be informed of the notification on the same day. The Director General (Employment and Industrial Relations) shall also receive a copy of the written statement with all relevant information including the reasons for the redundancies, the number of employees planned to be dismissed, the number of employees normally employed, the criteria proposed for the selection of employees to be made redundant, details regarding any redundancy payment obligations and the period over which redundancies are to be effected. This information must be handed over to the Director General on the same day on which the employee representatives are notified. Moreover, where the projected collective redundancy concerns members of the crew of a seagoing ship, the employer shall notify the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen. These rules apply to the termination of employment by an employer on grounds of redundancy, over a period of 30 days, of:

• 10 or more employees in establishments normally employing more than 20 employees but fewer than 100;
• 10% or more of the number of employees in establishments employing 100–300;
• 30 employees or more in establishments employing 300 or more.

These regulations shall not apply to terminations of employment effected under contracts of employment concluded for limited periods of time or for specific tasks, except where such terminations take place prior to the date of expiry or the completion of such tasks and the reason for such prior termination is the redundancy of the employees so terminated. Notice of dismissal may only take effect after 30 days from notification to the Director General of Employment and Industrial Relations who may either shorten the period in exceptional circumstances or who my extend the 30 day period by a second period of the same length if such extension may lead to finding resolution, or to the identification of beneficial solutions to employees who will be made redundant.

Effective from 1 July 2015, a new procedure with regard to dismissal permits applies. According to article 7:671a of the Civil code, in case of restructuring for business reasons (which in practice is the sole reason for restructuring), the employer needs a dismissal permit from the public employment service (UWV), if the employee and the employer do not come to an agreement. This is the procedure for dismissals which are not collective in nature (that is, under 20 people from the same branch or region of an enterprise branch). However, it is possible that binding collective agreements stipulate that a sectorial committee takes a request for collective dismissal (if an employer intends to dismiss or has dismissed at least 20 employees in one or more locations of the same company within one and the same region of the public employment service within 3 months due to reorganisation for economic reasons) into consideration instead of the UWV.  In the request for a dismissal permit, an argument has to be made to explain why a collective dismissal is necessary. There are several reasons for collective dismissals that are recognised as valid by the UWV: 

• Bad or worsening financial situation of the enterprise;
• A decrease in demand and a subsequent decrease in available labour;
• Changes in technology or in the organisation of the company;
• Cessation of business activities;
• Movement of business activities to another location (only if this is necessary from a business perspective);
• Cessation of labour market subsidies for a sufficient number of employees.

This permit is also needed in case of dismissal after long-term illness and disability, when illness has lasted over 2 years and reintegration in the labour market is not possible in the foreseeable future. In these cases, a transition payment has to be made by the employer and dismissal with permission from the public employment service is possible. However, there have been new developments in this regard due to judgement of Supreme Court given on 28 February 2022. According to the judgement, the request for termination of employment contract, in a situation of illness, can be granted by subdistrict court in cases when employees become ill between the request for termination at UWV and request for termination at subdistrict court. The Supreme Court found that exception from prohibition of termination of employment contract applies in this case, in order to prevent improper reporting of illness to prevent appeal. With the Balanced labour market act (2020), a new ground for dismissal has been introduced: the cumulation ground. Dismissal is possible when circumstances from the various grounds for dismissal that are submitted through the subdistrict court together provide a reasonable ground for dismissal. In the event of dismissal on the basis of the cumulation ground, the court may award additional compensation to the employee. Involvement of cantonal courts In other cases, it is the cantonal court that decides. In case the collective agreement contains an arrangement on special bipartite boards, established by the social partners, the employer has to apply for the permit from this board. In both cases, employers and employees get the opportunity to be informed and consulted. Appeals are possible. In accordance with Article 7:671a of the Civil Code, employers need to follow the procedure laid down in the article if they want to dismiss employees due to reasons such as business restructuring. If an agreement cannot be reached between employer and employee, the employer must obtain a dismissal permit from the public employment service (W) for non-collective dismissals (involving fewer than 20 employees). Collective dismissal may be subject to sectorial committee approval as per binding collective agreement. In the request for a dismissal permit, an argument has to be made to explain why a collective dismissal is necessary. There are several reasons for collective dismissals that are recognised as valid by the UWV:

• Bad or worsening financial situation of the enterprise;
• A decrease in demand and a subsequent decrease in available labour;
• Changes in technology or in the organisation of the company;
• Cessation of business activities.
• Movement of business activities to another location (only if this is necessary from a business perspective);
• Cessation of labour market subsidies for a sufficient number of employees

In a situation where employers request a dismissal permit, the employer may not ask for a dismissal request after an employee has reported sick. However, in a recent case (Feb 18 2022) the supreme court has answered a question whether this prohibition applies when the employee falls sick after the dismissal request has been made. In the case the employer made a dismissal request to the UWV based on Article 7:671(a), however the employee fell sick after the request was made. The request was dismissed but the employer still requested the cantonal court to end the employment relationship. The court found that the normal prohibition does not apply in such situations. This means that if an employee falls ill after the request for dismissal, the procedure may still continue.

An employer who plans to have collective dismissals or to shut down a company has to submit relevant information to the public authorities. In the event of collective dismissals, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) has to be notified 30 days before the planned collective dismissals (at least 10 dismissals within 30 days). Employers are required to notify public authorities 'at the earliest opportunity'. The employees' elected representatives may comment on the notification directly to NAV. The notification should be the same as the one given to the employees, stating:

• the grounds for any redundancies,
• the number of employees who may be made redundant,
• the categories of workers to which they belong,
• the number of employees normally employed,
• the groups of employees normally employed,
• the period during which such redundancies may be effected,
• proposed criteria for selection of those who may be made redundant,
• proposed criteria for calculation of extraordinary severance pay, if applicable.

Projected collective redundancies shall not come into effect earlier than 30 days after NAV has been notified.

The employer is obliged to notify the company trade unions in writing about the reasons for the planned redundancies (collective dismissal, that is 10 employees within 30 days if the company employs 20 to 99 persons, 10% of the employees within 30 days if the company employs 100 to 299 persons and 30 employees  within 30 days if the company employs 300 or more persons), the estimated number of employees to be dismissed and job categories they belong to, the period over which the projected redundancies are to be effected, the criteria proposed for the selection of the employees to be made redundant, the sequence of the redundancies, the proposals on resolving the employment matters connected with the projected collective redundancies, and, if any financial considerations are involved, the employer is additionally obliged to present the method for calculating of their amounts. At the same time, the employer is obliged to give to the local employment office the same information except of information about extra financial payments (severance payment which are higher than severance payment established by law). After negotiations with the trade unions are completed the employer has the obligation to deliver the agreement to the local employment office. The company trade unions may present their opinion on the collective redundancies to the local employment office. An employer who intends to dismiss at least 50 employees* within three months is obliged to agree with the local employment office on the scope and forms of assistance to redundant workers, in particular employment services, guidance, training, and assistance in active job search. This assistance programme can be implemented by the employment office, employment agency or a training institution. The programme can be financed:

• by the employer;
• by the employer and the relevant bodies of public administration,

on the basis of an agreement between organisations and legal entities in cooperation with the employer.

The beginning of a collective dismissal (at least two workers in micro and small companies, and at least five workers in larger companies) process has to be communicated to the Directorate-General for Employment and Labour Relations (Direção-Geral do Emprego e das Relações de Trabalho - DGERT), of the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security (Ministério do Trabalho, Solidariedade e Segurança Social - MTSS). There is an administrative intervention during the procedure of collective dismissal: the relevant services of the government will only participate in the negotiation with the purpose of ensuring the regularity of the substantive and procedural aspects and promoting the conciliation of the parties’ interests. In practical terms, the DGERT must participate in the bargaining meetings in order to guarantee that all procedures are followed, and to promote understanding between both parties. Furthermore, the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional - IEFP) and the Regional Employment Service may indicate support measures for employment and vocational training. In addition, on the same date the final decision is communicated to the employees, the employer is required to send to the DGERT the minutes of the consultation meeting, the rationale behind the lack of agreement, and the final position of the parties, as well as information on each employee affected by the collective dismissal (including name, address, date of birth, hiring date, social security situation, occupation, category, salary, the measure decided and its planned implementation date).

In case of collective dismissal (i.e. dismissal of at least 10 employees in companies with 21-99 workers, at least 10% of staff in companies with 100-299 workers or at least 30 employees in larger firms of at least 300 workers), employers have the obligation to forward a copy of the collective redundancy notice to the local labour inspectorate and the local employment agency on the same date it was sent to the trade union or representatives of the employees (the employment agency must be notified at least 30 days before the redundancy date). The local labour inspectorate and the local employment agency are involved in designing measures to diminish the effects of restructuring and can modify the deadlines within which collective redundancies are planned to take place. The notification must include all relevant information regarding the intention to proceed to collective redundancy, which includes the outcome of the consultations with the trade unions or the representatives of the employees, especially: * the reasons for the redundancy; * the total number of employees; * the number of employees to be made redundant; * the selection criteria applied to employees singled out for dismissal according to law or collective agreement provisions, in order to establish priorities on the redundancy list; * measures proposed to limit the number of redundancies; * measures to mitigate the consequences of mass redundancies; * severance to be paid according to law or the applicable collective agreement; * the date when the redundancy begins or the period of time during which dismissals take place; * the term within which the unions or the employee representatives may propose solutions to avoid mass dismissals or diminish the number of redundancies. A copy of the notification must be sent to the trade union, on the same date. The trade union or the employee representatives may communicate their point of view to the local labour inspectorate. Within 30 days, at the request of any of the parties involved, the labour inspectorate may, with the approval of the local employment agency, resolve to shorten or to postpone the date/period of communication of the dismissal notices, provided that the said authority informs both the employer and the employee representatives of such change and of the underlying reasons. During the procedure, the local employment agency must look for solutions to the problems triggered by the collective redundancy, and propose them in due time to the employer and the trade union or employee representatives.

The employer who envisages collective redundancies (dismissals of at least 10 employees in companies with 21-99 workers, at least 10% of staff in companies with 100-299 workers, or at least 30 employees in companies with 300 or more worker, within 30 days) is obliged, at least 30 days before dismissals take place, to consult employees' representatives (or directly with the employees concerned if there are no employees' representatives) on planned dismissals and the matter of finding out if any other solution or the minimisation of redundancies is possible. At the same time, the employer is obliged to submit a copy of information about planned dismissals with an attached list of redundant employees and their contacts to the Labour Office (ÚPSVaR). Subsequent to consultations with employees´ representatives (trade unions or work councils/employee trustees), the employer is obliged to submit written information on outcomes of consultations to the Labour Office and employees' representatives.  Not earlier than one month after the delivery of the information to the Labour Office, the employer can give the employees notice or a proposal to terminate the employment contract by agreement. During this period the employer discusses with the Labour Office any measures that could enable mitigation of the negative effects of collective redundancies. Some measures are discussed at the regional level because Labour Offices operate in the various areas and districts.

The employer must inform the Employment Service in writing about the procedure of establishing collective redundancies (within 30 days, dismissals of at least 10 employees in companies with 21-99 workers, at least 10% in companies with 100-299 employees or at least 30 dismissals in larger firms). The employer is obliged to consider and to take into account any proposals submitted by the Employment Service in order to reduce the harmful consequences of collective dismissals. The notification must include:

• the confirmation that the employer has conducted consultations with trade unions,
• the reasons for the redundancies,
• the number and categories of all workers employed,
• the foreseen categories of redundant workers, and
• the foreseen term in which the work of the redundant workers will no longer be needed.

A copy of the written notification must be sent to the trade unions. The employer may give notice of termination of employment contracts to redundant workers by taking into account the adopted dismissal programme for redundant workers, but not prior to the expiration of a 30-day period from the notification of the Employment Service about the procedure. The expiration period may be extended to a 60-day period at the request of the Employment Service.

Collective dismissal in Spain was under administrative authorisation until February 2012. In February 2012, a labour legislation reform eliminated the requirement for administrative authorisation. Other requirements related to information and consultation of employees’ representatives are still valid. In the case of individual dismissals, procedures related to information and consultation are not required.  Collective dismissals apply if redundancies affect, within a period of 90 days, at least 10 employees in companies employing fewer than 100 employees; 10% of the employees in companies employing between 100 and 299 employees; or 30 employees in companies employing more than 299 employees. In addition, the company can implement a collective dismissal if it affects a minimum of more than five employees if the entire workforce is affected in case business shuts down completely. The employers must supply the labour authorities and the employees’ representative the following information in writing: a statement for the reasons for redundancies, individual personal and job information on candidates for redundancy; the names of all other employees; financial statements such as balance sheets, with a separate report on the finances, production, sales and organisation; an auditor's assessment and a report by the works council or personnel delegates.  Following Law 3/2023, of 28 February, on Employment, the report of the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate, in addition to verifying the details of the communication and the development of the consultation period, rules on the concurrence of the causes specified by the company in the initial communication, and verifies that the documentation presented by the company is in line with that required according to the specific cause alleged for dismissal. Once the information is provided by employers to labour authorities, a consultation period is opened which will be no longer than 30 days, or 15 in case of companies with fewer than 50 employees. During this period, employers and workers’ representatives (i.e. workers’ delegates and workers’ committees) discuss the reasons motivating the process and the possibility of avoiding or reducing its effects, as well as the necessary measures to attenuate its consequences for workers. For example, the parties can negotiate measures such as the use of outplacement companies, training, or professional recycling for the improvement of the workers employability, or other measures to make the undertaking viable. Consultation has to take place with a single negotiating committee. If there are several establishments, the negotiating committee will be limited to the job centres affected by the collective dismissal. The negotiating committee will be made up by a maximum of 13 workers. The negotiating committee must be established before the company notifies the opening of the consultation process. The labour authority monitors the effectiveness of the process and forwards warnings and recommendations to the parties. These are submitted in writing to both parties. Employees’ representatives can provide the labour authority with their observations. In line with these, the labour authority forwards warnings or recommendations to the parties. The labour authority (ministry of employment at national level/employment section in the regional government at regional level) has to communicate the collective dismissal to the public employment service and request a report about the development of the consultation process. The report must be submitted 15 days after the communication by the employer at the end of the consultation period. If there is an agreement between the employer and the employees' representatives, the collective dismissal is applied. If there is no agreement, the employer has the final decision. Thus, the employer is to communicate to the labour authority and the employees' representatives its final decision and the conditions to be applied.

The Promotional Measures Act (1974:13) instructs employers of what they must do in cases of collective dismissal of employees. Article 1 states that in cases of collective dismissal, covering at least five employees, notice must be given to the Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen). Article 2 clarifies that different notice periods are to be given depending on the scale of the dismissal. If more than five employees are to be made redundant, or if 20 employees are expected to be made redundant over a 90-day period, notice of collective redundancies must be given to the Public Employment Service within certain time limits, defined with respect to the number of employees concerned:

• at least two months before the first employee leaves their employment, if fewer than 25 employees are affected (terminated) by the restructuring process;
• at least four months, if 25–100 employees are affected;
• and at least six months, if more than 100 employees are affected.

The primary reason for this measure is for the public authorities to be able to take action to reduce the economic and social consequences at regional level. The notice given to the Public Employment Service should include all relevant information about the planned redundancies and especially contain information on the following: 1. The reasons for the planned redundancies. 2. The number of employees to be made redundant and to which categories they belong. 3. The number of workers normally employed and their categories. 4. The time the production cutbacks are to be carried out and the period over which the redundancies are intended to be enforced. Once notice is given to the Public Employment Service, it offers regular counselling to the employees that may be redundant.