Spain condemned for failing to comply with the obligation to provide adequate compensation for unfair dismissal
Jul 28. () –
The European Committee of Social Rights will publish on Monday its resolution against the Spanish regulation of compensation for unfair dismissal, considering that it “violates” Article 24 of the European Social Charter.
This was announced a few days ago by the UGT union, which filed a complaint with this body about the current dismissal system in Spain, although the Committee’s resolution will be published in full on Monday.
According to the union, the Committee’s decision will state in its resolution that unfair dismissal must meet two requirements: it must be a deterrent to the employer not breaking the law and it must be compensatory for the dismissed worker.
Once the verdict is known, the Secretary General of UGT, Pepe Álvarez, wants the Government, unions and employers to sit down and analyse an adaptation to Spanish legislation of said resolution that will allow it to be complied with, since “it is binding.”
OPTIONS TO COMPLY WITH THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL CHARTER
The union proposes several options to comply with the European Social Charter on unfair dismissal. Thus, it proposes to restore the 45 days per year worked that were repealed in 2012 – instead of the current 33 – or to raise other issues related to severance pay or “abuse” during the probationary period.
“It is a fair resolution, which brings equality, which brings justice and which will allow us to move forward on the path to stability,” Álvarez stressed a few days ago at a press conference.
The union has explained that Article 24 of the European Social Charter, which Spain has breached, guarantees the right of workers to adequate protection in the event of dismissal and that the compensation established by the regulations, which is fixed and predictable, is not sufficient to cover the damages suffered by dismissed workers and does not have a deterrent effect for employers.
What UGT intended with its complaint to the Committee was to protect employment contracts and make dismissal the last option in a context in which Spain has nearly 900,000 contract terminations per year, “with average compensation for unfair dismissal of around 9,000 euros, of which 140,000 go to court.”
For the union, this is “a historic decision that will change the concept held in Spain over time regarding dismissal.”
UGT filed the complaint with the Committee because the 2021 labour reform did not reverse all the measures introduced in 2012 by the Government of Mariano Rajoy. At that time, compensation for unfair dismissal was reduced from 45 to 33 days per year and procedural wages were eliminated.
“That is why we felt we had to open this path, the purpose of which is not to make dismissals more expensive for employers, but to prevent arbitrary and unfair dismissals. In other words, if there are no reasons for dismissal, then there should be no dismissal, and if there are, then they should be justified,” he said.
Both the resolutions of Finland, Italy and France, as well as the current one in Spain, clearly state that the severance pay cannot be known in advance by the employer, that he has to cover the damages caused to the victim and that the procedural wages must be paid – those corresponding to the date from the dismissal until the court’s ruling is known – and that they were the responsibility of the company and were a deterrent.
However, Álvarez believes that it is necessary for magistrates in Spain to take into account personal issues that increase the amount of compensation for unfair dismissal. “These are issues related to the person’s employability possibilities (due to the geographical environment in which they live, their training, their age, whether they have dependents, their economic situation, whether they are close to retirement or whether there is a risk of vulnerability, for example.
The union leader therefore believes that “it would be reasonable” that after this Monday, the date on which the Committee’s full ruling will be published, the Government, employers and unions meet to make an adaptation to Spanish legislation through social dialogue that will allow compliance with a binding resolution of the European body.
DIAZ HAS ALREADY SAID THAT HE WILL REFORM THE DISMISSAL
The Second Vice President and Minister of Labour and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, has already stated that dismissal in Spain “is another element that will be susceptible to reform” and has stressed that it will be addressed at the social dialogue table and by adapting it to European legislation.
“I must tell you that this matter is covered in the Government agreement and it is essential that what is a source of European law, as we have done in other matters in our country, forms part of our legislation,” the Second Vice President stressed a few days ago.
However, Díaz made it clear that employers do not hire people to fire them and stressed that Spain is a country where dismissal “is not a problem.” “I say this with absolute knowledge,” she stressed.
“The key is that we have tools to deal with situations that may be business-related, crisis-related or in sectors of any kind, that we accompany these processes, but it is not necessary to fire anyone,” he stressed.
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