Europe has insisted that Spain must change its laws for unfair dismissal: it is too cheap

It is not the first time that from Europe There is a pull of ears to the Spanish regulations that apply to those cases in which it is incurred in an inadmissible dismissal and, therefore, that companies must compensate or readmit to workers. In your opinion, the Bars that applies Spain in these cases are insufficient and workers are not protected.

The European Social Rights Committee He has just answered to the complaint filed in November 2022 by CCOO. The resolution of this body is not binding or sanctioning, so it must be read more as a recommendation than as a reprimand from Europe.

What has Europe said. The European Social Rights Committee, an organ dependent on the Council of Europe, considers in its resolution that “there is a violation of article 24.b of the letter”, in reference to article 24 of the European Social Charter than Spain ratified in 2021 and whose objective was to harmonize the labor legislation of the EU member countries.

In this article 24, the Council of Europe recommended, “the right of dismissed workers for no valid reason (inadmissible dismissal) to adequate compensation or other appropriate reparation.” Therefore, the Council’s decision follows the path of the first resolution with which he responded to the UGT demand in 2022insisting that the dismissal compensation system is not repair. At CCOO, the Council He has spoken on the compensation of the TEMPORARY PERSONNEL OF ADMINISTRATIONS in fraud of law that, as in the case of inadmissible dismissals, They are considered insufficient.

On the other hand, the demand for CCOO also puts the focus on which Spanish legislation does not offer sufficient guarantees so that employees dismissed in the improper way must be readmitted in your position. The EU establishes that this is a point that Spain must reinforce in its labor regulations.

Why are compensation insufficient? The Committee considers to establish A universal scale Like the one applied in Spain, with fixed compensation of 33 days per year worked with a maximum of 24 monthly payments, it does not serve to “repair the damage suffered by the victim in all cases and be deterrent to the employer.” In its resolution it is explained that in the calculation of these compensation the specific circumstances of each case are not taken into account (a dismissal is not the same to a 60 -year -old person than someone of 20 years, members of a single -parent family, etc.).

In the brief, it is considered that a fixed allocation system allows companies calculate the convenience of dismissalthus eliminating the deterrence for the employer when the dismissal is not done due to justified objective causes, and is unfair for workers with Minor contracts. In addition, the little weight of the readmission and the fact that this is an option that is only offered to companies, and not to the employee who has lost its job for no justified reason.

What do they say in Spain? In a Union statementUnai Sordo, general secretary of CCOO, insisted that this writing “what is at stake is the compatibility of the dismissal model in Spain with the European Social Charter. From now on there are only two paths: not do anything and let the jurisprudence resolve case by case, or open a tripartite, mature and responsible negotiation, that adapts our dismissal regime to the European social standards.”

For its part, Yolanda Díaz has shared From your profile In Bluesky your disposition “to open social dialogue table” to adapt legislation on dismissal in Spain and comply with what is recorded by Spain. “The inadmissible dismissal has to comply with the European Social Charter. Without excuses. It is in the Government Agreement and will be a reality,” said the head of the Ministry of Labor.

It should be remembered that, in a parliamentary response of 2024, the current government assured that Article 56 of the Workers’ Statute “It is already consistent with article 24 of the European Social Charter, providing adequate reparation to dismissed workers without valid reason (inadmissible dismissal), so a modification of the regulation in this regard is not expected and, therefore, particular effects on vulnerable groups or on small and medium enterprises are not estimated.”

How is it being managed now. At present, if an employee considers that his dismissal is inadmissible he must go to the judicial means, and it will be the court who establishes the regulations to be applied. In this context, employees cannot claim Additional compensation to the one already marked by the legislation in relation to the years worked, as CCOO denounces in its demand and supports article 24 of the European Social Charter.

On very few occasions, the courts have preferred to opt for the prerogative of admitting international legislation over the state, so it is expected that, as of July 16, the Supreme Court will rule on this situation and establish a doctrine. Until now, the High Court considered that it was not possible increase this compensation by judicial means.

In addition, although it is true that the courts always offer readmission alternatives or Payment of the assigned compensationthis decision remains in the hands of the company, which in the vast majority of cases chooses to pay compensation. What the Council recommends in this case is that the election falls on the employee and choose if you want to return to an employee from which it has been fired without objective reasons.

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Image | Unspash (Antoine Schibler, Manuel)