One year after the labor reform was approved, it is another labor issue that concerns Yolanda Díaz. And it is that, now, it is unfair dismissal that is on the negotiation table with the social agents, that is, employers and unions. However, looking back, it is worth asking why twelve months ago this matter was not stopped. Another question that arises when modifying the Workers’ Statute, which, let us remember, dates from the 1980s, is what the compensation for restorative or reparative dismissal consists of, raised by the current leader of the Ministry of Labor and Economy social.
The second vice president of the Government of Spain seems to want to score the same as far as employment is concerned just two weeks after the new Minimum Interprofessional Salary was approved at 8%, which gives a salary of 1,080 gross euros per month distributed in 14 annual payments. Because of what she got to this point, it is worth asking what is really wanted to change when firing a salaried worker from a company. And it is that, incredible as it may seem, it continues to be charged the same as once years ago.
We must therefore go back to the labor reform of 2012, approved during the mandate of Mariano Rajoy, in which the 60 days per year worked went from 45 with a maximum of 42 monthly payments if the contract was prior to 12 February 2012 in the case of unfair dismissal. However, if the worker’s contract is after this date, the amounts are significantly reduced. Specifically, at 33 days of salary per year of service up to a maximum of 24 monthly payments. This is established in article 56 of the Workers’ Statute Law.
How would dismissal affect compensation?
To understand this new dismissal proposal, you have to go back almost eleven years now. After the labor reform of Mariano Rajoy, France tried to emulate the system of cheapening the Spanish dismissal although, unlike Spain, the move did not go well. It came face to face with the Committee on Social and Economic Rights, in which it was alleged that it failed to comply with article 24 of the European Social Charter, made in Strasbourg on May 3, 1996. Finally, it was prevented in the neighboring country.
It is in this norm at the community level that Yolanda Diaz supports. For the policy of United We Can, compensation for unfair dismissal must be restorative, that is, it depends on factors such as age, training or sex, which some of its detractors have determined as “a la carte dismissal”. . Precisely in this sense, Díaz points out that our country is one of the few in Europe in which “indemnities are capped”, a point of view that he shares with the main union forces -CCOO and UGT-, which have already filed claims for certify whether or not Spain really complies with article 24 of the European Social Charter. “Soon it will be Spain’s turn,” said the minister.
Today in Congress he spoke with @jsalvadorduch in a serene way about the disastrous reality of unfair dismissals.
We are making progress in the face of precariousness with the labor reform and we will continue to do so 👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/Nly7elQ6HU
— Yolanda Díaz (@Yolanda_Diaz_) February 15, 2023
However, it does not seem that the minister has them all with her. It was only a few days ago when it was published that the Supreme Court has issued a ruling ruling that “it is not discriminatory” for the company and worker representatives to agree on an employment regulation file (ERE) of extinction (collective dismissal ) a smaller amount of compensation for personnel aged 60 or over. The ruling, with which the doctrine is unified, specifies that, regardless of age, the agreement between the company and the unions, agreed in court, included in any case compensation for the entire workforce that improved the legal minimum established, which in this case it was 20 days per year as it was an objective ERE for economic reasons.
What type of dismissal does the European Social Charter include?
To fully understand this matter, one must know what Article 24 of the European Social Charter says, which is the following. To guarantee the effective exercise of the right of workers to protection in case of dismissal, the Parties undertake to recognize:
The right of all workers not to be dismissed without valid reasons for doing so related to their skills or conduct, or based on the operating needs of the company, establishment or service. to adequate valid indemnity or other appropriate relief.
How much do they have to pay me if they fire me in Spain?
At present, according to what is detailed in the Workers’ Statute, if it is an objective dismissal, the worker is entitled to 20 days of salary per year worked. On the other hand, if it is a disciplinary or objective dismissal contested by the worker and declared unfair, the compensation will be 33 days per year worked with a maximum of 24 monthly payments. However, if the worker’s contract is prior to February 12, 2012 and unfair dismissal is declared, the compensation will be 45 days per year worked with a maximum of 42 monthly payments.
