Dismissals and restructuring in industry: without stopping the plant
Nextica Law & Tax runs objective and collective dismissals in industrial companies with large workforces: the economic or organisational grounds and their supporting file, the consultation period with the workers' representatives, the fit with the metalworking or chemical agreement, severance calculations and an exit timetable compatible with production. Also furlough schemes when the drop in demand is temporary.
In a factory, a badly handled dismissal is not only paid in severance: it is paid in days of stopped production and an open collective dispute.
What's included
1. Calculating collective dismissal thresholds before announcing anything, counting per workplace as well as against the company total.
2. Choosing the route in light of the real cause
individual terminations, collective dismissal, or temporary suspension if the drop in load is cyclical.
3. An economic, technical or organisational report with the production data, order book and capacity figures that support the cause.
4. The consultation period with the works council, on a timetable compatible with production and with selection criteria that do not empty a whole shift.
5. A plant continuity plan during the process
which lines keep running, with what handovers and what minimum maintenance.
6. Individual notices, severance and final settlements checked against the sectoral agreement and against actual length of service.
7. Defending individual challenges and the collective dispute if one is brought, with the file closed and the minutes in order.
A BADLY HANDLED DISMISSAL IS PAID FOR IN DAYS OF STOPPED LINE
In a plant the cost of getting it wrong is not only the severance: it is an open dispute in the middle of a delivery schedule.
Thresholds calculated only against the company total
they are also counted per workplace, and handling as individual what was collective makes the dismissal void, with reinstatement and back pay.
art. 51 Workers' StatuteSelection criteria that empty a whole shift or speciality
besides being hard to defend, they leave the line without qualified cover and turn a headcount adjustment into a production stoppage.
art. 51 Workers' StatuteA cause supported only by the profit and loss account
in a plant, technical or organisational cause is evidenced with production, capacity and order book data. Without them, the report does not explain why those roles are surplus and not others.
art. 51 Workers' StatuteTYPES OF TERMINATION IN SPAIN — WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The wrong choice of dismissal type is the most expensive mistake a company can make. Each modality has its own causes, formal requirements, and consequences:
| Type of dismissal | Legal cause | Compensation due | Notice | If declared inadmissible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disciplinary (art. 54 ET) | Serious and culpable breach: absenteeism, indiscipline, offenses, breach of good faith, voluntary decrease in performance | 0 € if it is applicable | Not required | 33 days/year · max. 24 monthly payments |
| Objective (art. 52 ET) | Documented economic, technical, organizational or production causes | 20 days/year · max. 12 monthly payments | 15 days | 33 days/year · max. 24 monthly installments |
| ERE Collective (art. 51 ET) | Economic, technical, organizational or production causes · minimum numerical threshold according to template | 20 days/year · max. 12 monthly payments | 30 days | 33 days/year · max. 24 monthly payments |
| Null (arts. 53.4 and 55.5 ET) | Violation of fundamental rights: pregnancy, motherhood, union position, discrimination | Mandatory reinstatement + processing wages from dismissal to reinstatement | — | — |
Disciplinary (art. 54 ET)
Objective (art. 52 ET)
ERE Collective (art. 51 ET)
Null (arts. 53.4 and 55.5 ET)
Frequently asked questions
When does a dismissal in industry become collective?
It depends on the number of employees affected within ninety days relative to the size of the workforce at the site or in the company. It is a threshold that is crossed by accident when exits are made one at a time: that is why the first thing we do is count the terminations of the last ninety days backwards before moving any. If the threshold is crossed, the procedure changes completely and a consultation period becomes mandatory.
Can the company keep producing during the consultation period?
Yes. Activity does not stop, and that is exactly why the timetable is planned: meetings, the delivery of financial documentation and the exits are arranged around production cycles and shifts, not the other way round. What cannot be done is to carry out the terminations before the consultation period ends.
Cases we have worked on
- industria
Reestructuración de un grupo familiar sin conflicto
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