Closing a store: the dismissal that is almost never individual
Nextica Law & Tax prepares and carries out the restructuring of a retail network: calculating collective dismissal thresholds, which are also counted per workplace and not only per company; documentation and the consultation period; defensible selection criteria; geographical mobility and substantial modification as alternatives before dismissing; and the effect of transferring the premises, because if an autonomous productive unit goes with them, the business transfer rule of art. 44 of the Workers' Statute applies and the staff continue with the acquirer.
Closing a twelve-person store can be a collective dismissal even if the chain employs three hundred: the threshold is also counted per workplace.
What's included
1. Calculating the thresholds before announcing anything
they are also counted per workplace, not only against the company total, and the entire regime depends on that.
2. Choosing the route in the light of that calculation
individual terminations, collective dismissal, or earlier alternatives such as relocation or substantial modification.
3. Building the report and the financial documentation supporting the cause, with per-store accounts where a shop is being closed.
4. The consultation period with employee representatives, with a timetable, minutes and defensible selection criteria.
5. Individual notices and the calculation of severance and final settlements, checked against the applicable retail agreement.
6. Analysing the premises handover if there is one
if an autonomous productive unit goes with it, the business transfer rule applies and the staff continue with the acquirer.
7. Defending challenges, individual and collective, with the file already closed and in order.
CLOSING A SMALL STORE CAN BE A COLLECTIVE DISMISSAL
This sector's costliest mistake is not in the substance of the decision: it is in the calculation made —or not made— before announcing it.
Collective dismissal thresholds are also counted per workplace, so closing a small store can fall within the collective regime even if the chain employs hundreds.
art. 51 Workers' StatuteHandling as a series of individual dismissals what was a collective dismissal is not a procedural defect: the dismissal is void, with reinstatement and back pay for everyone affected.
art. 51 Workers' StatuteHanding over the premises assuming the staff do not go with them
if what changes hands is an autonomous productive unit, the acquirer takes over contracts, length of service and debts, and both parties are jointly liable for the statutory period.
art. 44 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
Does closing a workplace always require a collective dismissal?
Not always, but the calculation has to be done before anything is announced, because the thresholds in art. 51 of the Workers' Statute are also counted per workplace, not only against the company total. It is the classic chain-store situation: the store being closed is small relative to total headcount, and even so the closure falls within the collective regime. Getting this wrong is not a procedural nuance: a collective dismissal handled as a series of individual dismissals is void, with reinstatement and back pay.
If I hand over the premises, do the employees go with them?
It depends what is transferred. If what changes hands is an autonomous productive unit —the going concern with its organised resources— the business transfer rule of art. 44 of the Workers' Statute applies: the acquirer takes over the contracts, the length of service and the employment and social security debts, and both parties are jointly liable for the statutory period. If all that is assigned is the lease of an empty unit, there is no transfer. The line is decided by the facts, not by what the handover contract says.
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