Dismissals and redundancies without risk

What is happening

The company is closing a business line and making a fifteen-strong department redundant, including a pregnant employee and one on childcare leave. Management wants it done within the quarter without fifteen claims to follow.

A branch director is no longer coping but refuses to leave by agreement. He has no disciplinary record and has never been appraised, so dismissing him on the employer's initiative is impossible without groundwork.

The company and a senior executive have agreed to part ways, but the agreement needs careful drafting: the payment, the leaving date, handover of work and property, confidentiality and the tax treatment of the payments.

What the law says

• The grounds on which an employer may terminate an employment contract are listed in Article 81 of the Labour Code; in a dispute, the court checks both that the ground existed and that the procedure was followed.
• An employee being made redundant must be given personal written notice at least two months before dismissal (Article 180 of the Labour Code) and offered all suitable vacancies in the area during that period.
• Certain employees have special protection: for example, a pregnant woman may be dismissed on the employer's initiative only if the organisation is being liquidated (Article 261 of the Labour Code).
• In a redundancy, preferential rights to be retained must be taken into account (Article 179 of the Labour Code), and the elected trade union body, if there is one, and the employment service must be notified.
• An employee made redundant receives a severance payment and retains average earnings while seeking work, within the limits set by Article 178 of the Labour Code.
• Termination by agreement (Article 78 of the Labour Code) requires the will of both parties; its terms, including the payment and the leaving date, are recorded in writing.

What we do

• We analyse the situation and choose the ground: agreement, redundancy, unsuitability for the post, disciplinary grounds and others.
• We draw up a dated procedure plan: orders, notices, offers of vacancies, notifications to the trade union and the employment service.
• We identify employees with special protection and prepare the justification for preferential retention in a redundancy.
• We prepare all the documents: orders, notices, records, agreements and the calculation of payments.
• We prepare the line manager and HR for the conversation with the employee and, where needed, take part in negotiations.
• We see the dismissal through to the handing over of documents and the final settlement.

What we will need from you

• The staffing schedule, organisational structure and a list of current vacancies.
• Employment contracts and personnel files of the employees affected.
• Any protected status known to the employer: pregnancy, children under three, trade union membership and the like.
• Documents supporting the decision: the order changing the structure, appraisal results, internal memos.
• The timing and payment the company can accept if termination by agreement is being considered.