Category: Dismissals
Additional severance to the statutory amount for unjustified dismissal: exception or general rule?
A recent judgment has opened the debate on the possibility of increasing severance compensation above the statutory amount in certain cases. For the time being, the courts require that very specific requirements be met, although we will have to wait and see how the situation evolves. According to Supreme Court doctrine -among others, the judgment […]
Notification to indefinite-term seasonal workers by ‘WhatsApp’: is it possible?
The use of communication systems such as ‘WhatsApp’ could be, from an organizational perspective, ideal for notifying indefinite-term workers with seasonal contracts, as opposed to other more formal or traditional communications such as by letter or bureaufax, or too informal means such as a simple phone call, but are calls via ‘WhatsApp’ legally viable? The […]
Can artificial intelligence, under human supervision, dismiss me?
The proposal for a European Directive on improving working conditions in platform work requires that, in intensely digitalized environments, there is always human control. This means that the decision regarding a job cannot be left exclusively in the hands of artificial intelligence. Elon Musk, together with other collaborators, created in 2015 a language model called […]
Spain: Alternatives for companies against voluntary and unjustified absenteeism by a worker
Some courts are admitting notifications of worker termination in which the worker is informed of his/her voluntary termination due to absenteeism and, at the same time and by default, of disciplinary dismissal in the event the first option is not possible. At times, companies face unjustified absenteeism of employees from work that may be grounds […]
Spain – Beware: improper behavior at the company Christmas dinner can constitute grounds for dismissal
A judgment handed down by the Spanish Supreme Court has made it clear that a worker, when away from their place of work and outside working hours, is not totally free to act in a manner detrimental to the employer or their colleagues. The restrictions imposed during the pandemic have at last been lifted, and […]
Dismissal null and void due to a cold?
The new Spanish comprehensive law for equal treatment and non-discrimination raises questions about whether the cases in which a dismissal can be declared null and void may be broadened. Until July 2022, terminating an employment contract, through a dismissal, of an employee on sick leave, only entailed a risk of nullity in cases where it […]