Redundancy and objective dismissal in Spain

Spanish despido objetivo covers statutory grounds that are different from employee misconduct. Redundancy for economic or organisational reasons is one category, but the Spanish concept is wider. A statement that a business is “restructuring” does not by itself establish that the dismissal is lawful.

Economic, technical, organisational and production grounds

Economic: a negative financial situation, including current or anticipated losses or a persistent fall in ordinary revenue or sales. The statutory three-quarter comparison compares each quarter with the same quarter of the preceding year; it is not the only possible economic ground.
Technical: changes in production tools or means.
Organisational: changes in personnel working systems or methods, or production organisation.
Production-related: changes in demand for the business’s goods or services.

The cause, evidence supporting it and connection with the job being removed must be examined. Selection criteria, the organisation before and after the change and any applicable priority to remain employed may be important.

Capability and adaptation to technical changes

Article 52 also covers inability to perform the work that becomes known or arises after effective placement. An inability existing before completion of a probationary period cannot subsequently be relied upon on that basis. Any applicable duties concerning adjustment of the job must be considered.

For failure to adapt to reasonable technical changes, the employer must first offer suitable training. The training counts as paid working time. At least two months must pass from the change or completion of the adaptation training, as applicable, before termination. These grounds are not equivalent to a voluntary reduction in performance under disciplinary dismissal.

Article 52.e contains a specific funding-shortfall ground for certain indefinite contracts made directly by non-profit entities for qualifying publicly funded programmes. The former Article 52.d ground based on certain absences has been repealed.

Letter, compensation and notice

The employer must provide written notification explaining the cause. The statutory compensation is 20 days’ salary per year of service, capped at twelve months, prorating shorter periods by months. It must normally be made available with the letter. The exception for inability to pay because of an economic ground has specific requirements: it must be justified and stated in the communication, and the entitlement is not erased.

The normal notice period is fifteen days. During notice, the employee is entitled to six paid hours per week to seek other employment. Failure to give notice entails the corresponding salary payment but does not, by itself, make dismissal unfair. An excusable calculation error similarly does not automatically cause unfairness, although the shortfall remains payable. See the compensation and settlement guide.

When collective-dismissal rules apply

Economic, technical, organisational or production dismissals reaching Article 51 thresholds over ninety days require the collective procedure. The statutory thresholds are ten employees in businesses with fewer than 100 employees, 10% in those with 100–299, or thirty in those with 300 or more. A total closure affecting more than five employees is also covered in the statutory circumstances. Other terminations, the relevant organisational unit and anti-avoidance rules can affect the assessment; a headcount alone is not a complete legal analysis.

Documents to examine and possible outcomes

Keep the letter, payment and notice records, contract, payslips, organisational information, training records and communications contradicting the reason given. The employer must substantiate its ground. Inadequate justification can lead to unfair dismissal; discrimination, a fundamental-rights violation or specific protected circumstances may lead to nullity. Do not confuse an accusation that an employee committed harassment with protection of an employee who is suffering harassment.

A dismissal challenge normally has a strict 20-working-day deadline, counted from the day after the effective termination date, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and applicable public holidays. Do not assume that August stops this deadline. Filing the required conciliation request suspends the countdown: it resumes on the day after conciliation is attempted or after fifteen working days without it taking place, with the time remaining, not a fresh twenty days. Private negotiations, a complaint to HR or an inspection complaint do not by themselves preserve the dismissal deadline.

Read the Spanish guide to objective-dismissal grounds (in Spanish) and the steps after dismissal.

Legal sources

Workers’ Statute, Articles 51–53 (Spanish legislation) and Employment Jurisdiction Act, objective-dismissal procedure (Spanish legislation).

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