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Termination of employment relationships
Legal situation in the Member States of the European Union
European Commission
Termination of employment relationships
Legal situation in the Member States of the European Union
European Commission Directorate General Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Unit D2 Manuscript completed in April 2006
The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of the European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment and Social Affairs. This document is available in English only.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. This synthesis report aims at providing an overview of the legal situation as regards termination of employment relationships in the 15 Member States of the preenlargement European Union 1. The report updates the original 1997 Report which was the fruit of co-operation between the Commission and the Member States; the information set out in the original report was assembled on the basis of contributions from the Member States and they subsequently checked its accuracy. This updated report adheres to the format and structures of the original report and is based on the information provided by the national experts named in the introduction. 2. Labour law across the EU-15 has gradually introduced limits to ad nutum dismissal that is summary, unjustified dismissal in the context of a contract of indefinite duration. Sources of law on dismissal 3. The main source of rules on individual dismissals in most Member States is the law in the broad sense. Collective agreements are most frequently used to adjust the statutory provisions on periods of notice or dismissal on disciplinary grounds, for example. The role of judge-made law, especially in the interpretation of laws, is also important. The role of custom is, on the whole, relatively limited. The Notice Period 4. A first limit on freedom to dismiss is the period of notice which applies in all the Member States. There
Legal situation in the Member States of the European Union
European Commission
Termination of employment relationships
Legal situation in the Member States of the European Union
European Commission Directorate General Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Unit D2 Manuscript completed in April 2006
The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of the European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment and Social Affairs. This document is available in English only.
-2-
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. This synthesis report aims at providing an overview of the legal situation as regards termination of employment relationships in the 15 Member States of the preenlargement European Union 1. The report updates the original 1997 Report which was the fruit of co-operation between the Commission and the Member States; the information set out in the original report was assembled on the basis of contributions from the Member States and they subsequently checked its accuracy. This updated report adheres to the format and structures of the original report and is based on the information provided by the national experts named in the introduction. 2. Labour law across the EU-15 has gradually introduced limits to ad nutum dismissal that is summary, unjustified dismissal in the context of a contract of indefinite duration. Sources of law on dismissal 3. The main source of rules on individual dismissals in most Member States is the law in the broad sense. Collective agreements are most frequently used to adjust the statutory provisions on periods of notice or dismissal on disciplinary grounds, for example. The role of judge-made law, especially in the interpretation of laws, is also important. The role of custom is, on the whole, relatively limited. The Notice Period 4. A first limit on freedom to dismiss is the period of notice which applies in all the Member States. There