DLP Insights

As a result of the European law just adopted by Parliament, which sets forth how the procedures concerning collective redundancies are to be applied to managers, the rules and practices to be followed in this regard have changed considerably.

The new draft of the stability law raises the ceiling for relief from social security contributions to EUR 8,060 (from EUR 6,200) for new hires with permanent contracts and confirms that starting 1 January 2015, subsidised contracts will cease for workers who have been unemployed for more than two years (as provided for in Law No. 407/1990).

In its Judgment No. 22388 of 22 October 2014, the Court of Cassation held that the principle under which no legal action can be instituted twice for the same cause of action is also applicable to labour relations, including disciplinary proceedings taken against workers.

In its Judgment No. 20949 of 3 October 2014, the Supreme Court of Cassation dismissed an appeal brought by a worker who sought classification as a manager, together with the corresponding pay difference.

The Government aims to eliminate reinstatement for individual economic redundancies, which are no longer in high numbers (18%, according to labour experts), whereas nothing has yet been planned or announced for collective economic redundancies under Law 223/1991, which have been the most frequent types in the recent years of the crisis (estimated to be 60% of the total).