Employment
Strong dismissal protection built on sector-level collective bargaining
Employment is never at will. The Unified Status Act, in force from 1 January 2014, abolished the historic split between blue-collar and white-collar notice periods and replaced it with a single statutory scale keyed to seniority. Much of the detail — pay scales, extra leave, working-time arrangements — comes from collective agreements negotiated in roughly 170 sectoral joint committees.
Key rules
- Statutory notice is calculated on seniority alone; collective agreements may improve on it but not reduce it.
- Contracts that began before 2014 use a two-step calculation, splitting service before and after 1 January 2014.
- An employee dismissed without reason may request the motives, and manifestly unreasonable dismissal attracts extra compensation under CBA no. 109.
- Minimum paid annual leave is 20 days on a five-day week, accrued on the basis of the previous calendar year's work.
Governing law
- Employment Contracts Act (3 July 1978)Core statute on formation, suspension and termination
- Unified Status Act (26 December 2013)Single notice-period scale from 1 January 2014
- Collective Bargaining Agreement no. 109Motivation of dismissal and manifestly unreasonable dismissal
- Well-being at Work Act (4 August 1996)Includes psychosocial risks and harassment procedures
Penalties and consequences
- Indemnity in lieu of the unserved notice period
- A further 3 to 17 weeks' pay for manifestly unreasonable dismissal under CBA no. 109
- Protected employees, including works council candidates, attract substantially higher fixed indemnities
In practice
Which joint committee covers the employer usually matters more than the statute, because it sets the applicable pay scale and supplementary rights. Disputes go to the labour tribunal, where proceedings are free of court fees for the employee and the labour auditor may investigate.