Page 44 - Socially-responsible-restructuring-Effective-strategies-for-supporting-redundant-workers

Socially responsible restructuring
Effective strategies for supporting redundant workers

minimum number of job losses. This varies from at least five employees in Ireland
to 20 in Slovakia and also the UK. In most cases, enterprises also need to
comply with a formal notification period, such as 30 days, when the jobs are
planned to be terminated. All of these countries have some provisions for
notifying not just the individual employees concerned, but also their
representative organisations, including works councils and trade unions. Often
the notification requirement is a function of the extent of the planned job losses in
relation to the size of the establishment. For example, in Austria an enterprise
with 20-100 employees would need to notify only where at least five employees
were affected, rising to at least 30 employees where the workforce is more than
600 employees.
An important issue for guidance-related support in enterprises undergoing
restructuring is that, in addition to notifying the representative bodies, it is
common practice to inform the local office of the public employment service or
labour office. In some cases, this is also a codified requirement but with the time
periods varying greatly. In Sweden, the notification period is particularly
generous, starting at a minimum of two months for 5-25 redundancies, to six
months for over 100 job losses at an establishment. Compliance requirements go
beyond notification and, in most Member States, employers must provide
comprehensive information to the employees and their representatives on the
reasons for the redundancies, who is likely to be affected and the selection
criteria, as well as the proposed timetable for implementation. This is principally
aimed at aiding consultation which is also largely enshrined in the legislation. For
example, in Germany the works councils are required to respond within a set
time with proposals to be included in the social plan that will support employees
in the transition to new jobs. Elsewhere such arrangements may be conventional
practice but may not have a statutory basis. For example, a social plan is also a
normal outcome of consultation in Latvia, though there is no legal requirement for
this to be done.
Those at risk of redundancy may also find their expectations of re-
engagement in the labour market and their aspirations for further education and
training affected by financial and related compensation for job loss. Here,
statutory redundancy payments show highly varied practices. Among these 11
countries there are minimum levels of severance in most (Bulgaria, Denmark,
Ireland, Latvia, Austria, Portugal and the UK) but not all. These range from one-
off payments regardless of length of service (such as one month’s gross salary in
Bulgaria) to a range of entitlements based on length of service, such as in Ireland
and Latvia, to the only one based on age and length of service, in the UK. The
Austrian system is unique; the employer contributes on a regular basis to a fund

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