Estatuto de los Trabajadores (Employment Termination)

In Spain, an employment contract that exceeds one year can be terminated by either party giving the other a minimum of 15 days’ notice in writing. Labor law lists various grounds for termination of the employment relationship which includes mutual agreement of the parties, reasons established in the contract, resignation, retirement, employer or employee death or disability, and disciplinary dismissal. An employer in Spain can legally dismiss an employee for the following three reasons: Objective Dismissal: This includes reasons such as employee incompetence, inability to adapt to reasonable technical changes, and layoffs based on organizational, economic, technical, or productivity grounds. Disciplinary Dismissal: Grounds for disciplinary dismissal include repeated and unjustified absence or tardiness at work, disobedience and lack of discipline, and harassment or verbal and physical aggression towards the employer or other employees. Collective Dismissal: This is termination based on economic, technical, organizational, or productivity grounds. Collective dismissal occurs when in any 90-day period: 10 employees in a company with less than 100 employees are dismissed; at least 10% of the workforce in a company with 100 to 300 workers; 30 employees in a company with at least 300 workers, or all employees in companies with more than five workers. If any employee disputes their dismissal, they can challenge their employer before a Labor Court.