- Collective dismissals cannot be effected without the approval of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) (art 149(1) LC).
- In case of long-term suspension of activities that results in closing down the undertaking, the employer must inform the MoLSAMD at least 3 months before (art. 149(2) LC)

- In addition, the employer is required to provide a list of employees who have been dismissed on any legal ground (conduct, capacity, economic reasons - see "valid grounds") to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs or its provincial offices. This list which aims at assisting employees in job placement shall indicate the work experience, qualification, speciality, and skills of each employee.
(Art. 25(1) LC)

Art. 149(1): Government, NGOs, joint ventures and private entities are not authorized to dismiss all, or a group of employees without the approval of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) unless so authorized by statute.

Art. 23(3) LC (tbc)

Art. 27 LC provides if an employer restarts activities after a period of suspension caused by unexpected events and resulting in terminations of employment, the employer must re-employ his/her previous employees in their respective units.

Note that the procedural requirements related to the elaboration of the social plan (including consultations with the worker's representatives) set out in the Legislative Decree No 94-09 only apply to undertakings with more than 9 employees.

The LRA does not prescribe prior consultations with the workers' representatives.
However, the Legislative Decree No. 94-09 provides for mandatory consultations with the worker's representatives on the content and the implementation of the social plan ("volet social") which includes measures aimed at avoiding dismissals (ie: transfers, retraining, retirement and early retirements, readjustment of bonuses and benefits, salary reassessment, introduction of part-time work..) [See articles 10 to 14 of the Decree].
__________________________
La LRA ne prescrit pas de consultations préalables avec les représentants des travailleurs. Toutefois, le Décret No. 94-09 prévoit des consultations obligatoires avec les représentants des travailleurs sur le contenu et la mise en œuvre du volet social qui comprend des mesures visant à éviter les licenciements (transferts, reconversion, retraite et prépensions, réajustement des primes et avantages, réévaluation des salaires, introduction du travail à temps partiel, etc. [Voir les articles 10 à 14 du décret].

No provision in the LRA.
However, under the Legislative Decree No. 94-09, once the parties have reached an agreement on the social plan, the employer shall submit it to the registry of the competent tribunal and to the labour administration. In addition, when implementing the workforce reduction, the employer shall transmit the list of the employees concerned to the competent labour inspection and to the unemployment insurance funds (Articles 15 and 16 of the Decree).
___________________________
Aucune disposition dans la LRA.
Toutefois, en vertu du Décret No. 94-09, une fois que les parties sont parvenues à un accord sur le plan social, l'employeur doit le soumettre au greffe du tribunal compétent et à l'administration du travail. En outre, lors de la mise en œuvre de la réduction des effectifs, l'employeur transmet la liste des travailleurs concernés à l'inspection du travail compétente et aux caisses d'assurance chômage (articles 15 et 16 du Décret).

The Legislative Decree No. 94-09 provides for mandatory consultations with the worker's representatives on the content and the implementation of the social plan ("volet social") which includes measures aimed at avoiding dismissals (ie: transfers, retraining, retirement and early retirements, readjustment of bonuses and benefits, salary reassessment, introduction of part-time work..) [See articles 10 to 14 of the Decree].
_______________________
Le Décret No.94-09 prévoit des consultations obligatoires avec les représentants des travailleurs sur le contenu et la mise en œuvre du volet social qui comprend des mesures visant à éviter les licenciements (transferts, reconversion, retraite et préretraites, réajustement des primes et prestations, réévaluation salariale, introduction du travail à temps partiel...). [Voir les articles 10 à 14 du Décret].

Retrenched workers shall be selected inter alia on basis of seniority, professional experience and qualifications (art. 71 LRA).
_________________
Les travailleurs réintégrés sont sélectionnés notamment en fonction de leur ancienneté, de leur expérience professionnelle et de leurs qualifications (art. 71 LRA).

See art. 70 LRA.
See also articles 7 to 9 of the Legislative Decree No 94-09 on the mandatory social component of the procedure of workforce reduction (= a social plan) which shall be adopted in undertakings with more than 9 employees. This consists in a set of protection measures aimed at avoiding dismissals (ie: transfers, retraining, retirement and early retirements, readjustment of bonuses and benefits, salary reassessment, introduction of part-time work..).
______________________
Art.70 LRA.- Avant de procéder à une compression d'effectifs, l'employeur est tenu de recourir à tous les moyens susceptibles de réduire le nombre des licenciements et notamment :
i) à la réduction des horaires de travail ;
ii) au travail à temps partiel tel que défini dans la présente loi ;
iii) à la procédure de mise à la retraite conformément à la législation en vigueur ;
iv) à l'examen des possibilités de transfert du personnel vers d'autres activités que l'organisme employeur peut développer ou vers d'autres
entreprises. En cas de refus, le travailleur bénéficie d'une indemnité de licenciement pour compression d'effectifs.

Voir également les articles 7 à 9 du Décret No. 94-09 relatif à la composante sociale obligatoire de la procédure de réduction des effectifs (= un plan social) qui doit être adopté dans les entreprises de plus de 9 salariés. Il s'agit d'un ensemble de mesures de protection visant à éviter les licenciements (mutation, reconversion, retraite et préretraite, réajustement des primes et avantages, réévaluation des salaires, introduction du travail à temps partiel...).

Article 69 LRA: prohibition for any employer who has carried out a
a procedure of workforce reduction to hire new workers on the same workplaces in the professional categories of those workers affected by the downsizing.
_____________________________
Article 69 LRA: interdiction pour tout employeur qui a procédé à une
compression d'effectifs de recourir sur les mêmes lieux de travail à de nouveaux recrutements dans les catégories professionnelles des travailleurs concernés par la compression d'effectifs.

Art. 240 GLA: the employer must endeavour to conduct at least three meetings with the employee's representatives in order to search for measures aimed at preventing or reducing the extent of the dismissal. If an agreement is reached, it shall be final. If no agreement is reached, a written statement indicated the reasons for the absence of agreement and the alternative solutions proposed by the employees' representatives shall be drawn.
The outcome of the consultation shall be communicated in writing to the provincial office of the Ministry of Labour.

Art. 239 GLA: When an employer intends to carry out a collective dismissal, he/she must notify the employee's representatives and the provincial office of the Ministry of Labour. Such notification shall include:
- a description of the economic, technological and structural reasons underlying the collective dismissal;
- the intended measures relating to the reorganization or the reduction of activities;
- the number of workers affected by the dismissal;
- the selection criteria;
- other information necessary to assess the situation, the necessity and the size of the dismissal.

Art. 239 GLA: When an employer intends to carry out a collective dismissal, he/she must notify the employee's representatives and the provincial office of the Ministry of Labour. Such notification shall include:
- a description of the economic, technological and structural reasons underlying the collective dismissal;
- the intended measures relating to the reorganization or the reduction of activities;
- the number of workers affected by the dismissal;
- the selection criteria;
- other information necessary to assess the situation, the necessity and the size of the dismissal.

Art. 241 GLA:
If the parties fail to reach an agreement, within 10 days after the consultations ended, the provincial office of the Ministry of Labour shall convene a meeting with both parties and attempt to seek the agreement of the parties as to the execution or non-execution of the dismissal, and the extent of it.
The representative of provincial office of the Ministry of Labour must inform the employer and the workers' representatives whether or not he/she rejects the dismissal and state the reasons for his/her decision.
In absence of notification, he/she is deemed to have accepted the dismissal.
Art. 242 GLA: If the representative of provincial office objects to the collective dismissals, the employer can resort to the Director of collective request, the employer can resort to the competent director of industrial relations or the Ministry of Labour if the dismissal affects at least 25 workers. The competent authority will issue a final decision rejecting or authorizing the dismissal within 15 days of the employer's request.

Art. 233 and 243 GLA: when deciding which workers are to be maintained, preference shall be given by the employer to the most qualified worker, and in case of equal qualifications, to the employee with the highest seniority.
Workers receive an additional one year of seniority per each child under the age of 14.
Note that the above-mentioned criteria also apply to the economic dismissals which do not fall within the definition (threshold levels) of collective dismissal.

Art. 240 GLA: During the consultation process, the parties shall attempt to search for measures aimed at avoiding or reducing the extent of dismissal.

On individual economic dismissals (less than 5 workers concerned): see art. 231 and 234 GLA.

The LC does not foresee any specific legal regime applicable to collective dismissal.

Art. 100 and 101 NEL.

Art. 99, 100 NEL.
Art. 1 Decree 328/88

Art. 99, 100, 101 NEL.
Article 3 Decree 328/88

Art. 103 NEL: If the parties reach an agreement, they will notify the Ministry of Labour, who shall in turn within 10 days, either authorise ("homologar") the agreement or reject ("rechazar") it.
If the Administration does not make a decision within 10 days, the agreement will be considered authorised.

Art 247 LCL: Where a dismissal is ordered for reasons of force majeure or on account of a shortage or reduction of work that is duly proved to be beyond the employer's control, the first workers to be dismissed will be those with the shortest length of service.
With regards employees that joined the enterprise during the same semester, those with less family obligations will be dismissed before, even if that alters the job tenure order.
Art. 51 Ley de Asociaciones Sindicales: Worker's representatives enjoying employment permanence Will not be able to invoke this protection in cases of general suspension or ceasing of the Enterprise activities. In those cases where there is no general suspension of activities, but staff reduction by way of suspensions and dismissals in which the job tenure order shall be observed, workers enjoying employment permanence protection as established in the present law will be excluded from this order.

Art. 116: The employer must, 2 months in advance, inform the public employment service on the number of contemplated collective dismissals for economic reasons.

Art. 116: The employer must, 2 months in advance, inform workers' representatives on the number of contemplated collective dismissals for economic reasons.

Art. 113: Before any dismissal for economic reasons, the employer must propose to the worker any transfer or vocational training within the available possibilities in the enterprise.

s531(3) FWA

s530 FWA: mandatory notification of the proposed dismissals to the Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency (Centrelink).

s531 (2) FWA: notification to each registered employee association of which any of the employees is a member, and that is entitled to represent the industrial interests of that member.

s531(3) FWA: The employer shall give each registered employee association of which any of the employees was a member, and that was entitled to represent the industrial interests of that member, an opportunity to consult the employer on:
(i) measures to avert or minimise the proposed dismissals; and
(ii) measures (such as finding alternative employment) to mitigate the adverse effects of the proposed dismissals.

Sec. 109 (1) and (2) WCA

At least 30 days before the first notice of termination is served to an employee (Sec. 45a Labour Market Promotion Act).

Sec. 109 (1) and (2) WCA

No rules on the determination of selection criteria in the legislation reviewed. Selection criteria are only referred to in sec. 109 (1) as one of the element to be transmitted to the works council within the framework of the notification and consultation process.

Sec. 109 (2) WCA: The council may make proposals for the prevention, elimination or mitigation of the adverse effects of redundancies.

Note: In undertakings with more than 20 permanent employees, when the proposed measures would affect a significant part of the workforce, the works council may request the conclusion of a social plan (sec. 109 (3) WCA)

No statutory provision in the legislation reviewed.

Art.17(2) of the Law on Employment: the employer has to inform, 2 months in advance, the public service of employment about any contemplated redundancies.

Law on Trade Unions of 1994:
Art. 11. Right of trade unions to defend labour rights.
...Where the closure of an enterprise or its subdivisions at the initiative of the management may lead to a complete or partial cessation of production, workforce reductions or a deterioration of working conditions, such measures, with the exception of cases provided for by the law, shall not be carried out without prior notice of not less than three months to the trade unions concerned, and consultations with them concerning the safeguarding of workers' rights and interests.

However, according to Art. 80 LC, the employer has to obtain the authorization of the trade union to dismiss a member of that trade union.

Art. 78 LC - the employer defines the list of workers to be dismissed for economic reasons.

There is no obligation as such on the part of the employer to undertake consultations with the worker's representatives on intended retrenchments. Sec. 20(2)b) LA only requires that the collective bargaining agent (trade union) be notified.
Note however, that the LA recognizes the right of the collective bargaining agent in relation to an establishment to undertake collective bargaining with the employer on matters connected with the employment, non-employment, non-employment, the term of employment or the conditions of work (sec. 24(e) LA).
In addition, if an industrial dispute is likely to arise between the employer and the workers (which can be the case for example in the event of retrenchments) the law recognizes the right of the collective bargaining agent to communicate his or its views in writing to the other party, which shall in turn arrange a meting for collective bargaining on the issue with a view to reaching an agreement (sec. 210 on the settlement of industrial disputes).
An industrial dispute is defined in the LA as "any dispute or difference between employers and employers or between employers and workers or between workers and workers which is connected with the employment or non-employment or the terms of employment or the conditions of work of any
person" (sec. 2 (Lxii) LA).

Sec. 20(2)(b) LA: No worker who has been in continuous service for at least one year shall be retrenched by the employer unless- (b) a copy of the notice is sent to the chief Inspector or any other officer authorized by him and also to the collective bargaining agent in the establishment, if any.

Sec. 20(2)(b) LA: A copy of the notice of retrenchment of a worker who has been employed for at least a year shall be sent to the collective bargaining agent in the establishment, if any.

Sec. 20(4) LA: application of the LIFO ("last in, first out ") rule in the absence of any agreement between the employer and the worker.

Sec. 21 LA: preference for re-hiring shall be given to retrenched workers when the employer decides to hire workers within one year from the date of the retrenchment.

Art. 6 and 8 ROCD and 66 (1) APE.
See also: Collective Labour Agreement N° 24.

Art. 6 and 7 RO 1976 and and 66 (2) APE.

Art. 6 RO 1976 and 66 (1) APE.
See also: Collective Labour Agreement N° 24.

No criteria listed in the legislation nor in Collective Labour Agreements.
Art. 6 Collective Agreement No 24 only states that criteria defined by the employer should be one of the elements to be communicated to the trade union representatives for consultation.

Art. 6 Collective Labour Agreement No 24 provides for consultation with the trade union representatives on social measures. However, no formal adoption of a social plan is required.

The promotion of Employment Act of 13 February 1998 clarifies the obligation of employers to consult with workers' representatives and places an obligation on employers to analyze and formally respond to any proposals from workers' representatives.

No statutory provision on the EA. However, sec. 13(5) of the Code of Good Practices on Termination of Employment provides that the employer should consult the employees to be affected by the collective dismissal and their trade union.

Sec. 25(2) of the EA : when an employer forms an intention to terminate contracts of employment for the purpose of reducing the size of his work force, he shall forthwith give written notice of that intention to the Commissioner.

Sec. 25(1) of the EA: Where an employer terminates contracts of employment for the purpose of reducing the size of his work force, he shall do so in respect of each category of employee, wherever reasonably practicable, in accordance with the principle commonly known as first-in-last-out: Provided that in so doing the employer shall take into account (i) the need for the efficient operation of the undertaking in question; and (ii) the ability, experience, skill and occupational qualifications of each employee concerned.

In addition, sec. 13(5) of the Code of Good practices on Termination of Employment provides that the criteria for selecting the employees for dismissal such as last-in-first-out , subject to special skills and affirmative action should constitute a priority rules for collective dismissals. Sec. 13(5.8) furthermore provides that selection criteria for retrenchment should also be agreed with by the employer and employee representatives.

No statutory provision in the EA. However, sec. 13(5) of the Code of Good Practices on Termination of the employment provides that the employer should consult the employees to be affected and their trade union, with a genuine attempt to achieve consensus on the alternatives to dismissals such as transfer to other jobs.

Sec. 25(3) of the EA
Where contracts of employment have been terminated for the purpose of reducing the size of a work force, the employer shall, if he again seeks employees in the occupations to which those contracts related, give priority of engagement, to such extent as is reasonably practicable, to those persons whose contracts of employment were so terminated: Provided that this subsection shall not apply where the employer seeks such employees more than six months immediately after the contracts in question were terminated.

In addition, sec. 13(9) of the Code of Good Practices on Termination of Employment provides that retrenched employees should be given preference if the employer again hires employees with comparables qualifications, subject to -the employees having expressed a desire to be re-hired and the re-hiring taking place within six months of the retrenchment.

Note. Law 13.467 of 2017 included Art. 477-A in the CLL, which provides that: "As dispensas imotivadas individuais, plúrimas ou coletivas equiparam-se para todos os fins, não havendo necessidade de autorização prévia de entidade sindical ou de celebração de convenção coletiva ou acordo coletivo de trabalho para sua efetivação."

Art. 130a LC

Art. 24 of the Employment Promotion Act

Art. 130a LC

No approval by the admnistration required as such for collective dismissals.

However, pursuant to Art. 25 of the Employment Promotion Act, in the course of the negotiation process, a team of representatives of the workers, the employer and the administration shall draft measures aimed at avoiding or mitigating the effects of the propose redundancy (employment placement, vocational training, alternative employment programmes). The draft shall then be submitted for approval to the Regional Employment Commission.

Except when approval is foreseen under a collective agreement in dismissals due to staff cut or reduction of the volume of work: art. 333 (3) LC.

No selection criteria listed.
Art. 130a LC only refers to criteria as one of the elements to be communicated to the workers' representatives for consultation.

Note: Art. 329 LC provides that in case of partial closing down of an enterprise, in case of staff cuts or reduction of the volume of work, the employer shall be entitled to selection and in the interest of production, business may dismiss employees whose positions have not been made redundant, in order to retain employees of higher qualifications and better performance.

Art. 25 of the Employment Promotion Act.
This article refers to measures aiming at "employment placement intermediation, training for attainment of vocational qualification, alternative employment programmes" that have to be drafted by a team of representatives of the workers, the employer and the administration and to be submitted for approval to the Regional Employment Commission.

Art. 101 LC.

Art. 102 LC

Art. 101 LC

Art. 101 LC refers to selection criteria as one of the elements to be transmitted to the workers' representatives for consultation, but no criteria are listed in the LC.

Art. 99 LC, art. 104 LC.

Art. 104 LC does not refer to any priority right to re-employment as such, but stipulates that: if the economic situation of the enterprise improves, dismissed workers can be re-employed provided they fulfill the requirements for the positions.
However, art. 34 of the Inter-occupational Collective Agreement expressly establishes a priority right for re-employment for 2 years.

Sec. 95 LC

See Sec. 95 LC: notification to the Labour Inspector in the event of mass lay-off.
See also Sec. 21 LC: notification of every dismissal (not specific to collective dismissal)

Sec. 95 LC

No approval required. However, in exceptional cases, the Minister in charge of Labour can issue a ministerial order (Prakas) to suspend the lay off for a period not exceeding thirty days. The suspension may be repeated only one time by a Prakas of the Ministry (Sec. 95 LC).

Sec. 95 LC: The first workers to be laid off will be those with the least professional ability, then the workers with the least seniority. The seniority has to be increased by one year for a married worker and by an additional year for each dependent child.

Sec. 95 LC: The employer must solicit the worker's representatives for suggestions, primarily, on measures taken to minimize the effects of the reduction on the affected workers.

Sec. 95 LC: The dismissed workers have, for two years, priority to be re-hired for the same position in the enterprise.

Art. 40 (3), (6) LC and art. 3 of the Decree No. 21, 26 May 1993.

Art 40 (3), (4) (6) LC

Art. 40 (6) LC and art. 3 of the Decree No. 21, 26 May 1993.

Except for the dismissal of workers' representatives: art. 40 (7) LC.

Note: In the absence of agreement between the employer and the staff representatives, the dispute is brought before the Labour Inspector for arbitration (art. 40(6)d) LC). However, the employer is not bound by the decision of the administration.
(Paul-Gérard Pougoué, Code du travail annoté, 1997)

Approval by the administration is however mandatory in order to dismiss a workers' representative: art. 40 (7) LC

Art. 6 (a) LC: "...l'employeur doit établir l'ordre des licenciements en tenant compte des aptitudes professionnelles, de l'ancienneté dans l'entreprise et des charges familiales des travailleurs."
Art. 2 of the Decree No. 21 of 26 May 1993, lists the criteria to be considered in the following order: professional skills, length of service and family responsibilities.

Art. 40 (3) LC: alternatives to dismissal must be examined in the framework of the consultation process but no formal agreement is required. It reads as follows:
"3) Pour tenter d'éviter un licenciement pour motif économique, l'employeur qui envisage un tel licenciement doit réunir les délégués du personnel s'il en existe et rechercher avec eux en présence de l'inspecteur du travail du ressort, toutes les autres possibilités telles que : la réduction des heures de travail, le travail par roulement, le travail à temps partiel, le chômage technique, le réaménagement des primes, indemnités et avantages de toute nature, voire la réduction des salaires. "

Art. 40 (9) LC and art. 4 of the Decree No 21 of 21 May 1996: prior claim to employment in the same establishment for a period of 2 years.

As soon as notice has been submitted to the Minister and to the trade union or directly to the employees, the employer must set up a joint planning committee consisting of at least four members, half of whom should be representatives of the redundant employees and the others, representatives of the employer (sec. 214 CLC).

The objective of the joint planning committee is to develop an adjustment programme aimed at eliminating the necessity for the termination of employment, to minimizing the impact of the termination on the redundant employees and assisting them in obtaining other employment (sec. 221(1) CLC).

Sec. 212 CLC: the employer must give the Minister of Labour written notification at least 16 weeks before the date of the first dismissal. A copy of this notice should also be submitted to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and the Canada Employment Insurance Commission.

Sec. 212(2) CLC: Written notification at least 16 weeks before the date of the first dismissal to any trade union representing the redundant employees concerned. Where any redundant employee is not represented by a trade union, a copy of that notice should be given to the employee or immediately posted by the employer in a conspicuous place within the industrial establishment in which that employee is employed.

Within the joint planning committee, the employer participates through its representatives to the development of the adjustment programme aimed at eliminating the necessity for the termination of employment, to minimizing the impact of the termination on the redundant employees and assisting them in obtaining other employment (sec. 221(1) CLC).

Art. 143 LC.
Negotiations shall not exceed 30 days.

Art. 143 LC: consultation with the workers' representatives in the presence of the Labour Inspector.

Art. 143 LC.

Art. 143 LC refers to the sole presence of the Labour Inspector during the negotiation process in the event of any economic dismissal.
However, there is a Government Order of 1973 (Ordonnance No. 73/093) that requires in art. 1 prior authorization of the Labour Inspector in the event of any collective dismissal.
Under the new law (LC 2009), it seems that the prior authorization is no longer required.

Art. 143 LC: the selection criteria are: professional skills, seniority, family responsibilities.
In any cases, priority should be given to professional skills.
Note also that according to Art. 271 LC, in the event of collective dismissal for economic reasons or any other reason, the employer must make every effort to preserve the employment of disabled workers.

Art. 143 LC: During the consultation process, the parties, in the presence of the Labour Inspector shall look for all alternative measures.

Art. 162 LC: notification to the Labour Inspectorate at least 30 days in advance. Notification shall take place prior to any dismissal (concerning 1 or more workers) based on operational requirements of the undertaking as defined in art. 161 (1) LC.

Art. 41 ECL (30 days in advance).

Art. 41 ECL.

Art. 41 ECL (30 days in advance).

Art. 41 ECL.

Art. 41 ECL.

Art. 41 ECL: preferential right to re-employment for 6 months.

Article 67 Act 50/1990: The employer, contemplating collective dismissals for economic reasons, must request a prior authorisation from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. At the same time, the employer has to inform in writing the workers about such a request.

Article 67 of Act 50/1990 that changed Article 40 of Decree-Law 2351 of 1965.

See Article 67 of Act 50/1990: The employer, contemplating collective dismissals for economic reasons, must request a prior authorisation from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. At the same time, the employer has to inform in writing the workers about such a request.

Article 49 of the Labour Code: mandatory notification to the labour inspector (former art. 51).

Article 49 of the Labour Code: Mandatory notification to the workers' representatives

Article 49 of the Labour Code: prior to a dismissal motivated by a decrease in the activity of the undertaking or internal reorganization, the employer must establish an order of dismissal in particular taking into account the professional qualifications, seniority and family responsibilities of workers.

Article 50 of the Labour Code - during 2 years after the dismissal for economic reasons. [Note: the article number has changed in the new LC (former art.52 now art. 50), but its content has remained unchanged].

Art. 78 LC.

Art. 78 LC.
See also Art. 4, 5 and 7 of the Ministerial Order no n° 12/CAB.MIN/TPS/116/2005 dated 26 October 2005:
- Mass dismissals based on the operational requirement of the undertaking must be authorized by the Ministry of Labour (Art. 4).
- Dismissals connected the operational requirements of the enterprise which do not amount to mass dismissal as defined in Art. 1 (see definition above) must be notified to and authorized by the labour inspector (Art. 5).
- Dismissals based on economic reasons of one or more workers which do not reach the required numbers for mass dismissal shall be notified to and approved by the labour inspector (Art 8).

Art. 78 LC.

See also Art. 4, 5 and 7 of the Ministerial Order no n° 12/CAB.MIN/TPS/116/2005 dated 26 October 2005:
- Mass dismissals based on the operational requirement of the undertaking must be authorized by the Ministry of Labour (Art. 4).
- Dismissals connected the operational requirements of the enterprise which do not amount to mass dismissal as defined in art. 1 (see definition above) must be notified to and authorized by the labour inspector (Art. 5).
- Dismissals based on economic reasons of one or more workers which do not reach the required numbers for mass dismissal shall be notified to and approved by the labour inspector (Art 8).

Art. 78 LC. Criteria to be considered are: professional skills, job tenure, family responsibilities.

Art. 78 LC: preferential right to re-employment for 1 year.

There is no legal norm, but it can be regulated by collective bargaining agreement.

There is no legal norm, but it can be regulated by collective bargaining agreement.

There is no legal norm, but it can be regulated by collective bargaining agreement.

The procedures established by the LC apply to both individual and collective dismissals based on economic grounds.

Art. 18.11 et seq. LC

Art. 18.11 et seq. LC

Art. 18.11 et seq. LC

No criteria listed in the LC (Art 16.8 LC refers to selection criteria as one of the elements to be transmitted to the workers' representatives for consultation).
Priority rules are listed in art. 38, ParagraphParagraph 1-2 of the 1977 Inter-occupational Collective Agreement. These are: professional skills, job tenure and family responsibilities. However, this part of article 38 has been implicitly abrogated by the articles of the labour Code that regulate collective dismissal.

No provision in the LC. However priority right to re-employment is foreseen in art. 38, Paragraph 3 of the 1977 Inter-occupational Collective Agreement (1977)

According to article 56 of Labour Code, the employer, from the corresponding authorization, is obliged to previously inform the union organization at its level and the workers, about the application of the availability process, its organization and control.

According to article 55 of Labour Code, in the event of a declaration of availability (redundancy), the principle of demonstrated suitability governs the process of determining the workers who remain in the entity and those available, on the basis that each position is occupied by the most suitable worker, which should avoid any manifestation of predilction, as well as gender or other discrimination.

Sec. 4 & 5 CDA

Sec. 6 CDA.
Sec. 21 TEA.

Sec. 4 & 5 CDA

Article 4:
(2) Consultations will cover at least the following topics:
(a) Possible ways and means of avoiding collective redundancies, or reducing the number of affected employees, and
(b) the ways and means of mitigating the consequences of collective redundancies by recourse to social measures aimed, inter alia, at re-employment or retraining of redundant workers.

Sec. 4 CDA

Sec. 22 TEA (within 8 months following redundancy and subject to the operational needs of the enterprise)

30 days in advance: sec. 62 (2) LC.

30 days in advance: sec. 62 (4) LC.

Sec. 62 (2), (5) LC.

No criteria listed in the legislation.
However sec. 62 (2) e) and 62 (4) state that the selection criteria should be one of the elements to be communicated to the labour office and to the trade union within the framework of the process of consultation.

Sec 62 (3) LC refers to the purpose of consultation being "to reach an agreement, in particular with regards to measures aiming at prevention or reduction of collective dismissals, the mitigation of their adverse implications for employees, especially the possibility of their placement in suitable jobs at the other employer's places of work".
However, the formal adoption of a social plan is not a requirement.

Sec. 5 - 6 CDA

Sec. 7 CDA

Sec. 5 - 6 CDA

Sec. 5 (2) CDA

Article 193 of Labour Code provides that If the employer reopens the same company or business within a period of one year, either directly or through an intermediary, he is obliged to admit the workers who served him, in the same conditions as before or in better conditions.

In the absence of any specified threshold for the application of those procedural requirements, it may be possible that they also apply to the termination of employment of one redundant worker.

Under the LL and the Prime Minister Decree No. 984 of 2003, if contemplating redundancies, the employer must submit a request for closing the enterprise or reducing its size or activity to a committee established for this purpose. In the request to the committee, the employer must provide information including the reasons for the contemplated terminations, and the number and categories of workers likely to be affected (art. 196 and 197 LL). The committee in charge of deciding on such request must consist of a representative nominated by the General Federation of Egyptian Trade Unions, a representative of an employers' organisation nominated by the concerned organisation, a technical and economic representative from the General Authority for Investment, and a representative from the National Social Insurance Authority. The chair is the director of the Manpower and Emigration Directorate.
The committee must prepare an argued decision, adopted by a majority vote, within thirty days from the date of the submission of the request. (art. 1 to 4 Decree No. 984 of 2003).

In addition, art. 199 LL provides for mandatory consultation with the trade unions on the criteria for selecting the workers to dismiss if these are not included in the collective agreement in force in the enterprise.

Under the LL and the Prime Minister Decree No. 984 of 2003, if contemplating redundancies, the employer must submit a request for closing the enterprise or reducing its size or activity to a committee established for this purpose (art. 196 and 197 LL). The committee in charge of deciding on such request must consist of a representative nominated by the General Federation of Egyptian Trade Unions, a representative of an employers' organisation nominated by the concerned organisation, a technical and economic representative from the General Authority for Investment, and a representative from the National Social Insurance Authority. The chair is the concerned director of the Manpower and Emigration Directorate. The committee must prepare an argued decision, adopted by majority vote, within thirty days from the date of the submission of the request. (art. 1 to 4 Decree No. 984 of 2003).

- See article 1 Decree No. 984 of 2003: the committee in charge of deciding on the request for closing the enterprise or reducing its size or activity must include a representative nominated by the General Federation of Egyptian Trade Unions.
- See also art. 198 LL: The employer must inform the workers and trade unions concerned about the request to the committee and the decision received.

Within 30 days from the date of the submission of the request, the committee must issue a substantiated decision, adopted by majority of vote and approved by the concerned governor. In case of authorization of dismissals, the committee must indicate the date they become effective (art. 197 LL and art. 3 Decree No. 984 of 2003).

Note that the LL and 2003 Decree establish an appeal mechanism against the committee's decision before the Central Committee for complaints established in the Ministry of Manpower and Emigration.
(art. 198 LL and 4 and 5 of the Decree No. 984 of 2003)

However, a worker's representative sits on the tripartite Committee in charge of approving the employer's request.
The decision must be taken by majority voting and the participation of 3 members out of 4 is sufficient for the vote to be valid. (see above, and see art. 197 LL and art. 3 Decree No. 984 of 2003).

If the collective agreement in force in the enterprise does not provide any objective criteria for selecting the workers to dismiss, the employer must consult with trade union representatives. Seniority, family responsibilities, age, vocational abilities, and skills shall be within the criteria that may be drawn upon in this respect. In all cases, the criteria for selection must take into account the interests of both the enterprise and workers (Art. 199 LL)

No statutory obligation. However, this might be considered by the Committee when deciding on the employer's request.
In addition, pursuant to art. 201 LL, as an alternative to dismissing workers for economic reasons, the employer is entitled to propose modifications to the employment contract. If the worker refuses it, he/she has the right to leave the enterprise without giving any notice. In this case, the dismissal is deemed lawful and the worker keeps his/her rights to compensation prescribed for dismissals for economic reasons.

However, prior judicial authorization is required in the folllowing cases:
- closure of all or part of the undertaking or establishment, or final reduction of the activities, resulting from the unprofitably of the business;
- business closure caused by the exhaustion of the substance exploited by the extractive industry (art. 49 LC).

Art. 101 ECA: Before an employer decides on collective dismissal, he/she shall consult the employees' representatives or if there are no representatives, with each of the employees well in advance with the aim of reaching an agreement on the prevention of the planned dismissals or reduction of the number of dismissals and mitigation of their consequences, including job-seeking assistance or re-training of the employees to be made redundant.
For the purposes of consultations, the employer shall provide the employees' representatives in a timely manner with any and all necessary information about the planned collective redundancies. The employer shall submit, in a format which can be reproduced in writing, the following information:
1) the reasons for the collective dismissal;
2) the number and job titles of the employees;
3) the number and job titles of the employees and the criteria for selecting the employees to be made redundant:
4) the period during which the employment contracts are to be terminated;
5) the method of calculation of the compensation to be paid to the employees in addition to the benefits provided by law or the collective agreement.

Arts. 101(3) and 102 ECA:
The employer is required to submit and information about the collective dismissals and information about consultations to the structural unit of the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund in writing.

Art. 101 ECA.

Since the entry into force of the ECA (July 1st, 2009) approval by the administration in no longer required. Note that, under the previous Employment Contract Act (1992), before undertaking collective dismissals, the employer had to obtain the approval from the Labour Inspectorate.

Arts. 89(4) and 89(5) ECA: during the redundancy selection, the employer must respect the principle of equal treatment. Workers' representatives and workers raising children under three have the preferential right of keeping their job.

Art. 89(3) ECA provides that before terminating an employment contract on the grounds of redundancy, an employer shall, where possible, offer another job to an employee, except in case of bankruptcy. An employer shall, where necessary, organise an employee's in-service training or change the employee's working conditions, unless the changes cause disproportionately high costs for the employer.
See also art. 101(1) ECA: Before an employer decides on collective dismissal, he/she shall consult the employees' representatives or if there are no representatives, with each of the employees well in advance with the aim of reaching an agreement on the prevention of the planned dismissals or reduction of the number of dismissals and mitigation of their consequences, including job-seeking assistance or re-training of the employees to be made redundant.

Art. 29 (3) LP.

Art. 29 (3) LP.

Art. 29 (3) LP: workers with skills and a higher rate of productivity have priority to retain their posts. In case of equal skills and effectiveness, the workers to be affected must be in the following order: those with the shortest length of service, those with fewer dependents, disabled workers, worker's representatives and pregnant women.

Sec. 45-51 ACU.
Note that section 47 differentiates information requirements based on the number of employees concerned by the dismissal (under or above 10 employees).
When the dismissal concerns less than 10 employees over a period of 90 days, information shall be directly given to the employees or their representatives if the employees so request.

Sec. 48 ACU: applicable to the economic dismissal of one or more employees.
Section 3a has been repealed by Act 204/2017.

Sec. 45-51 ACU on negotiation.
Sec. 53 ACU on communication of the employer's report regarding the decisions adopted on the basis of the negotiation.

Sec. 49-50 ACU.

Sec. 6, chapt. 6, ECA: “If an employee is given notice on the basis of chapter 7, sections 3 or 7, and the employer needs new employees within four months of termination of the employment relationship for the same or similar work that the employee given notice had been doing, the employer shall offer work to this former employee if the employee continues to seek work via an Employment and Economic
Development Office. However, if the employment relationship has lasted without interruption for at least 12 years prior to its termination, the re-employment period shall be six months."

* Dismissals concerning less than 10 employees over a 30 day period: art. L 1233-8 to L 1233-10. In enterprises with at least 11 employees, a newly created body, the social and economic committee, needs to be consulted, art. L 1233-8 LC.
* Dismissals concerning 10 or more employees over a 30 day period: art. L 1233-28 to L 1233-33 LC. The social and economic committee needs to be consulted, art. L 1233-28 LC.

(Criminal penalties for failure to observe those requirements: art. L1238-2 LC)
If a company with at least 1000 employees intends to close an establishment and such a decision would lead to collective dismissals, it must inform and consult the social and economic committee, including on any take-over proposal it wishes to accept. Art. L 1233-57-9 to L 1233-57-11 and art. L 1233-57-15 to L 1233-57-19 LC.

* Less than 10 employees over a 30 day period of time: art. L 1233-19 LC.
* 10 or more employees over a 30 day period: art. L 1233-46 LC.

+ Criminal penalties for failure to observe the notification requirement: art. R1238-2 (less than 10 employees) and art. L 1238-4 LC (10 or more employees).
A company with at least 1000 employees must inform immediately the administrative authority and the mayor of the municipality concerned of any intention to close an establishment when such a decision would lead to collective dismissals. Art. L. 1233-57-12 and L 1233-57-13 LC.

* Less than 10 employees over 30 days: art. L 1233-8 to L 1233-10. In enterprises with at least 11 employees, notification needs to be made to the social and economic committee, art. L 1233-8 LC.
*10 or more employees over 30 days: art. L 1233-28 to L 1233-33 LC. Notification needs to be made to the social and economic committee, art. L 1233-28 LC.

A company with at least 1000 employees must inform the social and economic committee of any intention to close an establishment when such a decision would lead to collective dismissals. See art. L. 1233-57-9 to L 1233-57-11, art. L 1233-57-15 to art. L 1233-57-20 LC.

Intervention of the administration in companies not subject to the obligation to establish an employment safeguard plan (plan de sauvegarde de l'emploi), the administration verifies the regularity of the procedure (with regard to information to the workers' representatives, adoption of social plan): See L 1233-53 and L 1233-56 LC.

Note: Companies subject to the obligation to establish an employment safeguard plan are those with at least 50 employees that intend to proceed to the dismissal of at least 10 employees over a 30-day period, art. L.1233-61 LC.

When the establishment of an employment safeguard plan is mandatory, its content may be determined by collective agreement (art. L 1233-24-1 to L 1233-24-3 LC). In the absence of a collective agreement, it is established by the employer (art. 1233-24-4 LC). The collective agreement or the document unilaterally established by the employer must be submitted to the administrative authorities for approval (see art. 1233-57-1 to art. 1233-57-8 LC).
Further, approval of the labour inspectorate is requested prior to dismissal of some protected workers (i.e. trade union rep.: art. L 2411-3 LC).

Art. L 1233-5 LC:
In the absence of a collective agreement, the employer defines the criteria used to determine the order in which the dismissals will take place, after consultation with the social and economic committee. These criteria take into consideration, among others:
1) family responsibilities
2) length of service
3) the situation of employees whose re-entry in the labour market is difficult for social reasons (in particular for elderly employees and persons living with a disability)
4) professional skills.
The employer can give more weight to one of these criteria, provided that the other criteria are taken into consideration.

A collective dismissal can only take place after having made every possible training and adaptation effort and if the redeployment of the employee concerned, in the same company or in another company of the same group, appears not to be possible. A redeployment can only take place in companies whose organization, activities or place of operation provides for the rotation of all or part of the staff (art. L1233-4 LC).
A mandatory "employment safeguard plan" (plan de sauvegarde de l'emploi) to avoid dismissals or limit their number, for companies with more than 50 employees in case of a collective dismissal concerning 10 or more employees over a 30 day period: art. L 1233-61 to L 1233-64 LC. The dismissal procedure is invalid in the absence of a decision by the administrative authority to approve the employment safeguard plan (art. L. 1235-10 LC).

In addition, in companies with at least 1000 employees, the employer must propose to the employees concerned a “reclassification leaveu201d (congé de reclassement) of up to 12 months (art. L. 1233-71). In companies that are not subject to this obligation, the employer must propose a “professional employability agreementu201d (contrat de sécurisation professionnelle) (art. L.1233-66).

When a company with at least 1000 employees intends to close an establishment and such a decision would lead to collective dismissals, it must look for a take-over business and provide a reasoned response to any take-over offer. See art. L. 1233-57-14 LC.

In case of economic dismissal : preferential rehiring during a 1-year period, upon request of the employee: art. L 1233-16 and L 1233-45 LC.
See also art. L 1235-13 LC: non-observance of the preferential right to re-employment entails payment of a compensation of a least 2 months' wages.

The procedures established by the LC apply to both individual and collective dismissals based on economic grounds (except for the social plan that is only mandatory when the dismissal affects at least 10 employees).

Art. 59 LC.

Art. 56 LC.

Art. 59 LC.

Art. 56 and 57 LC.
Approval by the Labour Inspector is required for any individual or collective dismissal on economic grounds.

Art. 59 LC.

Art. 59 LC.
In addition, art. 59 provides for a social plan for dismissed workers to be established in collaboration with the National Employment Office. However, the adoption of a social plan is only mandatory in case of a dismissal affecting at least 10 employees.

Art. 60 LC: preferential right to re-employment for 1 year.

Art. 38.1 LC

Sec. 17 (2) PADA

Sec. 17 (1) PADA

Sec. 17(2) PADA

Sec. 1(3) PADA: mandatory social selection on the basis of length of service, age, family responsibilities, severe disability.
Note that this requirement applies to all dismissals based on urgent operational requirement notwithstanding the number of employees concerned (subject to the limitation on the scope of application of the PADA).

Sec. 1 (2) 1: General obligation on the part of the employer to try to avoid dismissal, by offering the employee another position (applicable also to individual economic dismissal).
See also sec. 17(2) PADA: Alternatives to redundancies and ways to mitigate the effect are to be discussed in the framework of the consultation process between the employer and the works council.

(Note: In undertakings with more than 20 employees, the works council can request a social plan to mitigate the effects of redundancy)

Art. 65 (1) b) LA: “the employer shall consult the trade union concerned on measures to be taken to avert or minimize the termination as well as measures to mitigate the adverse effects of any terminations on the workers concerned such as finding alternative employment.u201d

Art. 65 (1) a) LA: “the employer shall provide in writing to the Chief Labour Officer and the trade union concerned, not later than three months before the contemplated changes, all relevant information including the reasons for any termination, the number and categories of workers likely to be affected and the period within which any termination is to be carried out.u201d

Art. 65 (1) (a) LA: . the employer shall provide in writing to the Chief Labour Officer and the trade union concerned, not later than three months before the contemplated changes, all relevant information including the reasons for any termination, the number and categories of workers likely to be affected and the period within which any termination is to be carried out.u201d

Art. 65 (1) b) LA: “the employer shall consult the trade union concerned on measures to be taken to avert or minimize the termination as well as measures to mitigate the adverse effects of any terminations on the workers concerned such as finding alternative employment.u201d

Art. 65 (1) b) LA: the employer must consider measures aiming at averting dismissals and mitigating their adverse effects such as finding alternative employment must be examined during consultation with the trade union.

Act 1387/1983, art. 3 and 5.
The consultation period shall last 320 days from the date of notification to the workers' representatives (art. 5(1)). During the consultation process, the parties must examine ways to avoid dismissals or reduce their number or adverse effects (art. 3(1)).

Following consultation, the employer must notify their outcome to the Supreme Labour Council. (The Supreme Labour Council is a special committee within the Ministry of Labour, which consists of an equal number of representatives from the State, the employees' associations and the employers' associations, see Art. 25(3) (7B) of the Presidential Decree. 368/1989)
If the parties reach an agreement, the employer can proceed with the collective dismissals, according to the terms of the agreement, after a 10-day period (art. 5(3)).
If the parties do not reach an agreement, the Supreme Labour Council (SCL) must determine whether the employer has fulfilled all of his or her obligations to consult with the worker representatives and to notify the authorities. If it finds that the obligations have been fulfilled, the employer can proceed withthe collective dismissals after a 20-day period. If the SCL finds that the obligations have not been fulfilled and that more consultations are necessary, it can extend the consultation period or set the employer a deadline to fulfill his or her obligations (art. 5(3)). However, in any case, the dismissals must be declared valid if no agreement is reached within 60 days after the SCL has first been notified by the employer.
The above consultation procedure is not necessary in cases in which the business activities of the employer have been stopped or are withheld by a court order (art. 5(4)).

Law 1387/1983, Art. 3(1) imposes an obligation on the employer to submit to the prefecture and the competent labour inspectorate copies of the documents stipulated in art. 3(2), i.e. the documents addressed to the workers' representatives, which contain information concerning the reasons for dismissals, the number and categories of workers that may be subject to redundancy, the number and categories of persons normally employed at the undertaking or establishment during the time of the dismissals, and so on. Art. 3(3) also provides that if the undertaking or establishment has subsidiaries in different administrative regions, the relevant documentation should be submitted to the Minister of Labour and the labour inspectorate that is located where all or most of the dismissals are due to take place. The notification of the documents to the public authority aims at the provision of all necessary information concerning the dismissals. Importantly, Law 1387/1983 does not stipulate that the public authority has the right to intervene during the actual consultation between management and the workers' representatives, or to identify solutions for the avoidance or reduction of dismissals. When the consultation process between management and the workers' representatives is concluded, the minutes are submitted by the employer to the Prefect or to the Minister of Labour, in line with art. 3(3) of Law 1387/1983 (see art. 5(1)).

In January 2014, the SLC unanimously decided that in order for it to formulate a “motivated opinionu201d on the employer's decision on planned collective dismissals, it should proceed to examine the dossier containing the information on the enterprise, the collective dismissal plan and the consultation minutes as well as any other accompanying elements.238 The January 2014 Decision also outlines the elements of these documents in greater detail. The dossier on the enterprise includes its financial and economic situation during the last three years, information on the workforce and the reasons for the necessity to proceed to collective dismissals. The collective dismissal plan must contain references to the number of employees to be dismissed, the criteria for the selection of the employees under the plan, the timeline for the implementation of the dismissals and proposed measures to mitigate the consequences of the dismissals. Finally, the consultation minutes must make reference to the location and time of the meetings, the participants, the information provided by the employer, the information on any proposals submitted by the workers' representatives, and the outcome of the consultation. As the SLC is not a legislative body, the content of Law 1387/1983 has not been amended by the SLC Decision. As such, the Minister or Prefect retains the power to prohibit or authorize the dismissals in cases where the parties fail to reach an agreement. However, the Decision has put renewed emphasis on the role of the SLC under art. 5(3) of Law 1387/1983. (Source: Report on collective dismissals: A comparative and contextual analysis of the law on collective redundancies in 13 European countries /Nicola Countouris, Simon Deakin, Mark Freedland, Aristea Koukiadaki, Jeremias Prassl; International Labour Office. – Geneva: ILO, 2016 https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_dialogue/---ed_dialogue_msu/documents/publication/wcms_541637.pdf)

Under the Law No. 4472/17 (2017), the body responsible for collective redundancies is the Supreme Council of Labour (SCL) and its Department for the Control of Collective Redundancies, with equal tripartite representation of the state, employees and employers.

Act 1387/1983, art. 3: the employer must inform the workers' representatives of the proposed collective dismissal, indicate the reasons for it and provide other information as required by the law (i.e the number and categories of employees concerned, the criteria used to select the employees, the period over which the collective dismissal will be carried out).

Law No. 4772/2017 recently amended Law 1387/1983. As a result, collective redundancies, following the failure of the consultations, take place without the approval of the administration, since the Prefect or the Minister of Labor has no right to extend consultations or submit a veto for all or part of the planned redundancies, as it was defined before by Art. 5 (3) of Law 1387/1983.

Act 1387/1983, art. 5: No approval is required as such: If the parties reach an agreement, the employer can proceed to the collective dismissals according to the terms of the agreement after a 10 day period. However, if no agreement is reach, the competent public authority will issue a decision on the collective dismissals within 10 days, allowing or rejecting partly or wholly the proposed dismissals.

No rules on the determination of selection criteria in the legislation reviewed. Selection criteria are only referred to in art. 3(2) of Act 1387/1983 as part of the information to be transmitted to employee's representatives within the framework of the notification and consultation process.

Employers can draft a social plan but do not have to (art. 3(4) of Act 1387/1983; art. 3(4) of Act 1387/1983). The consultation process shall address ways to avoid dismissals or reduce their number or adverse effects (art. 3(1), Act 1337/1983, art. 3(4) of Act 1387/1983)

As previously described, when the work contract is terminated without a cause due to insolvency, bankruptcy or partial or extrajudicial liquidation of the company; it is the General Labour Inspectorate, or the Labour and Social Welfare Courts, if litigation has already arisen, that must discretely graduate the amount of the company's obligations as regards for dismissal, considering the parameters set out bu articles 82, 83, 84 and 85 of Labour Code.

There is no statutory rule in relation to re-employment after economic reasons dismissals.
However, in accordance with article 13 Labour Code, it is forbidden employing less than ninety percent of Guatemalan workers and paying them less than eighty-five percent of the total wages accrued in their respective companies, except as established in particular by special laws and also according to the exclusions established in the article itself.

The procedural requirements reviewed in this section apply to the suspension of an employment contract for certain reasons listed in the law, which include economic reasons.
That procedure is relevant to dismissal for economic reasons insofar as the suspension of a contract (for economic reasons) for more than 120 days is a valid cause for termination of employment by either parties in the Labour Code. There are no additional specific procedural requirements for terminating those employment contracts which have been suspended for economic reasons.

Art. 102 LC requires the employer to notify in writing the workers affected by the suspension at least 30 days in advance and to send a copy of this notification to the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.
The suspension of employment contracts for economic reasons shall be authorized by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (La Secretaría de Trabajo y Previsión Social): art. 101 LC.

No obligation to notify the workers' representatives of the suspension. The law only requires the employer to notify in writing the workers affected by the suspension at least 30 days in advance and to send a copy of this notification to the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (art. 102 LC).

The suspension of employment contracts for economic reasons shall be authorized by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (La Secretaría de Trabajo y Previsión Social): art. 101 LC.

Sec. 72(1) LC

Sec. 72(5) LC and Sec. 74 LC

Sec. 72(1) LC

No criteria listed. Selection criteria are mentioned in sec. 72(2) LC as one of the elements to be communicated to the worker's representatives during the consultation process.

Sec. 72(4) of the LC: potential ways of avoiding of dismissals or possible tools of mitigating of the negative consequences are mandatory topics in the course of the consultation with the workers' representatives.

This is applicable only in the case of industries employing more than 50 workers.

Sec. 25FFA IDA states the following:
(1) An employer who intends to close down an undertaking shall serve, at least sixty days before the date on which the intended closure is to become effective, a notice, in the prescribed manner, on the appropriate Government stating clearly the reasons for the intended closure of the undertaking:

Provided that nothing in this section shall apply to:
(a) an undertaking in which:
(i) less than fifty workmen are employed, or
(ii) less than fifty workmen were employed on an average per working day in the preceding twelve months,
(b) an undertaking set up for the construction of buildings, bridges, roads, canals, dams or for other construction work or project.

Also see section 25-O providing for 90 days notice) i.e. for establishments covered by Chapter V-B (100 workers or more).

Sec. 25N IDA (applicable only to industries with 100 or more workers) prescribes for the prior permission of the appropriate Government in case of the retrenchment of the worker who has been in continuous service with the employer for not less than one year.

Sec. 25G IDA states the following: "Where any workman in an industrial establishment, who is a citizen of India, is to be retrenched and he belongs to a particular category of workmen in that establishment, in the absence of any agreement between the employer and the workman in this behalf, the employer shall ordinarily retrench the workman who was the last person to be employed in that category, unless for reasons to be recorded the employer retrenches any other workman"

Sec. 25H IDA reads as following: "Where any workmen are retrenched, and the employer proposes to take into his employ any persons he shall, in such manner as may be prescribed, give an opportunity to the retrenched workmen who are citizens of India to offer themselves for reemployment, and such retrenched workmen who offer themselves for reemployment shall have preference over other persons".

There are no specific regulations or additional requirements for collective dismissals. Therefore, notification requirements applicable to individual dismissals remain applicable.

Art. 151 (2) MA: general rule not specific to economic dismissals.
Art. 151(2) MA requires that termination be negotiated.
Negotiation will involve the worker's representative only if the employee belongs to a trade union. If not, the negotiation will take place between the worker and employer.

Bi-partite negotiations between the employer and the employee are compulsory in the event the employee belongs to a trade union (art. 150 (2) MA). For non-unionized workers, the bipartite negotiation will take place between the worker and employer.

Art. 151 (3) and 152 MA require that when negotiation fails between parties, decision on the termination will be taken by the institution for the settlement of industrial relations disputes. Since the entry into force of the Act No 2/2004 [IRDSA], the old institutions for the settlement of industrial relations disputes were dismantled and replaced by new mechanisms. As a result, the administration now only acts as a mediator if the parties fail to reach an agreement on the termination. The Industrial Relations Court now sentences in last resort.

Art. 150 (1) MA stipulates that: "the employer, the worker and/or the trade union, and the government must make all efforts to prevent termination of employment".
According to the explanatory notes attached to the Manpower Act 2003, under the above mentioned article "the phrase make all effort under this subsection refers to positive activities or actions which may eventually prevent termination of employment from happening , including among others, arrangement of working time, saving measures, restructuring or reorganization of working methods, and efforts to develop the worker/labourer".

Section 9 of the Law Facilitating the Renovation of Industries as quoted by Pars Associates, Attorneys-at-Law, in " LIS 643 and 644, Day 25 & Bahman 2, 1387 (14-21/01/2009)", published on the "Blog of Guillot-Pars associates" (http://avocats.fr/space/guillot-pars):

"In order to promote efficiency within industrial companies, the workforce of every such company will be graded through cooperation between the labourers organizations and management of every industrial company. In case of agreement by and between both parties (labourers and management) in respect of the required and redundant workforce, the redundant workers will be laid off by payment of two months' aggregate salaries and benefits for each year of service for the factory concerned or through any other way to be mutually agreed upon. The laid off workers will be covered by unemployment insurance according to the criteria described in Sub-clause (a) of Article 7 of the Unemployment Insurance Act approved on September 16, 1990. Should the parties fail to reach agreement, the difference between the workers organization and employer concerned shall be referred to a work group consisting of the representatives of the government (ministries of Industries and Mines, Labour and Social Affairs, and the Management and Planning Organization) and the Social Security Organization as well as higher organizations of employers and labourers in order that the said committee, lay off the redundant workers by payment of the severance pay set forth in the Labour Act in compliance with the criteria under Sub-clause (a) of Article 7 of Unemployment Insurance Act approved on September 16, 1990 for unemployment insurance coverage."

Only if the parties do not reach an agreement.

See sec. 9 of the Law Facilitating the Renovation of Industries as quoted by Pars Associates, Attorneys-at-Law, in " LIS 643 and 644, Day 25 & Bahman 2, 1387 (14-21/01/2009)", published on the "Blog of Guillot-Pars associates" (http://avocats.fr/space/guillot-pars):

"In order to promote efficiency within industrial companies, the workforce of every such company will be graded through cooperation between the labourers organizations and management of every industrial company. In case of agreement by and between both parties (labourers and management) in respect of the required and redundant workforce, the redundant workers will be laid off by payment of two months' aggregate salaries and benefits for each year of service for the factory concerned or through any other way to be mutually agreed upon. The laid off workers will be covered by unemployment insurance according to the criteria described in Sub-clause (a) of Article 7 of the Unemployment Insurance Act approved on September 16, 1990. Should the parties fail to reach agreement, the difference between the workers organization and employer concerned shall be referred to a work group consisting of the representatives of the government (ministries of Industries and Mines, Labour and Social Affairs, and the Management and Planning Organization) and the Social Security Organization as well as higher organizations of employers and labourers in order that the said committee, lay off the redundant workers by payment of the severance pay set forth in the Labour Act in compliance with the criteria under Sub-clause (a) of Article 7 of Unemployment Insurance Act approved on September 16, 1990 for unemployment insurance coverage."

Section 9 of the Law Facilitating the Renovation of Industries as quoted by Pars Associates, Attorneys-at-Law, in " LIS 643 and 644, Day 25 & Bahman 2, 1387 (14-21/01/2009)", published on the "Blog of Guillot-Pars associates" (http://avocats.fr/space/guillot-pars):

"In order to promote efficiency within industrial companies, the workforce of every such company will be graded through cooperation between the labourers organizations and management of every industrial company. In case of agreement by and between both parties (labourers and management) in respect of the required and redundant workforce, the redundant workers will be laid off by payment of two months' aggregate salaries and benefits for each year of service for the factory concerned or through any other way to be mutually agreed upon. The laid off workers will be covered by unemployment insurance according to the criteria described in Sub-clause (a) of Article 7 of the Unemployment Insurance Act approved on September 16, 1990. Should the parties fail to reach agreement, the difference between the workers organization and employer concerned shall be referred to a work group consisting of the representatives of the government (ministries of Industries and Mines, Labour and Social Affairs, and the Management and Planning Organization) and the Social Security Organization as well as higher organizations of employers and labourers in order that the said committee, lay off the redundant workers by payment of the severance pay set forth in the Labour Act in compliance with the criteria under Sub-clause (a) of Article 7 of Unemployment Insurance Act approved on September 16, 1990 for unemployment insurance coverage."

The administration will act only in the absence of agreement between the employer and the workers' representatives.
See sec. 9 of the Law Facilitating the Renovation of Industries as quoted by Pars Associates, Attorneys-at-Law, in " LIS 643 and 644, Day 25 & Bahman 2, 1387 (14-21/01/2009)", published on the "Blog of Guillot-Pars associates" (http://avocats.fr/space/guillot-pars):
(...)
" Should the parties fail to reach agreement, the difference between the workers organization and employer concerned shall be referred to a work group consisting of the representatives of the government (ministries of Industries and Mines, Labour and Social Affairs, and the Management and Planning Organization) and the Social Security Organization as well as higher organizations of employers and labourers in order that the said committee, lay off the redundant workers by payment of the severance pay set forth in the Labour Act in compliance with the criteria under Sub-clause (a) of Article 7 of Unemployment Insurance Act approved on September 16, 1990 for unemployment insurance coverage."

Section 9 of the Law Facilitating the Renovation of Industries as quoted by Pars Associates, Attorneys-at-Law, in " LIS 643 and 644, Day 25 & Bahman 2, 1387 (14-21/01/2009)", published on the "Blog of Guillot-Pars associates" (http://avocats.fr/space/guillot-pars):

"In order to promote efficiency within industrial companies, the workforce of every such company will be graded through cooperation between the labourers organizations and management of every industrial company. In case of agreement by and between both parties (labourers and management) in respect of the required and redundant workforce, the redundant workers will be laid off by payment of two months' aggregate salaries and benefits for each year of service for the factory concerned or through any other way to be mutually agreed upon. The laid off workers will be covered by unemployment insurance according to the criteria described in Sub-clause (a) of Article 7 of the Unemployment Insurance Act approved on September 16, 1990. Should the parties fail to reach agreement, the difference between the workers organization and employer concerned shall be referred to a work group consisting of the representatives of the government (ministries of Industries and Mines, Labour and Social Affairs, and the Management and Planning Organization) and the Social Security Organization as well as higher organizations of employers and labourers in order that the said committee, lay off the redundant workers by payment of the severance pay set forth in the Labour Act in compliance with the criteria under Sub-clause (a) of Article 7 of Unemployment Insurance Act approved on September 16, 1990 for unemployment insurance coverage."

No information in the legislation reviewed.

No information in the legislation reviewed.

Article 4, Article 5 and Article 24 of Law No. 223 of 1991. Employers must carry out a preliminary mandatory information and consultation procedure with the works councils and trade unions. This statutory procedure is structured in two phases and it may last up to 75 days from its start.

To start the first phase of the statutory procedure, the employer must send a communication to the works councils and the trade unions signing the national collective bargaining agreement, informing them about the envisaged redundancy. A copy of this communication must also be sent to the Ministry of Labour (if the procedure regards offices in more than one region) and to the territorial labour offices in each province where the envisaged redundancy will be carried out. The unions may, within seven days of receipt of the letter, request that a meeting be held to discuss the possibility of avoiding or reducing the redundancies. This first phase must be completed within 45 days.

If no agreement with the unions is reached, a second phase of consultation must take place over the next 30 days. This is conducted before the Ministry of Labour. At the end of this second phase of consultation, or if in the meantime an agreement with the unions is reached, the employer may give written notice of dismissal to the employees concerned, in compliance with the notice periods provided by the national collective bargaining agreements. Communication of the dismissal must be given to the relevant employees within 120 days of the end of the second phase of consultation or of the date of stipulation of the agreement with the unions, unless a longer period is agreed with the unions. The employer must give the relevant information regarding the employees actually made redundant to the Ministry of Labour, the competent regional labour offices, and the unions, by sending a specific notice.

Article 4 and Article 24 of Law No. 223 of 1991. See previous point.

Article 4, Article 5 and Article 24 of Law No. 223 of 1991. See previous point.

Article 5 of Law No. 223 of 1991. One of the main purposes of the meeting with the unions is to identify the selection criteria of employees to be made redundant: these criteria cannot be decided by the employer at its own discretion.
Without an agreement with the unions on the selection criteria, statutory criteria apply (last-in-first-out, family members, organizational and technical needs).
The chosen criteria of selection must allow for a strict and objective ranking of employees to be made redundant, in order to prevent cherry picking by the employer. An employer can give priority to one of selection criteria, but only provided that all of them are used in the selection process of the employees to be made redundant.

Article 4 of Law No. 223 of 1991. The first phase of the mandatory information and consultation procedure with the unions is intended to analyse whether there are alternatives to dismissals and, if there are not, whether certain measures aimed at facilitating retraining of the employees to be made redundant can be adopted. However, the adoption of a 'social plan' is not required and an agreement with the unions providing for alternative measures to dismissals is optional.

Article 8 of Law No. 223 of 1991, referring to Article 15 (6) of Law No. 264 of 1949. Priority rule for re-employment for the six months following the dismissal.

"Yes" for collective dismissals due to economic reasons involving more than 30 employees within one month for the establishment of a re-employment assistance plan.
"No" for ordinary collective dismissals.

• Statutory obligations to consult with the trade union on the "re-employment assistance plan" (sec. 24 (2) ACPLP).

Sec. 24(1): If an employer carries out a downscaling of its operations, etc. prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare that is expected to compel a considerable number of its workers to separate from employment at any of its places of business, the employer must formulate a plan for measures to support such workers in finding new employment (hereinafter referred to as a "New Employment Support Plan") pursuant to the provisions of Ordinance of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
Sec. 24(2): In formulating a New Employment Support Plan pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the employer must hear the opinion of the labour union, if the place of business under the New Employment Support Plan has a labour union composed of a majority of the workers, or must otherwise hear the opinion of a representative of the majority of the workers, if the place of business does not have such a labour union. The same applies if the employer seeks to modify the New Employment Support Plan.

"Yes" only in case of reduction of more than 30 employees.
Statutory obligation to notify the Minister of Labour in the event of workforce reduction involving more than 30 employees within one month (sec. 27(1) ACPLP).
In addition, the employer must establish a "re-employment assistance plan" and submit for approval to the Chief of Public Employment Security Office (sec. 24 of ACPLP) if the workforce reduction is due to economic reasons.

In case of a dismissal of 30 employees or more within one month due to economic reasons, statutory obligations exist to consult with the trade union or workers' representatives on the "re-employment assistance plan" (sec. 24(2) of ACPLP).

In addition, according to case-law, mandatory information to and consultation with the trade union on the reasons for dismissal, timing, scale and its methods, are part of the requirements which must be satisfied for an adjustment dismissal (regardless of the threshold) to be considered valid.

Administrative authorization of the dismissal is not required.
The employer is only required to obtain the approval of the administration with regard to the "re-employment assistance plan" (sec. 24(3) of ACPLP) in cases of a dismissal of 30 employees or more within a month due to economic reasons.

No statutory selection criteria.
However, according to case-law, the use of reasonable criteria (objective standards) is one of the requirements which must be satisfied for an adjustment dismissal to be considered valid (see remark under definition of collective dismissal).

The legislation only regulates the employer's obligations with regards to post-dismissal effects insofar as the employer is required "to formulate a plan concerning measures for assisting the re-employment of the workers who will unavoidably lose their jobs" (sec. 24(1) of ACPLP) concerning a dismissal of 30 employees or more within a month due to economic reasons.

However, case-law as established the obligation to make reasonable efforts to avoid dismissals as part of the four requirements which must be satisfied for an adjustment dismissal regardless of the threshold to be considered valid (see remark under definition of collective dismissal).

Art. 31 B) LL provides that "The Minister shall form a committee of the three production parties [= tripartite committee] to verify the validity of the procedures taken by the employer and provide its recommendation in this regard to the Minister within a period not exceeding fifteen days from the date of providing the notification".

Art. 31 A) LL: The employer shall notify the Minister of Labour of any intended collective termination or suspension of employment contracts in writing and indicate the reasons justifying it.

Art. 31 B) LL provides that "The Minister shall form a committee of the three production parties [= tripartite committee] to verify the validity of the procedures taken by the employer and provide its recommendation in this regard to the Minister within a period not exceeding fifteen days from the date of providing the notification".

The Minister can approve or reject the procedure followed by the employer. See art. 31 C) LL:
"C. The Minister shall issue his decision in relation to the recommendation [of the so-called "committee of the three production parties" = tripartite committee established by him] during seven days from the date of submitting it whether by approving the procedures of the employer or reconsidering such procedures".

Not in the LL.

Art. 31 E) LL: "The employees whose services have been terminated in accordance with paragraph (A,B) of this article may return to their work during a year from the date of their leaving work if the work has returned to its previous state and their reemployment with the employer was permissible."

Article 28.2(2) of the Law on Employment: The employer has to notify, one month in advance, the public service of employment about any contemplated redundancies.

Art. 24 (3) LSA:
Consultation with the workers' representatives shall take place prior to any dismissal for managerial reasons regardless of the number of employees concerned.

At least 30 days in advance: art. 10 ED-LSA and 24 (4) LSA.

Art. 24 (3) LSA: 50 days in advance.
Notification to the workers' representatives shall take place prior to any dismissal for managerial reasons regardless of the number of employees concerned.

No statutory selection criteria for collective dismissals. However, art. 24 (2) LSA provides that the employer shall select workers to be dismissed by establishing rational and fair criteria and that there shall be no discrimination on the basis of gender.

Art. 24 (1) LSA: Obligation to make every effort to avoid dismissal.

Art. 25 (1) LSA: preference for re-employment for 3 years from the date of the lay-off.

Art. 78 LC

Art. 78 LC

Art. 78 LC

Art. 85 LC

Art. 78 LC

No statutory obligation.
However, it has been established by case law.
For example, in the decision Serame Khampepe v. Muela Hydropower Project Contractors and four others (1997), the Labour Court, basing itself on the ILO Convention 158 and case law of South Africa, ruled that as a matter of precedent, "an employee earmarked for retrenchment must be notified in good time of the intended action and consulted on alternatives". "The established principle however is that where employees are members of a trade union or some other collective bodies, it is sufficient for the employer to consult with such a union and or/collective bodies".
(see:http://compendium.itcilo.org/en/compendium-decisions/labour-court-of-lesotho-serame-khampepe-v.-muela-hydropower-project-contractors-and-four-others-2-september-1999-no.-lc-29-97)

Art. 19 of the Codes of Good Practices (not binding) provides that employers have an obligation to consult and negotiate with trade union representatives as soon as a reduction of the workforce through retrenchment or redundancies is contemplated by the employer so that possible alternatives can be explored.

No statutory obligation.
However, it has been established by case law.
For example, in the decision Serame Khampepe v. Muela Hydropower Project Contractors and four others (1997), the Labour Court, basing itself on the ILO Convention 158 and case law of South Africa, ruled that as a matter of precedent, "an employee earmarked for retrenchment must be notified in good time of the intended action and consulted on alternatives". "The established principle however is that where employees are members of a trade union or some other collective bodies, it is sufficient for the employer to consult with such a union and or/collective bodies".
(see: http://compendium.itcilo.org/en/compendium-decisions/labour-court-of-lesotho-serame-khampepe-v.-muela-hydropower-project-contractors-and-four-others-2-september-1999-no.-lc-29-97)

See aslo : Art. 19 (4) Code of good practices (not binding).

No statutory provision.
However, the 2003 Codes of Good Practice (not legally binding), in art. 20 stipulates that selection criteria shall be discussed with the trade union and refers to length of service, skills, affirmative action and qualifications as criteria generally accepted as fair.

No legally binding provision. However see: Art. 19 (1) Codes of good practice (not binding) places an obligation on the employer to negotiate with a trade union/ employees' representatives to reach agreement on alternatives to dismissals such as transfer to other jobs, lay off;or steps to minimize the dismissals such as voluntary retrenchment packages, early retirement etc..

No statutory provision.
However, art. 21 of the 2003 government notice on code of good practice (not legally binding) provides for preferential re-hiring and conditions for its application.

Art. L. 166-2 du Code du travail (tel qu'amendé par la loir du 23 juillet 2015):
(1) Avant de procéder à des licenciements collectifs, l'employeur est tenu de procéder en temps utile à des négociations avec les représentants des salariés en vue d'aboutir à un accord relatif à l'établissement d'un plan social.
(2) Sous peine de nullité, les négociations porteront obligatoirement en premier lieu sur les possibilités d'éviter ou de réduire le nombre des licenciements collectifs ainsi que sur les possibilités d'en atténuer les conséquences par le recours à des mesures sociales d'accompagnement visant notamment les aides au reclassement ou à la reconversion des salariés licenciés et les possibilités d'une réinsertion immédiate dans le marché du travail. (...)

Art. L. 166-4 LC:
(1) Au plus tard au début des négociations visées à l'article L. 166-2, l'employeur doit notifier par écrit tout projet de licenciement collectif à u00abl'Agence pour le développement de l'emploiu00bb qui en transmet copie à l'Inspection du travail et des mines. Cette notification doit contenir au moins les éléments devant figurer dans la communication écrite prévue au paragraphe (1) de l'article L. 166-3.
(2) L'employeur est tenu de transmettre aux représentants des salariés copie de la notification prévue au paragraphe qui précède. (...)
Amendement introduit par la Loi du 20 juillet 2017: "(4) Lorsque le projet de licenciement collectif concerne des gens de mer, la notification visée au paragraphe 1er est également effectuée auprès de l'autorité compétente de l'Etat du pavillon."

Art. L 166-2 and L 166-4 LC.

No criteria listed.
Art. L 166-3 LC only refers to criteria as one of the elements to be communicated to the trade union representatives for consultation related to the adoption of the social plan.
__________
Pas de liste de critères.
Art. L. 166-3 du Code du travail (tel qu'amendé par la loi du 23 juillet 2015 dispose qu'afin de permettre aux représentants des salariés de formuler des propositions constructives en vue de la conclusion d'un plan social, l'employeur est tenu, de préférence avant le début des négociations, sinon au plus tard au début des négociations, de leur fournir tous les renseignements utiles comprenant au moins une communication écrite sur - notamment - "5. les critères envisagés pour le choix des salariés à licencier, sans préjudice de la compétence du comité mixte et/ou des délégations du personnel en la matière".

Art. L 166-2 LC and L 166-5 LC.

Art. L 125-9 LC: within a limit of 1 year and if requested by the employee.
_______
Art. L. 125-9 du Code du travail:
Le salarié licencié pour motifs fondés sur les nécessités du fonctionnement de l'entreprise peut faire valoir une priorité de ré-embauchage durant un délai d'un an à compter de la date de son départ de l'entreprise. Si le salarié manifeste par écrit le souhait d'user de cette priorité, l'employeur est obligé de l'informer de tout emploi devenu disponible dans sa qualification.

Art. 25 LC: prior consultation with the Works council (which is compulsory in undertakings with at least 50 permanent employees) and/or with the worker's representatives.

Art. 25 LC: mandatory notification to the Labour Inspector.

Art. 25 LC.

No approval required. The Labour Inspector only issues a recommendation on the dismissal within 15 days of the date of notification (Art. 25 LC).
However, if the parties do not find an agreement on the list of employees to be dismissed, the Labour Inspector will issue a decision in that respect in accordance with the selection criteria listed in Art. 26 LC.

Art. 25 LC: the list of redundant employees shall be established by the employer in consultation with the worker's representatives. The priority rules to be observed in selecting the employees must be in accordance with the agreed social plan, if any. In the absence of such agreed dismissal order, it shall take into account:
- the length of service in the undertaking;
- professional values, technical skills and professionalism;
- family responsibilities.

No preferential right to re-employment in the LC.
Priority for re-employment is only listed in Art. 25 as one of the elements to be considered in the framework of the consultation process.

No statutory requirements.
However, the Courts have ruled that in cases of redundancies and other mass dismissals for operational needs, the employer must comply with art. 13 and 14 of the ILO Convention 158 on consultation with the worker's representatives and notification to the administration.
(See Makande and another V Malawi Telecommunications Ltd [IRC 81/2001] Industrial Relations Court , upheld by the High Court [Civil Appeal 70/2003] and confirmed by the Supreme Court on 7 May 2007 in Malawi Telecommunication Ltd v Makande and another, [Civil Appeal 2/2006], reported in Malawi Labour Law Report, 2008, pp. 35-45.

No statutory requirements.
However, the Courts have ruled that in cases of redundancies and other mass dismissals for operational needs, the employer must comply with art. 13 and 14 of the in ILO Convention 158 on consultation with the worker's representatives and notification to the administration.
(See Makande and another V Malawi Telecommunications Ltd [IRC 81/2001] Industrial Relations Court , upheld by the High Court [Civil Appeal 70/2003] and confirmed by the Supreme Court on 7 May 2007 in Malawi Telecommunication Ltd v Makande and another, [Civil Appeal 2/2006], reported in Malawi Labour Law Report, 2008, pp. 35-45.

No statutory requirements.
However, the Courts have ruled that in cases of redundancies and other mass dismissals for operational needs, the employer must comply with art. 13 and 14 of the in ILO Convention 158 on consultation with the worker's representatives and notification to the administration.
(See Makande and another V Malawi Telecommunications Ltd [IRC 81/2001] Industrial Relations Court , upheld by the High Court [Civil Appeal 70/2003] and confirmed by the Supreme Court on 7 May 2007 in Malawi Telecommunication Ltd v Makande and another, [Civil Appeal 2/2006], reported in Malawi Labour Law Report, 2008, pp. 35-45.

No statutory provisions.

However, see the "Code of Conduct for Industrial Harmony [CCIH], 1975", Paragraph 20 to 24 on Redundancy and retrenchment.
The CCIH is an Agreement between the Ministry of Human Resources and the main social partners. The aim of the Code is "to lay down principles and guidelines to employers and workers on the practice of industrial relations for achieving greater industrial harmony".
Although it is not a binding instrument, it is however taken into consideration by the Industrial Court in retrenchment cases.

Paragraph 20-21 reads as follows:
"(20) In circumstances where redundancy is likely an employer should, in consultation with his employees' representatives or their trade union, as appropriate, and in consultation with the Ministry of Labour and Manpower, take positive steps to avert or minimise reductions of workforce by the adoption of appropriate measures such as:
(a) Limitation on recruitment
(b) Restriction of overtime work
(c) Restriction of work on weekly day of rest
(d) Reduction in number of shifts or days worked a week
(e) Reduction in the number of hours of work
(f) Re-training and/or transfer to other department/work.
(21) The ultimate responsibility for deciding on the size of the workforce must rest with the employer, but before any decision on reduction is taken, there should be consultation with the workers or their trade union representatives on the reduction.".

No provision in the EA. However, pursuant to Employment (Retrenchment) Notification 2004 [PU(B) 430], the employer must inform the Labour Department via the PK Forms one month before the retrenchment.

However, see the "Code of Conduct for Industrial Harmony [CCIH], 1975", Paragraph 20-21 (not binding):
"(20) In circumstances where redundancy is likely an employer should, in consultation with his employees' representatives or their trade union, as appropriate, and in consultation with the Ministry of Labour and Manpower, take positive steps to avert or minimise reductions of workforce by the adoption of appropriate measures such as:
(a) Limitation on recruitment
(b) Restriction of overtime work
(c) Restriction of work on weekly day of rest
(d) Reduction in number of shifts or days worked a week
(e) Reduction in the number of hours of work
(f) Re-training and/or transfer to other department/work.
(21) The ultimate responsibility for deciding on the size of the workforce must rest with the employer, but before any decision on reduction is taken, there should be consultation with the
workers or their trade union representatives on the reduction."

No statutory provisions.

However, see the "Code of Conduct for Industrial Harmony [CCIH], 1975", Paragraph 20-21 (not binding):
"(20)In circumstances where redundancy is likely an employer should, in consultation with his employees' representatives or their trade union, as appropriate, and in consultation with the Ministry of Labour and Manpower, take positive steps to avert or minimise reductions of workforce by the adoption of appropriate measures such as:
(a) Limitation on recruitment
(b) Restriction of overtime work
(c) Restriction of work on weekly day of rest
(d) Reduction in number of shifts or days worked a week
(e) Reduction in the number of hours of work
(f) Re-training and/or transfer to other department/work.
(21) The ultimate responsibility for deciding on the size of the workforce must rest with the employer, but before any decision on reduction is taken, there should be consultation with the
workers or their trade union representatives on the reduction."

The courts have required employers to operate the "last on, first off" principle when retrenching employees, unless there are sound and valid reasons for departing from this principle (see i.e: East Asiatic v. Ong Wai Beng, Award 24/87).

In addition the Code of Conduct for Industrial Harmony [CCIH], 1975, provides in Paragraph 22 b) that:
"(b) The employer should select employees to be retrenched in accordance with objective criteria.
Such criteria, which should have been worked out in advance with the employees' representatives or trade union may include:
(i) The need for the efficient operation of the establishment or undertaking
(ii) Ability, experience, skill and occupational qualifications of individual workers required by the establishment or undertaking under part (i)
(iii) Consideration for length of service and status (non-citizens, casual, temporary, permanent)
(iv) Age
(v) Family situation
(vi) Such other criteria as may be formulated in the context of national policies"

See also art. 60N of the Employment Act: "Where an employer is required to reduce his workforce by reason of redundancy necessitating the retrenchment of any number of employees, the employer shall not terminate the services of a local employee unless he has first terminated the services of all foreign employees employed by him in a capacity similar to that of the local employee".

No statutory provisions.

However, see the "Code of Conduct for Industrial Harmony [CCIH], 1975", Paragraph 20-21 (not binding):
"(20) In circumstances where redundancy is likely an employer should, in consultation with his employees' representatives or their trade union, as appropriate, and in consultation with the Ministry of Labour and Manpower, take positive steps to avert or minimise reductions of workforce by the adoption of appropriate measures such as:
(a) Limitation on recruitment
(b) Restriction of overtime work
(c) Restriction of work on weekly day of rest
(d) Reduction in number of shifts or days worked a week
(e) Reduction in the number of hours of work
(f) Re-training and/or transfer to other department/work.
(21) The ultimate responsibility for deciding on the size of the workforce must rest with the employer, but before any decision on reduction is taken, there should be consultation with the
workers or their trade union representatives on the reduction.
(22) (a) If retrenchment becomes necessary, despite having taken appropriate measures, the employer should take the following measures:
(i) Giving as early a warning, as practicable, to the workers concerned
(ii) Introducing schemes for voluntary retrenchment and retirement and for payment of redundancy and retirement benefits
(iii) Retiring workers who are beyond their normal retiring age
(iv) Assisting, in co-operation with the Ministry of Human Resources, the workers to find work outside the undertaking
(v) Spreading termination of employment over a longer period
(vi) Ensuring that no such announcement is made before the workers and their representatives or trade union has been informed"

No statutory provisions.
However, see the Code of Conduct for Industrial Harmony [CCIH], 1975, Paragraph 23 (not binding):
"(23) Employees, who are retrenched, should be given priority of engagement/re-engagement, as far as is possible, by the employer when he engages workers".

Yes, but only in the case of Art. 439 (adoption of new procedures or new equipment/machinery that brings as a consequence the reduction of the number workers) where it is expected an attempt of the parties (employer and worker representatives) to reach an agreement prior triggering any proceeding. If no agreement is negotiated then the employer shall obtain the authorization from the Tribunal as per the proceedings established in arts. 897, 897-A to 897-G of the FLA. In other cases, the defendant obtains the information via the corresponding legal procedure.

*Notification to the Tribunal: Art. 435 FLA.

For art. 434 subsections III and V (the exhaustion of the substance being extracted by a mining undertaking (III) and statutory declaration of insolvency proceedings or bankruptcy (V)): art. 872, 873-A (applicable provisions), 897-A to 897-G FLA (special collective proceedings);
For art. 434 subsection II (evident and notorious inability to pay the operations/exploitation of the undertaking): arts. 900-919 FLA on Special proceedings applicable to collective disputes of economic nature.
Note that the procedure is brought before the Tribunal, which is in charge of notifying the defendant (i.e. workers and representatives in the collective termination), which get an opportunity to respond to the claim and provide evidence.

*Art. 435 FLA: approval by the Tribunal
*Proceedings before the Tribunal: In the case of art. 434 subsection II (evident and notorious inability to pay the operations/exploitation of the undertaking), previous to the termination, the employer shall obtain the authorization of the Tribunal as per the regulations established in the Special proceedings applicable to collective disputes of economic nature (arts. 900-919 FLA).

In the case of art. 434 subsection III (the exhaustion of the substance being extracted by a mining undertaking) the employer shall request the authorization of the Tribunal as per proceedings established in arts. 897, 897-A to 897-G.

In the case of art. 434 subsection V, the termination shall be notified to the Tribunal as per (Art. 435 (I)) to approve or reject the termination after following the proceedings established in arts. 897, 897-A to 897-G.

However, during the proceedings before the Tribunal, if the employer and the trade union reach an agreement, the Tribunal will approve it and will have the effects of a final judgment (art. 906 (IV) FLA).

Art. 437 FLA: seniority-based priority to remain in the undertaking.

Art. 438 following 154 FLA: In equal circumstances, the following workers will be hired with priority: Mexican workers over non-Mexican workers, workers who satisfactory served for a longer period of time, workers who do not have any other economic income and have family responsibilities, workers who have finished compulsory education, qualified personnel over non-qualified, workers with better skills and knowledge and workers members of trade unions.
In case of collective agreement with admission clause this –and the trade union by laws- will prevail over the present article in the case of preference to access employment vacancies or newly created posts.

Art. 88 (1) i) LC

Art. 88(1) g) LC

Art. 88 (1) i) LC

Except for trade union members and trade union representatives (art. 87 LC).

Art. 183 LC

Art. 88 (1) c) LC establishes the obligation of the employer to offer the employee another workplace at the enterprise.

There is no general regulation of collective dismissals. The only provision of the LC which refers to collective dismissal is art. 42.2 on severance pay, according to which "in the case of a general termination of a large number of employees, additional compensation to be paid by an employer to the employees shall be agreed to by the employer and representatives of the employees".

- There is no general statutory obligation to undertake prior consultations with the employee's representatives before carrying out collective dismissals.
- However, the law provides that in case of mass redundancies, the employer and the employees representatives shall agree on redundancy payment trough negotiations (art. 42.2 LC).
- Consultation with the employee's representatives is mandatory in the event of the dissolution of a business entity resulting in the termination of all employees. The workers' representatives must be informed 45 days prior to the dissolution (art. 40.5 LC)

- Consultation with the employee's representatives is mandatory in the event of the dissolution of a business entity resulting in the termination of all employees. The workers' representatives must be informed 45 days prior to the dissolution (art. 40.5 LC)

Article 167 of the New Labour Act determines that the consultation of trade unions or workers'representatives is mandatory in case of collective dismissals:

(1) If the employer intends to carry out a collective dismissal for at least 20 employees within a period of 90 days, it is mandatory to start consultations, request and consider the opinion and proposals of the trade union, ie employees or employee representatives in case the trade union is not organized by the employer. decisions on termination of the need for work of employees in order to reach an agreement, in order to eliminate or reduce the need for termination of work of employees.

(3) During the procedure of consulting with the trade union, ie employees or employee representatives, the employer is obliged to consider all proposals aimed at preventing the cessation of the need for work of employees or to mitigate its consequences, as well as to write to each submitted proposal explanation.

Article 16, paragraphs 6, 7 and 8 provide rules for notification of Employment Agency in case of collective dismissals:
(6) The employer is obliged to inform the Employment Bureau in writing about the conducted consultation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, as well as to submit the following information: a) information referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article; b) data on the duration of consultations with the trade union; c) data on the results of the conducted consultation; d) a written statement of the trade union, if delivered to it.
(7) The employer is obliged to submit a copy of the notification referred to in paragraph 6 of this Article to the trade union.
(8) The trade union, ie employees or employee representatives may submit their remarks and proposals to the Employment Service and the employer on the submitted information referred to in para. 2 and 6 of this article.

See article 167 of new Labour Act about prior consultation with trade unions and workers'representatives.

No statutory criteria in the New Labour Law. However, article 167 (2) determines that the employer must provide information on the criteria used to choose employees to be affected by the collective dismissals, as follows: (2) For the purpose of conducting the consultations referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the employer shall submit to the trade union, ie employees or employee representatives, in writing, the following information: a) reasons for termination of the need for work of employees; b) number of total employees; c) criteria for determining employees whose work might cease to be needed; d) the number of employees whose work could cease to be needed, as well as data on their workplace and the jobs they perform; e) criteria for calculating the amount of severance pay; e) measures taken by him for the purpose of taking care of employees whose work might cease to be necessary: ​​assignment to other jobs with the same employer in the degree of education of the employee; schedule with another employer in the qualification of education level, ie professional qualification of the employee's education, with his consent; professional training, retraining or additional training for work in another job with the same or another employer and other measures in accordance with the collective agreement or employment contract.

Article 167 (3) During the procedure of consulting with the trade union, ie employees or employee representatives, the employer is obliged to consider all proposals aimed at preventing the cessation of the need for work of employees or to mitigate its consequences, as well as to write to each submitted proposal. explanation.

Article 170 of New Labour Law provides that re-employment if possible.

See direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012):
"The Committee notes that 127 establishments terminated employment on economic or similar grounds in 2010, affecting more than 8,900 employees. During the first half of 2011, 57 establishments were concerned, with more than 3,410 workers having their employment terminated".

Art. 66 LC

Art. 67 LC

Art. 66 LC

Art. 67 LC

Art. 71 LC provides a list of criteria to be considered: tenure, professional values, family responsibilities. However, no order is specified.

Art. 66 LC: measures concerning alternatives to dismissal and mitigation of the negative effects are examined in the framework of the consultation process but no formal agreement is required.

Art. 71 and 508 LC: preferential right to re-employment for 1 year.

Article 133 Labour Act provides that:
1. When the employer provides for collective dismissal, it shall inform the trade union bodies and the employees covered, with the employer reporting to the local labour administration body, before the negotiation process begins.
2. Information to workers is accompanied by:
(a) a description of the reasons given for collective dismissal;
(b) the number of workers concerned by the procedure.
3. The consultation process between the employer and the trade union body, which will not last more than 30 days, should cover on the grounds for collective dismissal, the possibility of avoiding or reducing its effects, well as on the measures necessary to mitigate their consequences for the workers affected.

See Article 133 of Labour Act.

See Article 133 of Labour Act.

See Article 133 Labour Act.

See: Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

"The Committee notes that there were 3,089 terminations for economic or similar reasons between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2011".

Sec. 34(1) d) LA: In case of redundancy, the employer must negotiate in good faith with the trade union or workplace representatives on alternatives to dismissals, the selection criteria, how to minimise the dismissals; the conditions on which the dismissals are to take place; and how to avert the adverse effects of the dismissals.

Sec. 34(1) (a) LA: Notification to the Labour Commissioner at least four weeks before the intended dismissals are to take place. The information shall include the reasons for the reduction in the workforce, the number and categories of employees affected and the date of the dismissals.

Sec. 34(1) (a) and (b) LA: Notification to any trade union which the employer has recognised as the exclusive bargaining agent in respect of the employees at least four weeks before the intended dismissals are to take place. The information shall include the reasons for the reduction in the workforce, the number and categories of employees affected and the date of the dismissals.
If there is no recognised trade union as the exclusive bargaining agent in the enterprise, the information must be given to the elected workplace representatives.

No rules on the determination of selection criteria in the legislation reviewed. Selection criteria are referred to in sec. 34 (1) d) LA as one of the elements to be negotiated with to the trade union or worker representatives. The employer shall select the employees according to criteria that are either agreed or fair and objective (sec. 34 (1) e) LA)

Sec. 34(1) d) LA: In case of redundancy, the employer must negotiate with the trade union or workers representatives on alternatives to dismissals, how to minimise the dismissals and how to avert the adverse effects of the dismissals.

Changes on collective dismissal, effective since 1 March 2012:

- Terminations by mutual agreement shall also be included in the number of dismissed employees for the purpose of determining whether a collective dismissal is taking place. This means that when an employer intends to dismiss 20 or more employees within 3 months regardless of the mode of termination (dismissal via UWV, judicial rescission and now termination by mutual agreement), the notification requirement (trade unions and UWV) shall be observed.

- Under the previous system, in the event of non-compliance with notification requirements (set out in the Collective Redundancy Notification Act), the UWV WERKbedrijf did not consider the application for dismissal until the employer had fulfilled his obligations.
The UWV WERKbedrijf is now required to examine whether the employer has met the notification obligations set out by the Act. In the event the employer did not comply with the obligation to report or consult, an employee is now able to nullify the termination of employment (whether by notice or by mutual agreement) within six months after the notice was given or the termination agreement was concluded. If the termination is successfully nullified, the employee is restored to its position with retroactive effect, and is entitled to bring an action for back wages plus statutory interest and increase.

Art. 3 and 4 CRNA: Duty to inform the relevant trade unions.
If the company has a Work Council (required in companies with 50 or more employees), the employer will ask for its advice (see Art. 25 Works Council Act). The Works Council will be informed at a time when it is still able to influence in the employer decision. The employer should provide information about the motives for the decision, the consequences and the proposed measures.

Art. 4 and 6 CRNA on the obligation to notify to the UWV WERKbedrijf (former CWI) specific to collective dismissals.

See also Art. 7:671a CC: general obligation to turn to the UWV WERKbedrijf to obtain a dismissal permit before any dismissal.

Art. 3 and 4 CRNA: duty to inform to the relevant trade unions and the Works Council (see Art. 25 Works Council Act).

• Art. 7:671a CC specific to collective dismissals and sec. 6 ELRD on the general obligation to turn to the UWV WERKbedrijf to obtain a dismissal permit before any dismissal.

On the procedural requirements: see also: Art. 7:671a CC (applicable to all economic dismissals and not only collective dismissals).

The UWV WERKbedrijf has toexamine whether the employer has met the notification obligations set out by the Act (Art. 6.a CRNA). In the event the employer did not comply with the obligation to report or consult, an employee is able to nullify the termination of employment (whether by notice or by mutual agreement) within six months after the notice was given or the termination agreement was concluded. If the termination is successfully nullified, the employee is restored to its position with retroactive effect, and is entitled to bring an action for back wages plus statutory interest and increase. Otherwise, instead of being restored to his or her previous position, the employee can also request to receive an adequate compensation payment from the employer, Art. 7(3) CRNA.

The employer's decision will be postponed for one month unless it is in line with the advice of the Works Council. During this period, the Works Council can appeal to the Enterprise Section "Ondernemingskamer" of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal (Art. 26 WCA).

Art. 1 DR, applicable to any economic dismissal (not specific to collective dismissals): employee whose functions are considered interchangeable are classified by age categories (15-25, 25-35, 35-45, 45-55, and over 55 years) within which the selection of redundant employees is to be made according to the last-in-first-out principle.

Furthermore, according to Art.11(2) DR and Art. 7:671a (5) CC, before terminating regular permanent employees, the employer must first consider whether it is also possible to dismiss posted workers or temporary workers, then workers who have reached the legal retirement age, then workers with no fixed working hours (zero-hours contracts), then workers with FTCs which will expire within 26 weeks and finally other workers with FTCs. This selection order does however not apply to workers who perform indispensable tasks or workers who belong to a protected group (see above).

According to Art. 7:669 (1) CC a termination of an employee is only permissible if a transfer of the employee to a different position is not possible within a reasonable time period and/or a retraining of the employee for a new position is not possible. (Detailed regulations on the determination of the availability of an appropriate position to which the employee could be transferred are contained in Art. 9 and 10 of the DR. This law is applicable to any dismissal, not only collective ones.)
Consultation with the workers' representatives on alternatives to redundancies and ways to mitigate its adverse effects: Art. 3 CRNA.

Art. 7:682 (4) CC, when approving the dismissal, the administration can add to its consent the condition that the employer cannot hire a new worker for the same tasks as the worker who was dismissed within 26 weeks after its dismissal if the employer if he has not offered these task under the conditions to the dismissed worker.

Consultations requirement in the event of a collective dismissal derives from sec. 4 of the ERA which provides for a duty of good faith in the employment relationship.
This duty of good faith, amongst other things, requires an employer who is proposing to make a decision that will, or is likely to, have an adverse effect on the continuation of employment of 1 or more of his or her employees to provide to the employees affected (and any relevant union representative):
i) access to information, relevant to the continuation of the employees' employment, about the decision; and
(ii) an opportunity to comment on the information to their employer before the decision is made."
Section 4(4) ERA makes it clear that the duty of good faith extends to:
- consultation (whether or not under a collective agreement) between an employer and its employees, including any union representing the employees, about the employees' collective employment interests, including the effect on employees of changes to the employer's business;
- a proposal by an employer that might impact on the employer's employees, including a proposal to contract out work otherwise done by the employees or to sell or transfer all or part of the employer's business;
- making employees redundant.

This duty of good faith, amongst other things, requires an employer who is proposing to make a decision that will, or is likely to, have an adverse effect on the continuation of employment of 1 or more of his or her employees to provide to the employees affected (and any relevant union representative):
i) access to information, relevant to the continuation of the employees' employment, about the decision; and
(ii) an opportunity to comment on the information to their employer before the decision is made."
Section 4(4) ERA makes it clear that the duty of good faith extends to:
- consultation (whether or not under a collective agreement) between an employer and its employees, including any union representing the employees, about the employees' collective employment interests, including the effect on employees of changes to the employer's business;
- a proposal by an employer that might impact on the employer's employees, including a proposal to contract out work otherwise done by the employees or to sell or transfer all or part of the employer's business;
- making employees redundant.

Dismissals due to economic reasons must be notified and authorized by Ministry of Labour (article 42, d, Labour Code).

Dismissals due to economic reasons must be notified and authorized by Ministry of Labour (article 42, d, Labour Code).

These procedural requirements apply to any dismissal (individual or collective) based on economic grounds.

Art. 80 to 83 LC.

Notification to the Labour Inspector: Art. 80 and 84 LC.

Art. 80 LC.

However, approval is mandatory in the event of a dismissal of a workers' representative: Art. 227 LC.
* See also: Articles 472-475 of the Implementing Decree N° 2017-682/PRN/MET/PS of August 2017 concerning the dismissal of workers' representatives.

Art. 81 LC: professional skills, length of service and family responsibilities.

However, Art. 82 LC gives the possibility to each participant in the consultation meeting to formulate proposals aiming at avoiding dismissals or mitigating their adverse effects.

Art. 87 LC: priority right to re-employment for 2 years.

No mandatory consultations with the trade union or worker's representatives in the event of redundancy. The employer is only required to inform then of the reasons for and the extent of the anticipated redundancy (sec. 20(1)(a) LA).

Sec. 20(1)(a) LA: In the event of redundancy, the employer shall inform the trade union or workers' representative concerned of the reasons for and the extent of the anticipated redundancy.

Sec. 20(1)(b) LA: the principle of "last in, first out" shall be adopted in the discharge of the particular category of workers affected, subject to all factors of relative merit, including skill, ability and reliability.

Art. 95 LRA: when the employer intends to carry out a collective dismissal, he/she shall notify the workers' representatives and undertake consultations with them at least 30 days before starting the dismissal with a view to reaching an agreement. These consultations shall, at least, cover ways and means of avoiding collective redundancies or reducing the number of workers affected, and of mitigating the consequences by recourse to accompanying social measures aimed at aid for redeploying or retraining workers made redundant. In order to allow the workers' representatives to submit constructive proposals, the employer shall provide all relevant information such as: 1) the reasons for the intended redundancies, 2) the number and categories of affected workers, 3) the total number and categories of workers employed and 4) the period during which the planned dismissals should occur.

Art. 95(6) and (8) LRA: Notification to the employment mediation agency after the consultations.

Art. 95 LRA: when the employer intends to carry out a collective dismissal, he/she shall notify the worker's representatives and undertake consultations with them at least 30 days before starting the dismissal with a view to reaching an agreement. These consultations shall, at least, cover ways and means of avoiding collective redundancies or reducing the number of workers affected, and of mitigating the consequences by recourse to accompanying social measures aimed at aid for redeploying or retraining workers made redundant. In order to allow the worker's representatives to submit constructive proposals, the employer shall provide all relevant information such as: 1) the reasons for the intended redundancies, 2) the number and categories of affected workers, 3) the total number and categories of workers employed and 4) the period during which the planned dismissals should occur.

Art. 95(3) LRA: Consultations with the workers' representatives shall, at least, cover ways and means of avoiding collective redundancies or reducing the number of workers affected, and of mitigating the consequences by recourse to accompanying social measures aimed at aid for redeploying or retraining workers made redundant.

Priority for rehiring has been removed from the LRA in 2008 [Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia no. 106 of 27.08.2008]. Art. 98 LRA which has been abrogated prohibited the employer from employing another employee for the same work within one year from the date of collective dismissals and provided for a priority of reemployment for the redundant workers during that period.

Art. 15-2 (1) WEA: mandatory consultation with workers' representatives with a view to reaching an agreement to avoid collective redundancies or to reduce the number of persons made redundant.
Employers must provide the employees' elected representatives with all relevant information, including written notification concerning:
a) the grounds for any redundancies,
b) the number of employees who may be made redundant,
c) the categories of workers to which they belong,
d) the number of employees normally employed,
e) the groups of employees normally employed,
f) the period during which such redundancies may be effected,
g) proposed criteria for selection of those who may be made redundant,
h) proposed criteria for calculation of extraordinary severance pay, if applicable.
Such notification shall be given at the earliest opportunity and, at the latest, at the same time as the employer calls a consultation meeting.
The employer shall be obliged to enter into consultations even if the projected redundancies are caused by someone other than the employer who has superior authority over the employer, such as the management of a group of companies.

- Art 8 of the Labour Market Act (No. 76 of 2004) (Lov om arbeidsmarkedstjenester (arbeidsmarkedsloven): "An employer contemplating collective redundancies shall as soon as possible or, at latest at the time the employer calls for discussions, notify the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration" [See also art. 15-2(3) WEA].
- Collective redundancies shall not come into effect earlier than 30 days after the Labour and Welfare Service has been notified (art. 15-2(5) WEA).

Art. 15-2(2) WEA:
Employers must provide the employees' elected representatives with all relevant information, including written notification concerning:
a) the grounds for any redundancies,
b) the number of employees who may be made redundant,
c) the categories of workers to which they belong,
d) the number of employees normally employed,
e) the groups of employees normally employed,
f) the period during which such redundancies may be effected,
g) proposed criteria for selection of those who may be made redundant,
h) proposed criteria for calculation of extraordinary severance pay, if applicable.
Such notification shall be given at the earliest opportunity and, at the latest, at the same time as the employer calls a consultation meeting.

However, collective redundancies shall not come into effect earlier than 30 days after the Labour and Welfare Service has been notified (art. 15-2(5) WEA).

However, Art. 15-2(3) WEA states that the employer is obliged to give the employees' elected representatives written notification concerning criteria for selection of those who may be made redundant.

Art. 15-2(2) WEA provides for madatory consultations with a view to reaching an agreement to avoid collective redundancies or to reduce the number of persons made redundant. If the employer is considering closing down its activities or an independent part of them and this will involve collective redundancies, the possibility of further operations shall be discussed, including the possibility of the activities being taken over by the employees.
- If redundancies cannot be avoided, efforts shall be made to mitigate their adverse effects. The consultations shall cover possible social welfare measures aimed, inter alia, at providing support for redeploying or retraining workers made redundant. The employees' representatives shall have the right to receive expert assistance.

Art. 14-2 WEA: An employee who has been dismissed owing to circumstances relating to the undertaking shall have a preferential right to a new appointment at the same undertaking unless the vacant post is one for which the employee is not qualified.
- The preferential right shall also apply to an employee who is temporarily engaged and who, owing to circumstances relating to the undertaking, is not offered continued employment. This does not however apply to employees engaged as temporary replacements. The preferential right also applies to employees who have accepted an offer of reduced employment instead of dismissal.
- Employees enjoy such right provided that they have been employed by the undertaking for a total of at least 12 months during the previous two years.
- This right applies from the date on which notice is given and for one year after expiry of the period of notice.
- If two or more persons have a preferential claim to a post, the employer is obliged to follow the same rules for selection as apply in the event of dismissal.

No statutory provision in the legislation reviewed.

Art. 215 LC: If an employer contemplates dismissing a worker for any of the reasons stated in art. 213, clause C (valid grounds for dismissal based on economic reasons), the employer must furnish evidence to the labour administration authorities.
Dismissal carried out without the fulfilment of that requirement is considered wholly unjustified. However, if after 60 calendar days the labour administration authorities have not issued a decision on the application, the employer may proceed to give notice of dismissal, which will be considered entirely proper but which will require the payment of the compensation prescribed by the LC.

No statutory provision in the legislation reviewed.

Art. 216 LC:
The labour administration authorities called upon to take a decision respecting the granting of prior authorization to terminate a contract or dismiss a worker on economic grounds must personally inform the worker or workers concerned of the employer's making an application, giving them a time limit of three days to present their case.
The authority must examine the evidence within a reasonable period and issue an immediate decision granting or refusing the authorization applied for.
After being notified, the parties may appeal against the decision to the next higher competent authority, such appeal acting to suspend the decision.

In the event of dismissal for economic reasons, the following rules are applied (art. 213(C)(3), LC):
- the first workers to be affected are those having the shortest length of service in the categories concerned;
- after that, in deciding which workers are to be maintained on the staff, preference should be given to Panamanian workers (over aliens), to workers who are members of the trade union (over those who are not), and those who have shown the most efficiency should be given preference over less efficient workers;
- expectant mothers, even if they are not protected by the preferential treatment, should be laid off last of all and only in cases of absolute necessity, with due observance of all the legal formalities; and
- all other things being equal, after the above rules have been applied, workers protected by their trade union status or office have preference over the other workers as regards maintenance of their contracts.

See above paragraph (h) of article 78 of Labour Code.

Although the paragraph (h) of article 78 mentions a final resolution of Labour Administrative Authorities, there is no indication that an approval is necessary, but only the communication.

According to article 80 of Labour Code, in the case of total closure of the company, provided for in subparagraph (h) of Article 78, if the employer establishes within the term of a year another similar, by itself or interpositor, is obliged to admit the same workers who previously employed , or failing that, pay them compensation in accordance with the rule established in Article 91 of this Code.