In the current economic context, marked by financial fluctuations and instability on the labor market, collective dismissal has become a relevant topic for many companies that are sometimes faced with the need to significantly reduce the number of employees.

Collective dismissal is a complex and sensitive process, not only because it directly affects many employees, but also because it requires employers to comply with strict rules.

The collective dismissal is ordered within a period of 30 days, for reasons not related to the employee, of a number of:

a) at least 10 employees, if the dismissing employer has more than 20 employees and less than 100 employees;

b) at least 10% of the employees, if the dismissing employer has at least 100 employees but fewer than 300 employees;

c) at least 30 employees if the dismissing employer has at least 300 employees.

For the calculation of the total number of employees affected by collective redundancies, those employees whose employment contracts have been terminated at the employer’s initiative, for reasons beyond their control, are also included, provided that there are at least 5 redundancies.

Stages of collective dismissal:

1. When the employer intends to order collective dismissal, it is obliged to consult with the trade union or, as the case may be, with the employees’ representatives on the methods and means of avoiding collective dismissal or reducing the number of employees to be made redundant and on the measures to mitigate the consequences of the dismissal, such as support for retraining or retraining of the redundant employees.

In this regard, the employer is obliged to send a notification containing, among other things, the following information: the total number and categories of employees, the reasons for dismissal, the criteria for the dismissal, the measures to limit and mitigate the dismissals, the date on which the dismissals will take place and the deadline within which employees may make proposals for reducing the number of employees dismissed.

Although labor law does not require employees to have representatives, the employer will have to initiate timely discussions at the employee level to ensure that the employees designate new representatives who can be consulted and informed before the collective dismissal procedure is initiated. 

The employer shall forward to the ITM and the Territorial Employment Agency a copy of the above-mentioned notification on the same date as it was forwarded to the trade union or, as the case may be, to the employees’ representatives.

2. After receiving the notification, within 10 calendar days, the employee representatives may make proposals to the employer to avoid dismissals, and the employer will respond in writing and reasoned reasons within 5 days of receipt of these proposals.

3. If, following consultations with the trade union or employee representatives, it was decided to apply the collective dismissal measure, the employer is obliged to notify this decision in writing to ITM and ANOFM at least 30 days prior to the issuance of dismissal decisions. 

This notification shall include all relevant information regarding the intention to collective dismissal and the results of consultations with the trade union or employee representatives, the reasons for the dismissals, the total number of employees, the number of employees to be dismissed and the date on which they are to be dismissed. 

The employer is obliged to send a copy of this notification to the trade union or the employees’ representatives on the same date on which it was communicated to the ITM and the Territorial Employment Agency. The trade union or the employees’ representatives may send any possible points of view to the territorial labor inspectorate.

During this period, the ATOFM must seek solutions to the problems raised by the envisaged collective dismissals and communicate them in due time to the employer and the employees’ representatives.

At the justified request of either party, the territorial labor inspectorate, in consultation with the territorial employment agency, may postpone the issuance of dismissal decisions by a maximum of 10 calendar days, if the issues related to the envisaged collective dismissal cannot be resolved  by the date set in the collective dismissal notification as the date of issuing the dismissal decisions. 

The ITM is obliged to inform in writing the employer and the trade union or the employees’ representatives, as the case may be, about the postponement of the moment of issuing the dismissal decisions, as well as about the reasons for this decision.

4. The last stage of the collective dismissal procedure is the issuance of the dismissal decisions, respecting the notice period. There is no legal obligation for the employer to grant compensatory payments except for those provided for in collective bargaining agreements.

Employees dismissed following a collective redundancy procedure are entitled, within 45 days from the date of termination of the employment contract, to be re-employed with priority on the newly created post in the same activity. They will not have to sit any examinations, competitions or probation periods. The employer is obliged to send a written notification to the dismissed employees from the posts that are reactivated under the same conditions of professional competence, informing them about the reopening of the activity.

After receiving the notification, the employees have five days to express, in writing, their consent to the offered job. If the dismissed employees refuse the offer or do not reply within the five-day period, the employer has the right to make new recruitments to fill the newly created posts.

Failure to comply with the collective dismissal procedure can have serious consequences for the employer, such as the annulment of dismissals by the courts, forcing the employer to rehire employees or possible administrative sanctions from labor inspectorates.

Author: Atty. Felicia Cioflan