Revisiting the collective dismissal under the latest (and red-hot) European Court of Justice doctrine

Abstract

Traditionally, the collective dismissal awakes great interest in multiple forums; in fact, it is even higher when economies are going through a downturn, generally characterized by a more than remarkable level of jobs destruction. In these contexts, the collective dismissal turns into an archetype, in a recurrent instrument in the search of almost immediate solutions to the difficulties being experienced by companies. This circumstance often goes accompanied by a sharp increase in the number of disputes to be resolved by the courts, whose work becomes more complex if, in addition and like in Spain, the legal framework experiences a parallel and deep review. Nevertheless, the fact is that national judges are not the only ones who take on a greater role; the same effect occurs in other instances or levels. Three recent and almost simultaneous decisions of the European Court of Justice, the basis of this article due to its unquestionable impact on domestic law, certify that point. Singularly one of them, which brings into question not only the regularity of the article 51.1 of the Statute of Workers, but also a consolidated jurisprudence of the Supreme Court, forcing its urgent revision.