The reform of dismissal regulation: greater stability or simple reduction of costs

Abstract

A very important part of the process of formation of labour law has taken place by reconsidering certain aspects of dismissal regulation. In fact the great majority of the consecutive labour reforms that have taken place have in common reforms in the regulation of dismissal and the present reform is not an exception. This is due to the fact that the dismissal regulation is not an isolated legal institute, but furthermore it conditions other aspects of labour law, such as the stability of employment and the dichotomy temporary or indefinite employment depending on the greater or lesser flexibility of dismissal regulation. The present paper analises the reforms brought about in the dismissal regulation by the Royal Decree-Law 10/2010 and the recent Law 35/2010, concentrating particularly on the reforms introduced with the aim to reduce the number of temporary contracts and recover the stability in employment, and reduce the cost of dismissal at the same time.