There are two main categories governing the protection of employees whose contracts have been suspended, determined by whether the business is closed by government order or is affected based on its KAD classification:
- For the employees of the closed with government directive For businesses, the protective umbrella closes immediately after the «temporary shutdown» ordered by the government is lifted, since There is no protection clause for employees after the lifting of the sector-specific restrictions lockdown. In other words, when employers reopen their businesses—and provided they do not invoke the suspension of employment contracts as businesses that are open but have been adversely affected under the KAD—they may proceed with layoffs.
- For employees open, but affected based on URL businesses, as well as for employees of businesses that are reopening and have been affected, In principle, the protection lasts for as long as employers make use of the suspension measure, but also after the suspension ends, for a period exactly equal in duration to the duration of the suspension. The equivalent period is estimated based on calendar days.
The Ministry of Labor issued a clarifying circular on the matter, which has been accepted by many questions regarding the ban on layoffs and the job retention clause.
Those detained by order of the state
According to the circular, it is prohibited to lay off employees companies that have been closed by government order, by terminating employment contracts, for as long as their employees’ contracts are mandatorily suspended, and if such a termination does occur, it is null and void.
According to experts, this means that businesses emerging from the sector-specific lockdown, but if they choose not to be subject to the suspension measures as businesses that are open—and thus affected—they may lay off employees immediately after resuming operations.
For example, retail workers, who came out of the mandatory suspensions on January 18, When the sector resumed operations, they are now protected, provided that their employers have made them do or will make them do use of measure of contract suspensions as “open—affected,” during the period from January 18 to 31 (declarations continue until January 31). Otherwise, if employers choose not to suspend contracts as affected parties, they may—always based on this specific interpretation— fire.
Those affected according to the KAD
Conversely, businesses that belong from the outset to affected sectors or are resuming operations and are affected, according to the KAD codes defined by the Ministry of Finance, are prohibited from reducing their workforce, in principle, for as long as they make use of the suspension measure and subsequently for a period equal to the duration of the suspension. According to the reasoning set forth in the circular, The suspension days within each month are added together to determine the resulting protection period.
Following this line of reasoning, retail employers, For example, those who are making or will make use of the contract suspension measure as affected parties for the period from January 18 to 31 (declarations may be submitted until January 31) are required to maintain the same number of employees for 14 days after the suspensions have ended, that is They may lay off employees, thereby reducing their workforce, starting on February 14. That is, of course, provided that the sector is not shut down again by government order or that they themselves do not make use of the measure to suspend contracts in February as open —affected parties, provided they are allowed access to the measure.
As specifically stated, «in cases where employees’ employment contracts are suspended for periods of varying lengths, the equivalent period is defined as the total duration during which employers applied the suspension measure, that is, the period from the date on which They suspended the employment contract »from the first employee's start date through the expiration date of the last suspension within the same month.".
For example: A company that suspended the employment contracts of some of its employees from January 4 to January 15 and the employment contracts of the same or different employees from January 21 to January 28, is required, after January 28, to maintain the same number of jobs and the same type of employment contract for a period of 20 days, provided that the business is unable or unwilling to take advantage of the suspension measure for the month of February.
The same framework applies, of course, to the December suspensions.
It goes without saying that if a company places one or more employees on contract suspension for the entire month of January, it is required to maintain the same number of jobs and under the same type of employment contract for 31 days, after January 31 (subject to what is planned for February).
As himself number of jobs means the number of employees that business upon the expiration of the measure suspending employment contracts, within the respective reporting month, including the number of any new hires made during the period in which the company utilized the measure. For example, The critical number of employees for the December furloughs is the number that existed when the December furloughs ended. Similarly, for the January suspensions, it is the number of employees present at the end of the January suspensions.
These apply without taking into account the clauses other measures such as refundable deposit.
