Marked by invalidations. The consultation period in collective redundancies

Abstract

To begin, this article shall critically address the regulation of the consultation procedureas applicable in Spain in regards to collective dismissals. It then assesses this regulation and itscontroversial application by the courts. Finally, some potential corrections are proposed in response tothe failed 2012 labor reform, in light of the numerous collective dismissals that have been annulled bythe courts. The first section describes the movement from the system of administrative control to judicialcontrol and reveals some of the problems that have arisen during the different phases of the procedure, aswell as some of their shortcomings which have led to the large number of declarations of invalidity. Afterexamining some of the special procedures (dismissals due to force majeure, collective dismissals inpublic administrations and collective redundancies in bankruptcy proceedings), the analysis concludesby suggesting a series of proposals, including the exclusion of the invalidation of collective dismissalsbased on formal grounds.