Platforme moves forward with a collective dismissal and cuts half of the team | Observador

A collective dismissal begins with a “communication in which the employer must detail all the reasons” that lead to this process, begins to explain Madalena Caldeira, coordinator of the labor law department at the Lisbon office of Gómez-Acebo & Pombo.

The law requires that there be a phase of information and negotiation in collective dismissal processes. After this period, the law mandates “that there be a phase of information and negotiation,” which “is usually between the employer and the employees” and, if it does not exist, can “invalidate the dismissal.” In the meetings, the reasons for the dismissal must be explained and “how the workers were selected.”

This is one of the complaints from the workers of Platforme, who say they were not informed of the criteria that led to the dismissal of some over others and even refer to a process as “random.” In the letter they received, which was consulted by Observador, justifications for the dismissal are presented, but not for the specific selection of certain professionals.

On the other hand, the dismissed workers claim that “there was no communication of intent to dismiss, nor opening of negotiations,” alleging that they were only informed of a “decision.” In the letter, which they say was the only one they received, it states that the “decision of collective dismissal” is being communicated.

In their accounts, the professionals also claimed that the collective dismissal had not been reported to the competent authorities. Lawyer Madalena Caldeira notes that any company’s failure to communicate a collective dismissal constitutes an “irregularity” that “implies penalties, but does not invalidate it.” In any case, in response to Observador, the General Directorate of Employment and Labor Relations (DGERT) confirms that it “has been notified by the company Platforme MTO, Unipersonal, Limited about the promotion of collective dismissal” and states it is “analyzing the clarifications and documents recently submitted by the aforementioned company.”

Platforme proposed to the workers the payment of legally required credits, such as compensation calculated based on one month for each year of work, Christmas and Vacation allowances (proportional), the amount of unused vacation days, and credits for unreceived training.

The selection of workers to be included in the dismissal is one of the situations that generates the most conflict. The law does not establish any criteria regarding collective dismissal but states that workers must be selected according to “objective criteria,” says Madalena Caldeira.

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