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itude to terminate employment contracts. However, in workplaces
where the number of employees is thirty or more, any dismissal must
be justified with a valid cause.
Article 18 of the Labor Act stipulates that in a workplace where
there are thirty or more employees, any dismissal of an employee who
has been employed for at least six months under an employment con-
tract for an indefinite term shall be subject to a valid cause which may
be the requirements of the job or the workplace, or the capacities or
behavior of the employee.
The same article enumerates some particular cases that will not
constitute valid causes for termination. Pursuant to Article 18, the fol-
lowing cases cannot be deemed as valid causes:
a) membership in a trade union or participation in union activities
outside of work hours or within work hours with the consent of
the employer;
b) being the trade union representative for the business;
c) the filing of a complaint or participation in proceedings against
an employer involving alleged violations of laws or regulations
or recourse to competent administrative or judicial authorities;
d) race, color, sex, marital status, family obligations, pregnancy,
birth, religion, political opinion and similar reasons;
e) absence from work during maternity leave when female employ-
ees must not be engaged in work, as foreseen in Article 74;
f) temporary absence from work during the waiting period due to
illness or accident as described in Article 25 of the Labor Act.
As it is explained herein above, in workplaces where there are thir-
ty or more employees, any dismissal must be subject to a valid cause.
The job security provisions are applicable for those who have been
employed for at least six months under an employment contract with
an indefinite term. However, the job security provisions are not applic-
able to the employer’s representative authorized to manage the entire
enterprise as well as the employer’s representative managing the entire
establishment but who is also authorized to recruit and to terminate
employees.
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