New law on grounds for dismissal among government contractors
Collective bargaining agreement No. 109 on the justification for dismissal makes it possible for private sector employees - under certain conditions - to request the concrete justification for dismissal and, consequently, to know the concrete reasons that led to their dismissal. Statutory government employees also benefit from an equivalent arrangement.
But what about contractual government employees?
The grounds for dismissal for contractual employees in the public sector were already under discussion before the Constitutional Court. In particular, the Constitutional Court had already noted that, compared to their colleagues in the private sector and compared to statutory employees, government contractors were less well protected in the event of dismissal.
To eliminate this disparity, the legislature introduced the law of March 13, 2024 on justification for dismissal and manifestly unreasonable dismissal of contractual employees in the public sector (BS March 20, 2024).
The March 13, 2024 law applies to employees with employment contracts whose employers are not within the scope of the collective bargaining law, subject to some exceptions.
The law provides that the employer in the public sector, who intends to dismiss an employee for reasons related to his person or his behavior, shall henceforth invite the employee concerned to hear him beforehand and gather his explanations of the facts and reasons for the contemplated decision.
If the employer proceeds to dismiss after this interview, notification of the dismissal shall be in writing and such written notification shall state the specific reasons for the dismissal.
If the employer fails to communicate these reasons or fails to give the employee a prior hearing, it shall owe that employee compensation equal to two weeks' wages. However, the notice of termination remains valid.
In the case of a manifestly unreasonable dismissal, as understood in CLA No. 109, the employer owes the employee compensation of a minimum of three and a maximum of seventeen weeks' wages.
The new law ensures that the duty to state reasons when dismissing statutory and contractual employees is now aligned.
The new law takes effect May 1, 2024.
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