Economic dismissal: 2024 Supreme Court doctrine on Art. 52.c ET and ERTEs
2024 Supreme Court (Social Chamber) doctrine on economic dismissal under Art. 52.c ET: negative economic situation, three consecutive quarters (STS 567/2024), ERTE interaction and employment commitment (STS 789/2024).
Two-track test under Art. 52.c ET
Track A: Accounting losses (actual or projected): no persistence requirement. Track B: Revenue/sales decline: requires three consecutive quarters compared to the same prior-year periods.
2024 key rulings
STS 234/2024: Confirmed the two-track independence: accounting losses need no persistence proof. STS 567/2024: "Quarter" = any three consecutive months (not calendar quarters only); employer cannot skip months without decline to manufacture three non-consecutive periods. STS 789/2024: Prior ERTE does not bar economic dismissal IF the situation worsened: BUT if the ERTE was subject to a maintenance-of-employment commitment, dismissal during that period is automatically unfair (improcedente). STS 345/2024: Dismissal letter must contain specific economic data; changing grounds at trial is impermissible. STS 123/2024: Discriminatory worker selection → null dismissal (not merely unfair); legal priorities of permanence (union reps, disability, family responsibilities) must be respected.
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