Collective Dismissal Notice Spain (ERE — Expediente de Regulación de Empleo)

A Collective Dismissal Notice Spain (ERE — Expediente de Regulación de Empleo) is a formal written communication issued by an employer (empresario) to each affected worker (trabajador) at the conclusion of the collective redundancy procedure regulated under Article 51 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores (Real Decreto Legislativo 2/2015, de 23 de octubre) and developed by Real Decreto 1483/2012 de 29 de octubre (Reglamento de los Procedimientos de Despido Colectivo y de Suspensión de Contratos y Reducción de Jornada). The Collective Dismissal Notice Spain is the final step in a strictly regulated multi-phase administrative and consultation procedure known as the ERE.

Article 51.1 ET defines a collective dismissal (despido colectivo) as the termination of employment contracts on economic, technical, organisational, or production grounds (causas económicas, técnicas, organizativas o productivas) that affects, within a period of 90 days: at least 10 workers in companies with fewer than 100 workers; at least 10% of workers in companies employing between 100 and 299 workers; or at least 30 workers in companies employing 300 or more workers. The thresholds also apply when the entire workforce (plantilla) is dismissed, provided at least 5 workers are affected.

The ERE procedure begins with the employer communicating the intention to initiate collective dismissal to workers' legal representatives (representantes legales de los trabajadores — RLT) — this may be the Comité de Empresa (works council), Delegados de Personal (personnel delegates), or trade union sections (secciones sindicales) of CCOO or UGT. Simultaneously, the employer must notify the Autoridad Laboral competente — generally the Consejería de Trabajo of the relevant Comunidad Autónoma, or the Dirección General de Trabajo of the Ministerio de Trabajo y Economía Social for inter-regional redundancies.

The consultation period (período de consultas) with workers' representatives under Article 51.2 ET lasts a maximum of 30 calendar days (15 days for companies with fewer than 50 workers). During this period, the parties must negotiate in good faith (buena fe) on the possibility of avoiding or reducing the dismissals and the measures to mitigate their effects — through redeployment (recolocación), training, or voluntary early retirement. The employer must provide full documentation of the economic or operational grounds, including audited accounts, profit and loss statements, and business plans, to the RLT and the Autoridad Laboral.

At the conclusion of the consultation period — whether agreement is reached or not — the employer issues the individual Collective Dismissal Notice to each affected worker. The notice triggers the 20 days' salary per year of service severance payment (indemnización por despido colectivo) required by Article 51.4 ET, capped at 12 months' salary, simultaneously with the dismissal effective date (fecha de efectividad). Workers may challenge the ERE before the Sala de lo Social of the Audiencia Nacional (for inter-regional redundancies) or the Tribunal Superior de Justicia of the relevant Comunidad Autónoma within 20 working days under Articles 124 and 125 of the Ley Reguladora de la Jurisdicción Social (Ley 36/2011).

The legal framework governing the Collective Dismissal Notice Spain (ERE — Expediente de Regulación de Empleo) in Spain draws on several key statutes and regulatory bodies. Under the Estatuto de los Trabajadores (ET) RDL 2/2015, Spanish employment law governs contracts, dismissals, and working conditions. The Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social (TGSS) administers social security contributions. The Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal (SEPE) manages unemployment benefits. The Inspección de Trabajo y Seguridad Social enforces labour compliance. The Juzgados de lo Social hear employment disputes under the Ley Reguladora de la Jurisdicción Social (Ley 36/2011). Parties executing a Collective Dismissal Notice Spain (ERE — Expediente de Regulación de Empleo) in Spain should confirm the document reflects current law, including any amendments enacted since the original drafting date. The Estatuto de los Trabajadores (RDL 2/2015), Article 51 sets the foundational requirements.

A Collective Dismissal Notice Spain is required whenever an employer completes an ERE procedure under Article 51 ET and must formally communicate the termination to each affected worker.

The notice is needed when a company faces sustained economic losses (pérdidas económicas sostenidas) — defined in Article 51.1 ET as three consecutive quarters of declining revenues compared to the same quarters of the prior year — and the workforce reduction is necessary to restore economic viability.

A Collective Dismissal Notice Spain is required when organisational or production causes justify workforce restructuring — such as the closure of a production line (línea de producción), a factory (fábrica), or a business unit (unidad de negocio), provided the numerical thresholds of Article 51.1 ET are met.

The document is needed when technical grounds exist — the introduction of new technologies or automation that renders certain job categories (categorías profesionales) redundant — and redeployment within the company is not feasible or has been explored without success during the consultation period.

A Collective Dismissal Notice Spain is required when the ERE consultation period has concluded — either with an agreement (acuerdo) reached with the Comité de Empresa or Delegados de Personal, or without agreement (sin acuerdo) — and the employer proceeds with the dismissals notified to the Autoridad Laboral under Real Decreto 1483/2012 Article 12.

The notice is also needed in cases of empresa en concurso de acreedores (insolvency proceedings) under the Ley Concursal (Real Decreto Legislativo 1/2020) where the Juzgado de lo Mercantil authorizes the ERE as part of the concursal procedure — a specialized ERE concursal governed by Article 64 of the former Ley 22/2003 Concursal, now under Real Decreto Legislativo 1/2020.

A Collective Dismissal Notice Spain is required when an ERTE (Expediente de Regulación Temporal de Empleo — temporary suspension of contracts or working-time reduction) under Article 47 ET has expired and the employer determines that the underlying causes require a definitive workforce reduction rather than a continued temporary measure.

Parties in Spain should prepare a Collective Dismissal Notice Spain (ERE — Expediente de Regulación de Empleo) proactively rather than waiting for a dispute to arise. Courts interpret agreements based on the written terms rather than oral representations. Under the Estatuto de los Trabajadores (ET) RDL 2/2015, Spanish employment law governs contracts, dismissals, and working conditions. The Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social (TGSS) administers social security contributions. The Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal (SEPE) manages unemployment benefits. The Inspección de Trabajo y Seguridad Social enforces labour compliance. The Juzgados de lo Social hear employment disputes under the Ley Reguladora de la Jurisdicción Social (Ley 36/2011). Where the transaction involves regulated activities, prior approval from the relevant authority may be required before execution.

A valid Collective Dismissal Notice Spain under Article 51 ET and Real Decreto 1483/2012 must include the following elements to be legally effective and to withstand judicial challenge before the Sala de lo Social.

Identification of Employer: Full legal name, NIF/CIF, registered address, and name of the legal representative (administrador or apoderado) of the company, consistent with the information submitted to the Autoridad Laboral at the initiation of the ERE procedure.

Identification of Affected Worker: Full name, DNI or NIE, job title (puesto de trabajo), professional group (grupo profesional) under the applicable convenio colectivo, work center (centro de trabajo), and date of commencement of employment (antigüedad). The antigüedad is the basis for calculating the statutory severance payment.

Statement of Grounds: A clear reference to the economic, technical, organisational, or production grounds that justify the collective dismissal under Article 51.1 ET. The notice must reference the ERE procedure number assigned by the Autoridad Laboral and state whether an agreement was reached during the consultation period — a fact that affects the legal basis of the dismissal.

Consultation Period Reference: Confirmation that the mandatory consultation period under Article 51.2 ET was conducted with the workers' representatives (Comité de Empresa or Delegados de Personal or secciones sindicales), specifying the start and end dates of the consultation period and whether an agreement (acuerdo) was reached.

Effective Date of Dismissal: The date (fecha de efectividad del despido) on which the employment contract terminates. For collective dismissals, the effective date must respect any notice period (preaviso) agreed during the consultation or established by the applicable convenio colectivo — generally 15 days' notice is the statutory minimum under Article 51.4 ET.

Severance Payment: The calculated amount of the statutory indemnización — 20 days' salary per year of service (or fraction thereof pro-rated), capped at 12 months' salary under Article 51.4 ET. The notice must specify the gross amount of the indemnización and the method of payment (bank transfer to IBAN, or certified cheque). Payment must be made simultaneously with the delivery of the notice (puesta a disposición simultánea).

Outplacement and Re-employment Measures: Where the company employs 50 or more workers, Article 51.10 ET and Real Decreto 1483/2012 Article 9 require the employer to engage an approved outplacement agency (empresa de recolocación autorizada) to provide reemployment support to dismissed workers for at least 6 months — the notice should reference this obligation and the agency engaged.

Challenge Rights: Notification of the worker's right to challenge the dismissal (impugnar el despido) before the Sala de lo Social within 20 working days of receipt under Articles 124–125 Ley 36/2011, after mandatory conciliation (acto de conciliación) or mediation (mediación) before the SMAC or equivalent body in each Comunidad Autónoma.

SEPE Notification: Confirmation that the Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal (SEPE) has been notified of the dismissals as required by Article 51.6 ET, enabling affected workers to claim unemployment benefits (prestación por desempleo) under the Ley General de la Seguridad Social (RDL 8/2015) Article 262 et seq.

Forms-legal.com provides this Collective Dismissal Notice Spain template as a practical reference point. Given the procedural complexity of Article 51 ET — including consultation requirements, Autoridad Laboral notifications, and the risk of the dismissal being declared void (nulidad) or unfair (improcedente) by the Sala de lo Social — employers must engage a qualified abogado laboralista before initiating any ERE procedure.

Under the Estatuto de los Trabajadores (ET) RDL 2/2015, Spanish employment law governs contracts, dismissals, and working conditions. The Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social (TGSS) administers social security contributions. The Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal (SEPE) manages unemployment benefits. The Inspección de Trabajo y Seguridad Social enforces labour compliance. The Juzgados de lo Social hear employment disputes under the Ley Reguladora de la Jurisdicción Social (Ley 36/2011).