Security of employment

Abstract

Termination of employment and, more particularly, the protection of workers against unfair dismissal has been for many years one of the most sensitive issues in labour law and is still very controversial today. On the one hand, protection against dismissal is seen by most workers as a crucial guarantee, as dismissal can lead to dire financial consequences, particularly if dismissed workers cannot claim unemployment insurance, as is the case in a great many countries. In addition, protection against dismissal can play a systemic role in labour law to the extent that it effectively protects workers against abuse by the employer in the employment relationship. Thus in a termination-at-will system, such as is used in the United States workers who refuse to accept changes imposed by the employer to the terms or conditions of their contracts of employment can be easily dismissed. By contrast, in a legal system where workers are protected against unfair dismissal, in principle this is not possible, or at least it is made more difficult. It is true that, even in the absence of statutory protection (or in certain cases of protection developed through case law), workers can still be protected against dismissal by their trade union, and in fact in a number of countries security of employment is an important negotiating issue. However, not all workplaces are unionized; on the contrary, in a great number of countries the majority of workers are not unionized, so that trade unions are not in any position to protect workers against abuses, including that of unfair dismissal.