Are you planning a large number of redundancies in your company? Then, under certain conditions, you are obliged to notify (report) the Employment Agency in writing in advance. This also applies if you
- give notice of a change of employment,
- offer termination agreements, or
- dismiss employees at your instigation.
You cannot make up the notice of dismissal at a later date. The date from which the duty to notify applies depends on the size of your company and the number of redundancies. If there is a works council in your company, you must inform it in writing of your plans before notifying the Employment Agency. Together with the works council, you must discuss how redundancies can be prevented and their consequences minimized.
You must provide the works council with the following information:
- Reasons for planned layoffs,
- Number and occupational groups of employees to be laid off,
- Number and occupational groups of employees to be laid off,
- period during which the redundancies are to be made,
- criteria envisaged for the selection of those to be laid off,
- criteria envisaged for the calculation of any severance pay.
The following are exempt from the obligation to notify in the case of dismissals:
- Small businesses with, as a rule, up to 20 employees,
- seasonal and campaign establishments in the case of dismissals due to the nature of these establishments (end of the season/end of the campaign).
However, if seasonal and campaign establishments make redundancies for other reasons (for example, before the end of the season or due to plant closure), they are subject to the notification requirement.
If your company is part of the construction industry and you receive seasonal short-time allowance, you must also report the layoffs.