In its decision 61/2012, dated 28 May, the Spanish Labour Court validated a substantial modification of employment conditions affecting remuneration schemes in IBM, thus taking advantage of the more permissive criteria established in the Labour Reform regarding the economic grounds for internal flexibility as an alternative to restructuring through dismissals.
Indeed, Act 3/2012 only requires that the claimed economic reason behind the measure be linked to the company's competitiveness, productivity, or technical or work organisation.
In this particular case, the workers' representatives failed to display constructive conduct during the negotiation process, whereas the court believed that the company has sufficiently evidenced the economic reasoning behind its decision. The modification has therefore been confirmed.
Key contacts
Samantha Brown
Managing Partner, Employment, Pensions and Incentives, UK and EMEA, London
Steve Bell
Managing Partner, Employment, Industrial Relations and Safety, Asia and Australia, Melbourne
Emma Rohsler
Partner, Head of Employment, Pensions and Incentives, EMEA, Paris
Tim Leaver
Partner, London
Andrew Taggart
Partner, London
Fatim Jumabhoy
Partner, Head of Employment & Workplace Investigations, Asia, Singapore
Barbara Roth
Partner, New York
Christine Young
Partner, London
Disclaimer
The articles published on this website, current at the dates of publication set out above, are for reference purposes only. They do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Specific legal advice about your specific circumstances should always be sought separately before taking any action.