(1) For the purposes of this Act, «collective redundancies» shall mean notice of dismissal given to at least 10 employees within 30 days without being warranted by reasons related to the individual employees. Other forms of termination of contracts of employment that are not warranted by reasons related to the individual employee shall be included in the calculation, provided that at least five persons are made redundant.(2) An employer contemplating collective redundancies shall at the earliest opportunity enter into consultations with the employees' elected representatives to reach an agreement to avoid collective redundancies or to reduce the number of persons made redundant. If the employer is considering closing down its activities or an independent part of them and this will involve collective redundancies, the possibility of further operations shall be discussed, including the possibility of the activities being taken over by the employees. If redundancies cannot be avoided, efforts shall be made to mitigate their adverse effects. The consultations shall cover possible social welfare measures aimed, inter alia, at providing support for redeploying or retraining workers made redundant. The employee representatives shall have the right to receive expert assistance. The employer shall be obliged to enter into consultations even if the projected redundancies are caused by someone other than the employer who has superior authority over the employer, such as the management of a group of companies.(3) Employers shall be obliged to give the employees' elected representatives all relevant information, including written notification concerning:- a.the grounds for any redundancies,
- b.the number of employees who may be made redundant,
- c.the categories of workers to which they belong,
- d.the number of employees normally employed,
- e.the groups of employees normally employed,
- f.the period during which such redundancies may be affected,
- g.proposed criteria for the selection of those who may be made redundant,
- h.proposed criteria for the calculation of extraordinary severance pay, if applicable.
Such notification shall be given at the earliest opportunity and, at the latest, at the same time as the employer calls a consultation meeting. Corresponding notification shall also be given to the Labour and Welfare Service, cf. section 8 of the Labour Market Act.
(4) The employees' elected representatives may comment on the notification directly to the Labour and Welfare Service.(5) Projected collective redundancies shall not come into effect earlier than 30 days after the Labour and Welfare Service has been notified. The Labour and Welfare Service may extend the period of notice pursuant to section 8, third paragraph of the Labour Market Act.
