The Phone House has agreed with the union representation to reduce the number of dismissals in Spain due to the employment regulation file (ERE) that it announced from the 304 initially raised to a maximum of 200 workers, according to UGT union sources.

The agreement was reached this Thursday after a “hard” negotiation and with many meetings, reports Europa Press. The sources assure that compensation is contemplated equivalent to 27 days of compensation per year worked with a ceiling of 17 monthly payments and a maximum amount of 45,000 euros.

The implementation of the measure will take place from July 31, 2023, inclusive, until October 31, 2023, according to the document agreed by the parties. It also contemplates the company’s commitment not to carry out any other collective dismissal, at least until December 31 of this year.

The conditions of the final agreement for this ERE are similar to those applied in the previous collective dismissal that the company carried out in Spain in November 2020 and that affected 435 people.

On that occasion, the agreement was closed with compensation of 30 days per year of service with a maximum of 17 monthly payments and a maximum amount of 48,000 euros.

Regarding the measures adopted to reduce the number of layoffs in the company’s 67 work centers in Spain up to that maximum of 200, different aspects are contemplated, such as six stores becoming a franchise.

Certain initially affected stores will also remain to see if they can overcome the situation for a period of time, although this is not detailed in the document.

Pregnant women who have communicated this circumstance to the company prior to the date of the company’s communication of the intention to initiate a termination procedure of a collective nature will be excluded from the ERE, that is, before June 6, 2023. Likewise, people affected by a situation of gender violence or workers under their charge and living with a disabled person will not be included.

In the case of employees who are married or are formally a common-law partner and both members of the couple are affected, the measure will only affect one of them, provided that their job position is not depreciable.

The agreement also contemplates that the employees affected by the ERE who, when the contract is terminated, are legally unemployed will have the right to participate in an external outplacement plan, which the company has signed with Randstad and offers continuous attention for a minimum period of 6 months.