Employee Mobility & Contract Changes: Rights and Obligations
Functional Mobility: Employer’s Right to Unilateral Change
The employer may unilaterally change the functions that the worker was regularly performing. This type of mobility does not require specific justification from the employer and has no temporal limitation.
- Within the same occupational group or between equivalent occupational categories.
Geographical Mobility: Relocation and Displacement
Geographical mobility refers to the movement of workers, permanently or temporarily, to another workplace in a different locality. This involves a change in the place of habitual residence for marketing, organizational, economic, or productive reasons.
Definitive Transfer
A definitive transfer occurs when the employee is assigned to a workplace within the same company that requires a permanent change of residence, or when the displacement exceeds twelve months within a period of three years.
Individual Transfer
In the case of an individual transfer, the worker may choose to:
- Accept the transfer.
- Terminate the contract.
- Refer the labor court.
The employer must notify workers in advance, with a notice period of thirty days, for individual transfers.
Collective Transfer
When the transfer involves a group or all employees in the workplace, a consultation period of not less than fifteen days will be opened with legal representatives.
Temporary Displacement
The maximum time limit for temporary displacement is twelve months within a period of three years. The employee is entitled to:
- Retain the same professional category and the same salary.
- Reimbursement of travel and per diem expenses.
- Four days’ stay in their old home for every three months, when the displacement exceeds three months.
The worker shall be informed at least five days in advance of the displacement. Mobility between work centers can also be agreed upon in the employment contract.
Substantial Changes in Working Conditions
The employer may agree to substantial modifications of working conditions when there are proven economic, technical, organizational, or production reasons that justify them. Substantial changes are considered to affect the following areas:
- Working day
- Work schedule
- Shift work
- Remuneration
- Work and performance systems
- Functions, where the change exceeds the limits of functional mobility.
Individual Modifications
Individual modifications should be provided with a thirty-day notice period. The worker may choose to:
- Accept the modification.
- Challenge the decision before the social court.
- Terminate the contract and receive compensation.
Collective Modifications
The decision for collective changes must be preceded by a period of employer consultation. The employer must communicate the final decision with a notice period of thirty days. This must affect a number of employees as established for collective transfers. An employee dissatisfied with this agreement or modification of working conditions can challenge it individually before the relevant jurisdiction.
Suspension of Employment Contract
Suspension of an employment contract means the temporary interruption of the provision of work without termination of the contract between the company and the worker. When the employment contract is suspended, the main obligations of the contract cease: the employer is not obliged to pay the worker’s wages, and the worker is not obliged to provide services.
Causes of Suspension
The employment contract may be suspended for the reasons listed below:
- Mutual agreement of the parties, validly entered into the contract.
- Temporary disability of the worker.
- Maternity, adoption, or fostering of children under five years of age.
- Public office or representative duties.
- Deprivation of liberty of the worker.
- Suspension without pay for disciplinary reasons.
- Force majeure that temporarily prevents the provision of labor.
- Economic, technical, organizational, or production reasons.
- Forced leave.
- For exercising the right to strike.
- Legal closure of the company.