Understanding Joinder of Actions and Disciplinary Dismissal in Labor Law
Joinder of Actions in Labor Proceedings
Among these actions, there is a link because the title or cause of action is identical to or connected when the action is based on the same facts. The effect of joinder is that these are exercised together, and the plurality of claims are examined in the same procedure and decided on a single statement, which contains many statements and claims made in the process (which does not mean that accumulated claims lose their individuality). With the accumulation of claims, it is about bringing different claims against a defendant. If the claims process is the same, it would be more correct to call it a backlog of cases. The Labor Procedure Law (LPL) considers two hypotheses:
- If several lawsuits are handled in the same court or tribunal against the same defendant, though the actors are different, and the same actions could be taken in these, the accumulation of cases (i.e., all such claims or proceedings) may be taken ex officio or upon request (Article 29 LPL).
- If the demands were raised to two or more Social Courts in the same district, the accumulation of such is also agreed ex officio or upon request (Article 30 LPL). In this case, no accumulation is expected either between rooms or between different district courts.
Special Requirements for Disciplinary Dismissal
Item 4.2. There are special requirements imposed for disciplinary dismissal in Article 104 LPL.
Application Details
The application must refer to the circumstances of the employment relationship broken by the dismissal being challenged: workplace, professional status, characteristics, if any, of the work performed before dismissal occurs, salary, length of service, payment method, and age of dismissal (Article 104.a LPL). If the applicant is seeking to resume the relationship, they must describe it to review the sentence and solve problems that the demand arises. Reference to salary and seniority is important throughout to determine salaries and compensation processing.
Termination Details
Note the effective date of termination, how it happened, and allegations made by the employer (Article 104.b LPL). The applicant must also specify if the employer has observed the manner provided for disciplinary dismissal in Article 55 of the Workers’ Statute (LET), i.e., a dismissal letter attesting to the facts giving rise to the date from which it produces effects, and other formal requirements established by collective agreement.
Legal Representation Status
The application should state if the employee holds or has held, in the year preceding the dismissal, the quality of legal representative or union representative of workers (Article 104.c LPL). This requirement is directly related to the system of guarantees provided in Articles 55 and 68 LET and Article 10.3 LOLS. It should also be noted in the request if the employee is a union member, but only in cases alleging unfair dismissal for having done it without having heard the stewards, if any.
Consequences of Dismissal
Reinstatement
The reinstatement of the worker under the same conditions governing before dismissal occurs, with lost wages from the date of dismissal to the notification of the sentence.
Termination
The termination of the contract with the payment of wages for processing and payment of an amount fixed in accordance with the provisions of Article 56.2 LET, i.e., forty-five days of salary per year of service, prorated for periods less than one year, with a maximum of forty-two months.
The declaration of nullity of the dismissal takes effect ex tunc, i.e., from the first moment in which it occurred.