A verbal dismissal, although not very frequent, is not surprising either. However, it is a situation that generates many doubts at the legal level regarding its validity and repercussions for the worker and for the company. For this reason, it is important to know what is included in the Spanish regulations regarding verbal dismissals in which there is no documentation and what the person who is in this situation should do and what rights they have.
The law in our country is quite forceful with verbal dismissals in which there is no documentation. And it is that, in the legal system, it is clearly expressed that dismissals must be in writing - and following certain patterns - therefore, verbal dismissal is not valid and can be challenged. The regulations establish that to give a dismissal as valid, the reasons for the dismissal and the date must be collected in writing. Thus, if someone has been fired verbally and without documentation, they can appeal because his dismissal will be classified as unfair and the employer must either reinstate his employee or compensate him with a longer period of time: 33 days per year worked.
To make matters worse, in Spain it is not possible to be fired by email or WhatsApp, as established in a ruling by the Galician Superior Court of Justice. And it is that, this way of dismissing does not meet one of the three required requirements, such as: that it be in writing, that the facts that motivate the dismissal appear and that it is stated that the letter has been delivered. The latter cannot be verified by the two aforementioned routes. Thus, the only valid ways to dismiss based on the current regulation are: with the delivery of a letter by hand, by a burofax, by certified mail or by email when it has an acknowledgment that the worker has opened that email. .
If there is no documentation in the dismissal, then it is not valid. Therefore, the first thing would be to request the company to deliver a letter detailing the reasons for the dismissal for it to be valid. In the event that the company is not willing to do so, there will be no choice but to issue a burofax urging the company to deliver and prepare a letter with the reasons for the dismissal. The burofax records its existence for possible legal claims, therefore, it is the second most used way when it comes to guarding one's back and demonstrating what happened in the event of a legal confrontation between the employer and the employee.
It is very important in this regard not to miss the twenty-day period established by law to appeal in the event of a dismissal. Thus, if the company does not prepare the letter and we have to issue a burofax claiming it, it must be issued within twenty days from the time of dismissal.
This situation is the one that can generate the most problems for the employee who has been suspended. Since it is possible that the employer acts in bad faith and voluntarily terminates the employee. If this is the case, the worker will not have the same right to receive benefits since it would appear as if he was the one who left the company and not the one who fired him.
If this happens, then the worker will have to gather evidence to file a claim within twenty days. It will be easy if the conversation has been recorded or if a colleague wants to testify on behalf of the person who is in that situation. If none of the circumstances occur, there will be no choice but to negotiate with the company to obtain that dismissal letter.
The most appropriate thing in this situation is to contact a lawyer to present the claim as soon as possible so that it can be resolved as an unfair dismissal, being reinstated in the company or receiving greater compensation for the way in which the dismissal.
