Prospettive sistematiche per i licenziamenti collettivi dopo la legge 92/2012

The essay, the first part of which was published in the no. 3/2014 of this magazine, deals with the impact of law n. 92/2012 (so called Fornero law) on the regulation of collective dismissals. The Author examines in the first place the historical evolution of the regulation, outlining, amongst the most critical points, the long lasting dualism with the individual dismissal on objective ground, which was originated by the obscure formulation of sect. 11 of law no. 604/1966. The legislative regulation of collective dismissals, realised by law no. 223/1991, did not solve the problem: on the contrary, the separation has been consolidated, though along other lines, mainly because the prevailing case law trends towards the «no-causality» of the collective dismissal and enhances the control operated by the unions, as opposed to the control operated by the judges on individual dismissal for economic reasons. In Author’s opinion, the Fornero law, though
intervening in an quite awkward way, ended up involuntarily strengthening the prevailing position of scholars, who assimilate the «objective ground» of individual dismissals and «the reduction or transformation of activity or work» of collective dismissals: the thesis that upholds a unitary reconstruction of small and big
dismissals for economic reasons appears to be particularly opportune also from the policy point of view, due to the fruitful exegetic synergies which it is able to bring about.