The Costs of Dismissal - An Analysis in Community Justice and Efficiency

Abstract

The problem of collective dismissal - dismissal in the context of technological change, reorganization, or plant closure - has received much attention in recent years in both Europe and the United States. Statutory measures as well as collective bargaining arrangements have been introduced to alleviate employee suffering through payment of severance compensation, and provision has been made for consultation with unions or employee committees and for placement or retraining schemes run by state or employer/union agencies. The purpose of this paper is not to discuss the various measures but, rather, to explain the theoretical basis for allocation of the costs of dislocation engendered by collective dismissal.

Keywords: dismissal, Europe, United States, collective bargaining, employee, allocation