Collective redundancy: thresholds and procedure, by country
The point at which mass dismissals trigger extra duties ranges from 10 workers in a month (France, Norway) to 50 at one establishment within four weeks (Canada, federal sector). Germany and Spain scale the threshold to the size of the workplace, over 30 and 90 days respectively, while Australia fixes it at 15 with no time window. What happens next also differs: Canada requires 16 weeks of notice to the government before the first dismissal, Spain a consultation of up to 30 days and at least 30 days before dismissals take effect, Norway and Germany a month in which the dismissals cannot yet take effect, and the Australian and French provisions quoted here only require notification and consultation without a stated waiting period.
Scope of this guide
Canada: the Canada Labour Code (federal sector) and the Ontario statutes that LawAsked has loaded. Other provinces are not compared.
| Country | Threshold | Who must be notified | Consultation duty | Waiting period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 15 or more employees (no time window stated) | Centrelink, in writing, as soon as practicable and before dismissing | Relevant registered employee associations get an opportunity to consult | |
| Canada | 50 or more employees at one industrial establishment within 4 weeks | The Head, in writing; copies to the Minister, the Employment Insurance Commission and any union | Notice at least 16 weeks before the first termination | |
| Germany | Over 5 (workplaces of 21 to 59), 10% or over 25 (60 to 499), or 30 or more (500+), within 30 days | The employment agency, before dismissing; the works council gets a copy | Employer and works council must discuss avoiding or limiting dismissals | Dismissals take effect within the first month after notification only with the agency's consent |
| Spain | 10 (firms under 100), 10% (100 to 300) or 30 (over 300) within 90 days | The labour authority, with a copy of the consultation notice | Consultation with workers' representatives for up to 30 days (15 days in firms under 50) | At least 30 days between notice of the consultation and the dismissal taking effect |
| France | 10 or more within 30 days | The administrative authority | The social and economic committee (CSE) is convened and consulted | |
| Norway | 10 or more within 30 days | Employee representatives in writing; the same notice to the labour and welfare administration | Discussions with employee representatives as early as possible | No effect earlier than 30 days after the administration is informed |
Country by country
Australia
- Rule
- Fair Work Act 2009 ss. 530 and 531
- Applies to national system employers dismissing for economic, technological, structural or similar reasons. The Fair Work Commission can order the employer not to dismiss until it has notified Centrelink.
- The consultation duty towards registered employee associations arises where the employer could reasonably be expected to know that some employees were members. Section 531 states no minimum waiting period.
If an employer decides to dismiss 15 or more employees for reasons of an economic, technological, structural or similar naturethe employer must give a written notice about the proposed dismissals to the Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency (Centrelink)(a) as soon as practicable after making the decision; and (b) before dismissing an employee in accordance with the decision the employer gives each registered employee association of which any of the employees was a member, and that was entitled to represent the industrial interests of that member, an opportunity to consult the employer onmeasures to avert or minimise the proposed dismissals Canada
- Rule
- Canada Labour Code s. 212
- Federally regulated employers only. A lower number can be set by regulation for particular employers. Layoffs count as terminations.
- The section states no consultation duty; the quoted text only requires notice.
terminates, either simultaneously or within any period not exceeding four weeksa group of 50 or more employees employed by the employer within a particular industrial establishmentgive notice to the Head, in writing, of his intention to so terminate at least 16 weeks before the date of terminationany trade union representing a redundant employee Germany
- Rule
- KSchG §§ 17 and 18
- Applies per establishment, in workplaces regularly employing more than 20 employees. Dismissals without notice for cause are not counted, and the section excludes company directors and managers who can hire and fire.
- The agency may extend the block to at most two months in an individual case (§ 18(2)). If the dismissals are not carried out within 90 days of the permitted date, a new notification is needed.
Der Arbeitgeber ist verpflichtet, der Agentur für Arbeit Anzeige zu erstatten, bevor erin Betrieben mit in der Regel mehr als 20 und weniger als 60 Arbeitnehmern mehr als 5 Arbeitnehmerin Betrieben mit in der Regel mindestens 60 und weniger als 500 Arbeitnehmern 10 vom Hundert der im Betrieb regelmäßig beschäftigten Arbeitnehmer oder aber mehr als 25 Arbeitnehmerin Betrieben mit in der Regel mindestens 500 Arbeitnehmern mindestens 30 Arbeitnehmer innerhalb von 30 Kalendertagen entläßthat er dem Betriebsrat rechtzeitig die zweckdienlichen Auskünfte zu erteilenArbeitgeber und Betriebsrat haben insbesondere die Möglichkeiten zu beraten, Entlassungen zu vermeiden oder einzuschränken und ihre Folgen zu mildern werden vor Ablauf eines Monats nach Eingang der Anzeige bei der Agentur für Arbeit nur mit deren Zustimmung wirksam Spain
- Rule
- Estatuto de los Trabajadores art. 51
- Applies to dismissals for economic, technical, organisational or production reasons. Closure of the whole business also counts when more than five workers are affected.
- Other employer-initiated terminations in the 90 days are counted too if there are at least five. Splitting dismissals into successive periods to avoid the thresholds is treated as fraud on the law.
en un periodo de noventa días, la extinción afecte al menos aa) Diez trabajadores, en las empresas que ocupen menos de cien trabajadores.b) El diez por ciento del número de trabajadores de la empresa en aquellas que ocupen entre cien y trescientos trabajadores.c) Treinta trabajadores en las empresas que ocupen más de trescientos trabajadores.El despido colectivo deberá ir precedido de un periodo de consultas con los representantes legales de los trabajadores de una duración no superior a treinta días naturales, o de quince en el caso de empresas de menos de cincuenta trabajadoresuna copia del cual se hará llegar a la autoridad laboraldeberán haber transcurrido como mínimo treinta días entre la fecha de la comunicación de la apertura del periodo de consultas a la autoridad laboral y la fecha de efectos del despido France
- Rule
- Code du travail arts. L1233-28 and L1233-46
- Applies to dismissals for economic reasons. The consultation in L1233-28 is with the social and economic committee; the notification in L1233-46 goes to the administrative authority.
- The two quoted articles do not state a waiting period; other articles of the Code that set timing for notifying the dismissals were not tabulated.
licenciement collectif pour motif économique d'au moins dix salariés dans une même période de trente jours réunit et consulte le comité social et économique L'employeur notifie à l'autorité administrative tout projet de licenciement pour motif économique d'au moins dix salariés dans une même période de trente jours. Norway
- Rule
- Arbeidsmiljøloven § 15-2
- Applies to dismissals not based on the individual employees' conduct. Other terminations not based on the individual count if at least five employees are dismissed.
- The administration can extend the 30-day period under the Labour Market Act. The duty to open discussions also applies when the decision is taken by a group management above the employer.
Med masseoppsigelser menes oppsigelser som foretas overfor minst 10 arbeidstakere innenfor et tidsrom på 30 dagerAndre former for opphør av arbeidskontrakter som ikke er begrunnet i de enkelte arbeidstakeres forhold, skal tas med i beregningen såfremt minst fem sies opp.skal så tidlig som mulig innlede drøftinger med arbeidstakernes tillitsvalgteTilsvarende melding skal også gis til Arbeids- og velferdsetatenPlanlagte masseoppsigelser får tidligst virkning 30 dager etter at Arbeids- og velferdsetaten er underrettet. Countries not in this table yet
The United States, United Kingdom, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden and Japan are not in the table: searches of their ingested acts found no collective redundancy provision (the Swedish LAS § 30, for example, deals only with dismissals for personal reasons). Their separate collective dismissal laws are not ingested.
How this table was built
Every row is taken from the official, consolidated text of the statute, which LawAsked loads from each government’s legislation service.
Each figure is tied to a passage quoted word for word from that text. When the page is served, it checks that every quoted passage is still in the current text of a law that is in force; if a law is amended and its wording changes, that row is hidden until a person reviews it again.
The table shows the statutory minimum only. Collective agreements, awards and individual contracts often give more than the statute, and some countries let a collective agreement set different terms.
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LawAsked, “Collective redundancy: thresholds and procedure, by country”, https://lawasked.com/guides/collective-redundancy (reviewed October 25, 2026).
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