Spain: Redundancies and temporary lay-offs rise sharply

The number of employees affected by redundancy and temporary lay-off procedures rose by more than 40% between January and October 2008 compared with the same period in 2007, underlining the employment impact of the deepening economic downturn.

Under Spanish law, employers wishing to terminate or temporarily suspend employment contracts on economic or technological grounds must draw up an employment regulation procedure (Expediente de Regulación de Empleo, ERE) and apply to the labour authorities for authorisation.