The dismissal for lack of adaptation to a new computer program cannot be justified solely by the fact that the worker makes mistakes after it is implemented. The Workers' Statute regulates this ground and requires that the technical modifications be reasonable and that the company previously provide an adaptation course.
Article 52.b states that training counts as effective working time and that the employee must be paid the average salary he or she had been receiving. It also sets a minimum period before adopting the termination.
The rule refers to technical changes to the job. Its application requires examining what was modified and why the company considers that the worker has not managed to adapt.
What training the company must provide
The course must be aimed at facilitating learning of the modifications introduced. It is not enough to invoke in a general way that training exists if it is not related to the change that is later used to justify the dismissal.
A management program, a new production tool, or a digital system can modify the way tasks are carried out. The legal issue is not that the technology is new, but what adaptation it requires and what resources have been made available to the worker.
Article 23 of the Statute also recognizes the right to the training necessary to adapt to changes in the job and establishes that it is the responsibility of the company.
The course counts as work and must be paid
The time allocated to this training is considered effective work. The obligation is not fulfilled by simply transferring all of the learning to the employee’s free time.
Article 52.b requires maintaining the average salary that had been being received. Therefore, the fact that during those hours the system is being learned, rather than being used with full autonomy, does not eliminate the предусмотрена remuneration.
It is advisable to keep the calls/announcements, the course content, its duration, and proof of attendance. This documentation makes it possible to verify what training was offered and when it ended.
The minimum deadline before the dismissal
The law provides that termination cannot be agreed until, at minimum, two months have passed since the introduction of the modification or since the completion of the training aimed at adaptation.
The time limit must be examined together with the actual sequence of the change and of the course. It does not amount to automatic authorization to dismiss after two months: the remaining requirements of the invoked cause are still necessary.
Nor should an initial learning difficulty be confused with a deliberate refusal to comply with instructions. These are different situations and do not allow the same grounds for dismissal to be applied indiscriminately.
What an extinction for this reason must contain
Objective dismissal requires written communication that expresses the cause. As a rule under Article 53, it comes with compensation of 20 days’ salary per year of service, with the limit of 12 monthly payments, and a notice period of 15 days.
The existence of a letter is not enough to prove that the cause is correct. If it is challenged, the technical change will have to be checked, its reasonableness, the training, and the deadlines, among the relevant elements.
What to keep if a conflict arises
The worker must keep the description of their duties, the notices about the new system, requests for help, and the responses received. Also the results of evaluations, if there were any, and any instruction regarding the use of the program.
The general period for challenging a dismissal is 20 business days. Receiving a notice of termination requires reviewing the applicable dates and formalities, without waiting for an informal conversation with the company to resolve the disagreement.