> I don't know why people think it's not possible to fire people in the EU, but it is and it's a normal thing. It just costs some money.
It varies across Europe as well. Some countries, like Sweden, have more protections than others (no matter if union member or not), as an example. You cannot fire someone unless they demonstrably neglect their work duties and the firing overall needs to be objectively justified. Then the notice period depends on how long you've worked there, and more conditions I surely can't remember right now.
Compared to Spain that has "disciplinary dismissal" for example, where "insubordination" or "lack of discipline" could be enough to get you fired.
Insubordination is definitely grounds for termination in Sweden. One of the easiest and fastest ways to get your self fired.
Your boss tells you to unpack a crate, you say no, boss tells you "f*ck off and never come back". Perfectly fine legally and you don't get any severance pay either.
There is some nuanced to this, as you have the right to refuse unreasonable requests and you are allowed to have a bad day if you have a longish good record etc etc.
For a knowledge worker it is more difficult to define what a reasonable order is and what constitutes insubordination, but the basic rules are the same.
For Sweden in addition to what's stated above, if the reason for being fired is downsizing of lack of work, the law for employment protection (LAS) also states that the people laid off have to be in the reverse order of their hiring. To the latest to be hired is the first to let go.
Exceptions can be made if justified, not dug into the details of how that works.
It varies across Europe as well. Some countries, like Sweden, have more protections than others (no matter if union member or not), as an example. You cannot fire someone unless they demonstrably neglect their work duties and the firing overall needs to be objectively justified. Then the notice period depends on how long you've worked there, and more conditions I surely can't remember right now.
Compared to Spain that has "disciplinary dismissal" for example, where "insubordination" or "lack of discipline" could be enough to get you fired.