The decree no. 23/2015 omitted regulating dismissal for exceeding the protection period. Therefore, for new hirings, the unlawfulness of this type of dismissal is considered as unjustified dismissals, with consequent granting of two months pay for each year of job seniority with a minimum of 4 and maximum of 24 months pay (in small companies the worker can ask for halved increasing protection, with a minimum of 2 and maximum of 6 months pay). Lastly, the voluntary arbitration procedure envisaged by article 6 of the decree is also applicable for cases of dismissal for allegedly exceeding the protection period. Thus, in this case the employer may offer the worker a sum based on job seniority, equal to one month pay for every year of employment with a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 18 months pay (from one to six months pay in small companies).
