Court of Cassation: 30 days to exercise the remedial indemnity option in lieu of the reinstatement protection

With its judgment No. 203 of 11 January 2016, the Court of Cassation has stated that the 30-day term, provided for under paragraph 5, of article 18 of Law No. 300/1970, to exercise the option right aimed at obtaining the 15 monthly salaries in lieu of the reinstatement in the job, in case of a dismissal declared unlawful by the court, will start from the moment in which the employee was effectively and totally aware. Therefore, according to the Court of Cassation, the 30-day term dies a quo may start from the moment in which the ruling of the judgment is read, regardless of the respective formal communication by the Office of the Clerk of the Court. In short, it is a final deadline set forth by law in order to avoid a deadlock, should the employer not request the employee to resume his/her work, as well as to mitigate, within a reasonable term, the uncertainty as to whether the employment will carry on.