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Can the worker leave his job in the company?

Labor Law
Can the worker leave his job in the company?

Can the worker leave the job? Can I do it without communicating it to the company? What consequences does it have? 

Can the worker leave the job?

The answer is yes, as our labor lawyers comment, the worker can leave the job and thereby voluntarily terminate the employment contract. To do this you have two options:

  • By resigning your job: to do it correctly you must communicate it with the notice period indicated by your collective agreement or the custom of the place.
  • By abandoning the job: it is a tacit resignation, that is, the worker does not formally communicate that he wants to leave the company, but is understood by his behavior.

Be that as it may, in one way or another, the worker has the obligation to communicate to the company with the prior notice that the collective agreement indicates, or in its absence what is the custom of the place, understanding as such normally 15 days. This is established in article 49 section d) of the Statute of workers:

"By resignation of the worker, must mediate the notice indicated in the collective agreements or the custom of the place."

How to know if we are facing a situation of abandonment of work or resignation of the job?

The Supreme Court has been responsible for establishing criteria: 

  • Regarding the resignation of the worker, the jurisprudence establishes that it is not necessary to conform to a declaration of formal will, it is enough that “the conduct followed by the same unquestionably manifests his option for the rupture or termination of the employment relationship ".

Thus, there may be an unspoken willingness to leave the company if, for example, the worker collects all his belongings from the company and leaves without a word after having a strong discussion with his boss.

Therefore, for the resignation of the job, it is required that the will of the worker is clear, concrete, conscious, firm, strict, etc. The manifestation of these behaviors will be interpretive and in any case they will be made for conclusive facts, so that there is no doubt about the will of the worker to leave work.

  • Regarding the abandonment of the job, different scenarios can occur, so it can be a simple lack of assistance to work, such as a real willingness to leave the job permanently. That is why we cannot talk about how many days of absence is considered abandonment of the job in a generic way.

Some companies use these strategies to fire the worker and that this does not take any compensation.

What are the consequences of leaving the job?

First, the worker will not be entitled to an unemployment benefit, therefore, he may not be entitled to the commonly called unemployment.

Secondly, the worker will not be entitled to compensation for termination of the employment relationship, that is, he will not be entitled to receive the compensation he is accustomed to pay in cases of objective dismissal.

However, it will be entitled to settlement. Thus, you will have the right to receive the amounts already generated by the worker, but that have not been paid by the same company, some extra payments, vacations you have not enjoyed (including other years), days of the month worked that have not been subscribers, etc.

If it is the case as a worker who decides to leave the job to move to another company, go abroad, study, or simply terminate the employment relationship, our recommendation is that you communicate by letter stating the 15-day notice, unless the collective agreement of application says otherwise.

It is advisable to notify the company by prior requirement with acknowledgment of receipt of the intention to leave the company, since, if not communicated, the company will proceed to terminate the worker's Social Security.

In the event that the company notifies by letter or through any other communication system (WhatsApp, mail, etc.) the dismissal addressed to the worker is recommended that the worker go to a lawyer specializing in labor law, in order to challenge said dismissal and Give you legal guarantees. In addition, the time is very important, since, from the official communication of dismissal by the company, the worker only has 20 days to challenge the dismissal through conciliation or demand.


Contact us, and our lawyers specializing in labour law will study your specific case. 

At Forcam Abogados we have offices in Barcelona, Madrid and Reus.