Dismissal protection depends on size of enterprise (WoL, V2)

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Quick info
Data type Numeric
Scale Metric
Value labels Not applicable in the strict sense since the scale is quasi-metric, but for coding the following values were used for orientation:
  • 1 = the threshold for dismissal protection is above 20 employees
  • 0,75 = enterprises with up to 20 employees are excluded from dismissal protection
  • 0,5 = enterprises with up to 10 employees are excluded from dismissal protection
  • 0,25 = enterprises with up to 5 employees are excluded from dismissal protection
  • 0 = dismissal protection applies independently of size of the enterprise/does not exist
Technical name labor_priv_size
Category Labour and labour market
Label Dismissal protection depends on the size of enterprise (WoL, V2)
Related indicators

This variable measures whether standards for termination are linked to a certain minimum number of employees.
Employees are existentially dependent on the income from their employment relationship, so if the employer terminates it, it also means ending the employee's ability to make a living. If protection against unfair dismissal is linked to a minimum number of employees in a company, employees in small companies will receive less protection, even though their need for protection is no different from that of employees in larger companies. The regulation favours the economic peculiarities of small companies and in return makes cuts in employee protection. It privileges employees in larger companies.
Variable P.5 in the Worlds of Labour (WoL) SPE template.

Coding rules

Equals 0 if legally set dismissal protection applies independently of the size of the enterprise or does not exist at all; equals 0.25 if enterprises with up to 5 employees are excluded from dismissal protection; equals 0.5 if enterprises with up to 10 employees are excluded from dismissal protection; equals 0.75 if enterprises with up to 20 employees are excluded from dismissal protection; equals 1 if the threshold for dismissal protection is above 20 employees.
For detailed coding rules, please consult Fechner/Carlino 2025.

Bibliographic info

Citation: Fechner, Heiner and Marina Carlino (2025). Worlds of Labour (WoL) Leximetric Dataset. University of Bremen.

Related publications:

  • Mückenberger, Ulrich, 1985. "Die Krise des Normalarbeitsverhältnisses - Hat das Arbeitsrecht noch Zukunft?" Zeitschrift für Sozialreform 31: 415-434; 457-475
  • Mückenberger, Ulrich, and Simon Deakin. 1989. "From Deregulation to a European Floor of Rights: Labour Law, Flexibilisation and the European Single Market." Zeitschrift Für Ausländisches Und Internationales Arbeits- Und Sozialrecht 3: 153–207.
  • Carlino, M., Fechner, H., & Schäfer, A. (2024). Using leximetrics for coding legal segmentation in employment law: The development and potential of the Worlds of Labour database. In I. Dingeldey, H. Fechner, & U. Mückenberger (Eds.), Constructing Worlds of Labour. Coverage and Generosity of Labour Law as Outcomes of Regulatory Social Policy. Palgrave Macmillan.

Misc

Project manager(s):
Responsible for data coding: Heiner Fechner (2018-2025)
Responsible for data editing and entry: Heiner Fechner (2024-2025), Andrea Schäfer (2021-2025), Jean-Yves Gerlitz (2018-2020)
Principal Investigators: Irene Dingeldey, Ulrich Mückenberger
Student assistants (2018-2025): Julia Bode, Jessica Bonn, Daniel Euler, Maxime Fischer, Jan-Christopher Floren, Jennifer Götte, Désirée Hoppe, Irina Kyburz, Alexandra Kojnow, Tarek Mahmalat, Karolin Meyer, Johanna Nold, Tanusha Pali, Johannes Ramsauer, Max Sudhoff, Kristina Walter, Caroline Zambiasi.

Data release:

  • Version 0.001: Initial release

Revisions: No revisions yet.
This is the first version of the dataset of the thoroughly revised Version 2 WoL template; for the first time, all variables including those originally stemming from CBR-LRI have been coded/revised under WoL criteria. A preliminary version with compiled data (CBR-LRI and WoL) has been published in WeSIS marked by "CBR-LRI-based" and "WoL, V1".

Sources

Own coding.
Fechner, Heiner, and Marina Carlino (2025). Coding Legal Segmentation in Employment Law. The Worlds of Labour (WoL) Dataset. SFB 1342 Technical Paper Series, 22. Bremen: SFB 1342. https://doi.org/10.26092/elib/4191