united-kingdom european-union labor-law spain employee
Is it legal in Spain/Europe to retain an employee until a replacement is found?
<p>When an employee sends his resignation letter, is it legal to retain that employee indefinitely until a replacement is found? Is it legal to claim damages if he leaves?</p>
<p>This is for Spanish law and more broadly european law.</p>

<h2>Involuntary servitude is illegal in Spain/Europe</h2>
<p>Has been for more than 100 years.</p>
<p>Once an employee resigns their only obligation is to work the contracted (or statutory) notice period or pay the employer the equivalent salary.</p>

<p>In some parts of Europe (<a href="/questions/tagged/germany" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;germany&#39;" rel="tag">germany</a>), employment contracts normally contain notice periods which the employee must respect.</p>
<p>A default applies if nothing is specified in the employment contract:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_bgb/englisch_bgb.html#p2608" rel="nofollow noreferrer">§622 - Notice periods in the case of employment relationships - German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch BGB)</a>)</li>
</ul>
<p>It is common that employers and employees <em>negotiate</em> a cancellation agreement which reduces this period after notice has been given, but the employee has no right to do that unilaterally. The employer might well refuse to sign such a cancellation agreement unless a replacement can be found. In that case the employee must work for the remainder of the contracted period.</p>
