Dismissal Protection in The BRICS Countries in Light of ILO Convention No. 158

The BRICS countries have aspirations to achieve sustainable development in their economies and environmental protection. These aspirations have an important social aspect in the area of employment protection as it relates to ensuring fair development. In order to establish national standards for dismissal protection in four of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa) the authors have considered the legislation and relevant national case law. This paper includes a review of International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards of dismissal protection, which are used as a pattern for comparison. The paper consists of five parts: the first deals with the history and explores the legal standards adopted in the ILO Convention No. 158; the remaining four parts present the research on each of the national dismissal protection systems in the four BRICS countries under study. The authors conclude that even though the national systems are different and have dissimilar scopes in respect of dismissal protection, their regulations are largely in line with the Convention, which has not been ratified by any of the BRICS countries; and that international instruments even without ratification may be a helpful instrument for shaping the national system of dismissal protection, and for providing guidance to policymakers and legislators.