Central management’ means the central management of the Community-scale undertaking or, in the case of a Community-scale group of undertakings, of the controlling undertaking. (EWC Directive 2009/38 EC)
Court of Justice of the European Union
The two main objectives for the adoption of the Directive 98/59/EC were to approximate Member States’ legislation concerning the practical arrangements and procedures for such redundancies and to afford greater protection to workers in the event of collective redundancies.
According to the directive, any employer contemplating collective redundancies must consult with workers’ representatives, with a view to reaching an agreement. These consultations must at least cover ways and means of avoiding redundancies or reducing the number of workers affected and mitigating the consequences, in particular by recourse to accompanying social measures aimed at redeploying or retraining workers who are made redundant.
The Directive does not apply to collective redundancies effected under contracts of employment concluded for limited periods of time or for specific tasks; to workers employed by public administrative bodies or by establishments governed by public law; and to the crews of sea-going vessels.
The Directive provides that Member States may make provision for workers’ representatives to call upon expert assistance in accordance with measures in force at national level. The employer is to provide workers’ representatives with all relevant information and, in any event, is to provide the following information in writing: the reasons for their decision; the period during which redundancies are to be effected; the number and category of workers normally employed; the number to be made redundant; the criteria used to select those workers to be made redundant; the method used to calculate compensation. The procedure for collective redundancies consists of three stages:
The employer notifies the competent public authority in writing of projected collective redundancies. This notification must contain all the relevant information concerning the projected redundancies and consultations held, except for the method used to calculate compensation. However, where the cessation of activity is the result of a court judgment, notification is necessary only at the express request of the authority.
The employer forwards a copy of the notification to the workers’ representatives, who may send comments to the competent public authority.
Collective redundancies take effect at the earliest 30 days after the notification; the competent public authority uses this period to seek solutions.
Member States may apply or introduce provisions which are more favourable to workers.
Directives form part of the EU’s secondary law. They are therefore adopted by the EU institutions in accordance with the treaties. Once adopted at EU level, they are then transposed by EU Member States so they become law in the Member States.
- For example, Directive 2003/88/EC (see summary) on the organisation of working time sets mandatory rest periods and a limit on weekly working time authorised in the EU.
- However, it is up to each individual Member State to develop its own laws to determine how to apply these rules.
European Community
European Economic Area
European Federation of Building and Woodworkers
European Federation of Food, Agriculture, and Tourism Trade Unions, also representing domestic workers
European Globalisation Fund
European Parliament
European Public Service Union
EU Quality Framework for anticipation of change and restructuring
European Restructuring Monitor (Eurofound)
European Social Fund
European Transport Workers Federation
European Trade Union Confederation
European Trade Union Federation
European Trade Union Institute
European Union
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions - Tripartite EU agency providing knowledge to assist in the development of better social, employment and work-related policies
European Works Council
Austrian union of private sector employees, printing, journalism, and paper
Hans-Böckler-Stiftung
Information and Consultation
The Federation of independent and democratic trade unions representing manual and non-manual workers in the metal, chemical, energy, mining, textile, clothing and footwear sectors and related industries and activities.
Mergers with a Community dimension (companies with a combined worldwide turnover of € 5 billion and a turnover within the European Economic Area of more than € 250 million for each of them, unless each of the companies concerned generates more than 2/3 of its European turnover in one country; in this case, the merger is to be examined by the competition authority of that country) have to be notified to the Commission, which will investigate whether or not a concentration will create or strengthen a “dominant position”. This principle also applies to situations of “joint dominance” or duopolies and to situations of “collective dominance” or oligopolies. In most cases, a firm is considered to have market dominance if its market share exceeds 40%. But mergers that “significantly impede effective competition” (this refers to merger cases that lead to a 20-40% market share), too, can be prohibited if no sufficient competition remains after the merger to provide consumers with sufficient choice. (Source: Council Regulation EC/139/2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings)
Societas Sooperativa Europaea - The European Cooperative Society is, in corporate law, a European cooperative type of company, established in 2006 and related to the Societas Europaea (SE).
Societas Europaea - public company registered in accordance with the corporate law of the European Union
Special Negotiation Board, means the body established in accordance with Article 5(2) to negotiate with the central management regarding the establishment of a European Works Council or a procedure for informing and consulting employees. (EWC Directive 2009/38 EC)
The transfer of an undertaking refers to the transfer of a discrete economic entity to another party, for example, the sale of a business to a new owner. The interests of employees in such a transfer is regulated by Council Directive 77/187 of 14 February 1977 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the safeguarding of employees’ rights in the event of transfers of undertakings, businesses or parts of businesses (as amended by Directive 98/50 of 29 June 1998; consolidated in Directive 2001/23 of 12 March 2001), which applies to the transfer of an undertaking, business or part of a business. In the event of the transfer of an undertaking, the terms and conditions of employment in contracts and collective agreements are safeguarded, but employment itself is not always guaranteed.
In 2007, further regulations came into effect specifically relating to public passenger transport services by rail and by road and repealing previous regulations. Most notably, this new regulation allows Member States to safeguard the conditions of transfer of other rights of their employees other than those covered by Directive 2001/23. If necessary, therefore, Member States can take into account the social standards established in the legislation, regulations or national administrative provisions, or collective agreements or agreements concluded between the social partners. (Source: https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/transfer-of-an-undertaking
Trade union federation for service workers in Europe
Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft – United Services Trade Union
Works Council