Keywords
Summary

Keywords

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1. Social policy ° Approximation of laws ° Collective redundancies ° Directive 75/129 ° Establishment, within a group of undertakings, of a joint recruitment and dismissal department ° Whether permissible

(Council Directive 75/129, Art. 1(1)(a))

2. Community law ° Interpretation ° Plurilingual texts ° Uniform interpretation ° Differences between the language versions ° Reference to the purpose and general scheme of the rules in question

3. Social policy ° Approximation of laws ° Collective redundancies ° Directive 75/129 ° Definition of "establishment" ° Unit to which workers are assigned to carry out their duties ° No management which can independently effect collective redundancies ° Not an essential factor

(Council Directive 75/129, Art. 1(1)(a))

Summary

1. Article 1(1)(a) of Directive 75/129, on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to collective redundancies, is to be interpreted as meaning that it does not preclude two or more interrelated undertakings in a group, neither or none of which has decisive influence over the other or others, from establishing a joint recruitment and dismissal department so that, in particular, dismissals on grounds of redundancy in one of the undertakings can take place only with that department' s approval. The sole purpose of Directive 75/129 is partial harmonization of collective redundancy procedures and its aim is not to restrict the freedom of undertakings to organize their activities and arrange their personnel departments in the way which they think best suits their needs.

2. The different language versions of a Community text must be given a uniform interpretation and, in the case of divergence between the versions, the provision in question must therefore be interpreted by reference to the purpose and general scheme of the rules of which it forms part.

3. The term "establishment" appearing in Article 1(1)(a) of Directive 75/129 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to collective redundancies must be understood as meaning, depending on the circumstances, the unit to which the workers made redundant are assigned to carry out their duties. It is not essential, in order for there to be an establishment, for the unit in question to be endowed with a management which can independently effect collective redundancies. To make the definition of "establishment", which is a concept of Community law and cannot be defined by reference to the laws of the Member States, dependent on the existence of such a management within the unit would be incompatible with the aim of the directive since that would allow companies belonging to the same group to try to make it more difficult for the directive to apply to them by conferring on a separate decision-making body the power to take decisions concerning redundancies and by this means they would be able to escape the obligation to follow certain procedures for the protection of workers, such as their right to be informed and consulted.