Keywords
Summary

Keywords

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1. Social policy ° Approximation of laws ° Transfer of an undertaking ° Safeguarding of employees' rights ° Directive 77/187 ° Scope ° Transfer of the operation of a facility provided by an undertaking for the benefit of its staff to an independent undertaking ° Covered

(Council Directive 77/187, Art. 1(1))

2. Social policy ° Approximation of laws ° Transfer of an undertaking ° Safeguarding of employees' rights ° Directive 77/187 ° Alteration of terms and conditions of employment relating to wages ° Precluded ° Exception ° Alteration of contract of employment allowed under national law in situations other than a transfer

(Council Directive 77/187, Art. 3)

Summary

1. Article 1(1) of Directive 77/187 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 is to be interpreted as meaning that the directive may apply in a situation in which one businessman, by a contract, assigns to another businessman responsibility for running a facility for staff, which was formerly managed directly, in return for a fee and various advantages, details of which are laid down by the agreement between them.

2. Article 3 of Directive 77/187 is to be interpreted as meaning that that upon a transfer the terms and conditions of the contract of employment or employment relationship relating to wages, in particular those relating to the date of payment and the composition of wages, cannot be altered even if the total amount of the wages remains the same. The directive does not, however, preclude an alteration of the employment relationship with the new employer in so far as the applicable national law allows such an alteration to be made in situations other than the transfer of an undertaking. Furthermore, the transferee is also bound to continue to observe the terms and conditions of employment agreed in any collective agreement on the same terms applicable to the transferor under that agreement, until the date of termination or expiry of the collective agreement or the entry into force or application of another collective agreement.