Transfer of Undertaking in the European Union : A Comparative Analysis

STUDIES IN EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL POLICY#60

The European Union's (EU's) elaborate discipline regarding the protection of the rights of workers affected by a transfer of undertaking has given rise to varying interpretations among Member States. This very useful book reports on the ways Directive 2001/23 on the safeguarding of employees' rights in the event of transfers of undertakings has been implemented in the national legal systems of 18 Member States (representing all the different European legal traditions) clarifying the degree of effectiveness, critical issues, shortcomings, and potential remedies in each country and across the EU.

In a country-by-country format, local experts provide detailed commentary and analysis of the relevant laws, regulations, and case law in each jurisdiction, with attention to such issues and topics as the following:

• employers' obligations;

• legal procedures for implementing transfer;

• protections from dismissal;

• guarantees for workers' and employees' rights;

• employers' duty of information and consultation;

• liabilities of transferor and transferee;

• insolvency and restructuring proceedings;

• application of collective bargaining agreements; and

• cross-border transfer of an employing undertaking.

A concluding chapter by the editors summarizes common elements and recommendations.

In an economic reality where phenomena such as production decentralization, outsourcing, company relocation, and the spread of service contracts cause significant social costs and job losses - and given the consequent frequency of disputes that are brought before Labour Courts and the European Court of Justice - this research will prove of great value to labour lawyers, judges, company managers, and concerned academics in verifying whether European and national laws on transfer of undertaking are sufficient to manage, from a labour perspective, the corporate and business movements that will reposition the EU economy in the coming years.

Roberto Cosio, President of the Labour Commission of the UAE (Union of European Lawyers), Vice President of ASFEUR (Forensic Association for Europe), member of the national executive board of the CSDN (Domenico Napoletano Study Center), and former President of AGI Sicily, is a lawyer specialized in Labor Law, with particular focus on the jurisdiction of the High European Courts. He is the author of around 250 publications, in addition to 13 volumes as either author or editor. He has participated as a speaker or contributor in approximately 400 national or international conferences.

Filippo Curcuruto became a judge in 1974, and he was first appointed as Labour Judge to a Court of First Instance. In 1980, he was assigned to a special office within the Italian Ministry of Justice that drafts legislation dealing with issues, among others, related to European law. Here he worked for several years. From 1993 to 1999, he served at the Research Division of the Italian Supreme Court (the Ufficio del Massimario della Corte di Cassazione). Afterwards, the Ministry of Justice appointed him the Head of the office dealing with claims brought before the labour Courts by the Ministry employees. In 2002, he was appointed as Member Judge of the Supreme Court assigned to the Labour Chamber and was also nominated as Member of the Supreme Court’s Joint Chambers in civil-law matters, where he worked until 2011. From 2011 to 2015, he served as the President of the Labour Court of Appeal of Rome. From 2005 to 2009, he was a Senior Lecturer of Labour Law at the Postgraduate School of Law at the University of Rome ‘La Sapienza.’ He is the author of several publications in the fields of civil law, civil procedure, labour law and European law. He has also been involved in the initiatives carried out by the Associations of the European labour-law judges (European Association of Labour Court Judges – EALCJ) within the European Union (EU) and the European and International Labour Office. He retired in 2015; however, he continues to work in the field of law, particularly labour law, in the capacity of a lawyer.

Vincenzo Di Cerbo, Italian judge since 1976, was appointed as a first instance judge in 1977. From 1993 to 1997, he served in the ‘Ufficio del Massimario della Italian Corte di Cassazione’ (The Research Division of the Court). From 1997 to 2004, he served as ‘legally qualified Member of the Boards of Appeal at the European Patent Office (EPO) in Münich. During this period, for three years, he was also appointed Chairman of the ‘Disciplinary Committee’ of the Office. At the end of 2004, he was appointed member of the Italian Supreme Court. In April 2008, he was elected member of the Supreme Court Judges Council (Consiglio Direttivo). From 2010 to 2016, he also served as Member of the Supreme Court Joint Chambers in civil Law matters (Sezioni Unite Civili). Moreover, since 2012, he has been appointed Director of the CED (i.e., IT Documentation Department of the Supreme Court). Finally, he served as Chairman of the Supreme Court Board with jurisdiction on Labour and Social Welfare. Lecturer at Rom ‘Università la Sapienza’ (Post-Graduate school for lawyers), and LUISS University of Rome. Author of several books and essays in the field of Labor law, Process law and IT law.

Giovanni Mammone served as a judge from 1977 to 2020. In 1998, he was appointed to the Court of Cassation, where he was permanently attached to the Labour Section, first as a research magistrate, then as a counsellor, and subsequently as Section President. From 2018 to 2020, he served as First President of the Court and President of the United Sections (Sezioni unite), the highest body of national ordinary jurisdiction, and resigned upon reaching the maximum age for service. During his career, he also served as an elected member of the Superior Council of the Judiciary (from 2002 to 2006) and as Secretary General of the Court of Cassation (in 2016 and 2017). He has carried out intense scientific activity, publishing a volume on the history and the jurisdictional asset of the Court of Cassation (Corte di cassazione e giurisdizione, 2023), as well as numerous studies on labour and social security law, civil procedural law, and judicial organization. He was a teacher at the University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’ and at the Training School of Judiciary (Scuola Superiore della Magistratura) in Florence. He actually follows to be a contributor of important law journals, primarily on labour and social security matters. He is actively involved in the initiatives carried out by the Associations of the European labour law judges (EALCJ, within the EU, ELCJ, within the International Labour Office).