Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2013:256
Date: 2013-04-18
Language of the case: Bulgarian
Court formation: Fifth Chamber
Subject matter: Social Policy
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Bulgaria

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber), 18 April 2013 Social policy — Approximation of laws — Protection of employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer — Directive 2008/94 — Obligation to provide a guarantee for employees’ claims — Whether permissible to limit the guarantee to claims arising before the entry of the decision to open the insolvency proceedings in the register of companies (European Parliament and Council Directive 2008/94, Arts 2(1) and 3, second para.) Directive 2008/94, on the protection of employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer, must be interpreted as not requiring the Member States to provide guarantees for employees’ claims at every stage of the insolvency proceedings of their employer. In particular, it does not preclude Member States from providing a guarantee only for employees’ claims arising before the entry of the decision to open insolvency proceedings in the register of companies, even though that decision does not order the termination of the employer’s activities. First, Article 2(1) of Directive 2008/94 does not require an order for the termination of the employer’s activity in order for the guarantee provided by Directive 2008/94 to apply. Second, the second paragraph of Article 3 of Directive 2008/94 allows Member States to determine the date prior to which and/or, as applicable, after which falls the period during which the outstanding pay claims are to be taken over by the guarantee institution. That provision allows the Member States the freedom to determine an appropriate date. (see paras 37, 39, 41, 43, operative part)