Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2005:66
Date: 2005-01-27
Language of the case: English
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Social Policy
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: United Kingdom

Summary of the Judgment Social policy – Approximation of laws – Transfers of undertakings – Safeguarding of employees’ rights — Directive 77/187 — Transfer of the contracts of employment and employment relationships to the transferee — Date of taking effect — Date of the transfer — Unchanged — Specific rules agreed between the transferor and the transferee — No effect (Council Directive 77/187, Art. 3(1)) The transfer of the contracts of employment and employment relationships pursuant to Article 3(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 necessarily takes place on the same date as that of the transfer of the undertaking. The date of that transfer is the date on which responsibility as employer for carrying on the business of the unit transferred moves from the transferor to the transferee. That date is a particular point in time which cannot be postponed to another date at the will of the transferor or transferee. It follows that, pursuant to Article 3(1), contracts of employment or employment relationships existing on the date of the transfer referred to by that provision between the transferor and the workers assigned to the undertaking transferred are deemed to be handed over, on that date, from the transferor to the transferee, regardless of what has been agreed between the parties in that respect. (see paras 39, 43-44, operative part 1-2)