Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:1998:358
Date: 1998-07-14
Language of the case: Dutch
Court formation: Fifth Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Social Policy
Concepts: Employment protection and protection of employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Netherlands

Summary of the J u d g m e n t 
Social policy — Approximation of laws — Protection of employees in the event of the insolvency 
of their employer — Directive 80/987 — Guarantee in respect of wages lost during the reference 
period — Existence of outstanding claims arising before the reference period — Payments of 
wages made by the employer during the reference period to be set in priority against claims aris­
ing before that period 
(Council Directive 80/987, Art. 4(2)) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-125/97 
On a proper construction of Article 4(2) of 
Directive 80/987 on the approximation of 
the laws of the Member States relating to the 
protection of employees in the event of the 
insolvency of their employer, where a 
worker has, simultaneously, claims against 
his employer in respect of periods of 
employment before the reference period laid 
down in that provision and claims relating to 
the reference period itself, payments of 
wages made by the employer during the 
latter period must be set in priority against 
earlier claims. 
It would be contrary to the social purpose of 
the directive, which is to guarantee all 
employees a minimum level of protection, to 
interpret Article 4(2) in such a way that a 
worker in that situation is not entitled to the 
guarantee in respect of wages which he has 
in fact lost during the reference period. 
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