Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2001:496
Date: 2001-09-27
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Social Policy
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Belgium

Summary of the Judgment 
1. Social policy — Approximation of laws — Transfers of undertakings — Safeguard­
ing of employees' rights — Directive 77/187 — Scope — Situation ivhere an under­
taking terminates a cleaning contract with another undertaking ivhich had the contract 
performed by a subcontractor — Contract awarded to another undertaking — 
Re-engagement by that other undertaking of part of the staff of the subcontractor — 
Covered — Conditions 
(Council Directive 77/187, Art. 1(1)) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-51/00 
2. Social policy — Approximation of laws — Transfers of undertakings — Directive 
77/187 — Employee opposed to the transfer of his contract to the transferee — 
Whether permissible 
(Council Directive 77/187, Art. 3(1)) 
1. Article 1(1) of Directive 77/187 on the 
approximation of the laws of the 
Member States relating to the safe­
guarding of employees' rights in the 
event of transfers of undertakings, 
businesses or parts of businesses must 
be interpreted as applying to a situation 
in which a contractor which has 
entrusted the contract for cleaning its 
premises to a first undertaking, which 
has that contract performed by a sub­
contractor, terminates that contract 
and enters into a new contract for the 
performance of the same work with a 
second undertaking, where the trans­
action does not involve any transfer of 
tangible or intangible assets between 
the first undertaking or the subcon­
tractor and the second undertaking, 
but the second undertaking has taken 
on, under a collective labour agree­
ment, part of the staff of the subcon­
tractor, provided that the staff thus 
taken on are an essential part, in terms 
of their number and their skills, of the 
staff assigned by the subcontractor to 
the performance of the subcontract. 
(see para. 33 and operative part 1) 
2. Article 3(1) of Directive 77/187 on the 
approximation of the laws of the 
Member States relating to the safe­
guarding of employees' rights in the 
event of transfers of undertakings, 
businesses or parts of businesses must 
be interpreted as meaning that it does 
not preclude the contract or employ­
ment relationship of a worker 
employed by the transferor on the date 
of the transfer of the undertaking 
within the meaning of Article 1(1) of 
that directive from continuing with the 
transferor where that worker objects to 
the transfer of his employment contract 
or employment relationship to the 
transferee. 
(see para. 37 and operative part 2) 
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