COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN 
C0MCS1) 292 final 
Brussels, 13 November 1991 
Proposal for a 
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 
amending Directive 75/129/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the 
Member States relating to collective redundancies 
(presented by the Commission) 
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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 
1. In the context of the establishment of the Single European Market, 
the European Councils of Hanover, Rhodes and Madrid considered that the 
same importance should be attached to social as to economic aspects and 
that they should therefore both be developed in a balanced manner. The 
European Parliament (in numerous own-initiative resolutions) and the 
Economic and Social Committee (in its opinion of 22 February 1989) have 
taken a similar view. 
2. In developing this approach, point 7 of the Community Charter of the 
Fundamental Social Rights of Workers stated, in paragraph 7, that : 
'The completion of the internal market must lead to an improvement 
in the living and working conditions of workers in the European 
Community... 
The improvement must cover, where necessary, the development of 
certain aspects of employment regulations such as procedures for 
collective redundancies...' 
3. Points 17 and 18 of the Charter are also relevant to the issue of 
collective redundancies. These state that : 
'Information, consultation and participation for workers must be 
developed along appropriate lines, taking account of the practices 
in force in the various Member States. 
This shall apply especially in companies or groups of companies 
having establishments in two or more Member States of the European 
Community. 
Such information, consultation and participation must be 
implemented in due time, particularly... in cases of collective 
redundancy procedures...' 
4, On this basis, the Commission's Action Programme relating to the 
implementation of the Charter proposed the revision of Council 
Directive 75/129/EEC of 17 February 1975 on the approximation of the 
laws of the Member States relating to collective redundancies. The 
Action Programme stated that : 
'Several years' application of this directive, socio-economic 
changes and the establishment of a single European market 
necessitate a revision of this directive.' 
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In particular, the Action Programme identified the need to give the 
existing directive a transnational dimension : 
'The directive on collective redundancies should be completed so as 
to cover cases where the redundancy decision is taken by a 
decision-making centre or an undertaking located in another Member 
State. 
There will most certainly be cases of transfrontier 
restructuring which, Justified though they may be, will have to be 
accompanied by appropriate information and consultation. A response 
at Community level appears the most appropriate approach especially 
since the directive should apply in cases where the decision 
concerning collective redundancies is taken by a decision-making 
centre or an undertaking located in another Member State. 
This legal loophole should be eliminated.' 
The impact of the internal market 
5. The internal market is, according to Article 8a of the EEC Treaty, 
'an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of 
goods, persons, services and capital is ensured in accordance with the 
provisions of the Treaty'. The dismantling of internal frontiers is 
already resulting in major corporate reorganisations within the 
Community, involving a significant increase in mergers, takeovers, 
transfers and Joint ventures, and leading to the growing concentration 
of company ownership. The total number of acquisitions (majority 
holdings or mergers) effected by the top 1000 European industrial 
enterprises is constantly growing. A recent Commission report^1) 
shows that, over the 1980s, the number of such operations has doubled 
every three years, rising from 208 in 1984-85 to 492 in 1988-89. 
6. Moreover, merger operations within the Community are increasingly 
transnational in character. The same Commission report notes that : 
"National-type operations (between two enterprises belonging to the 
same Member State) largely dominated between 1983 and 1987. Almost 
two thirds of the number of acquisitions recorded involved this 
type of operation. Since 1987, more rapid growth has been noted in 
the number of acquisitions involving Community enterprises 
belonging to two different Member States. In 1988-1989, such 
operations represented 40% of the tota number of acquisitions 
effected. International-level operations involving two enterprises 
- the one Community, the other non-Coffwnunity - accounted for 
approximately 15 % of the total number of operations recorded. 
This figure is more or less stable for the period under review." 
(1) 'The impact of the internal market by industrial sector : the 
challenge for the Member States', Special edition of European 
Economy / Social Europe, 1990. 
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7. The detailed figures are given in the following table : 
Mergers and acquisitions by nationality of the firms involved 
Year National EC International 
1983-84 101 29 25 
(65.2) (18.7) (16.1) 
1984-85 146 44 18 
(70.2) (21.2) (8.7) 
1985-86 145 52 30 
(63.7) (23.0) (13.3) 
1986-87 211 75 17 
(69.6) (24.8) (5.6) 
1987-88 214 111 58 
(55.9) (29.0) (17.8) 
1988-89 233 197 62 
(47.4) (40.0) (12.6) 
NB : Figures in brackets show the percentage of the total 
number of operations surveyed. 
Source : European Commission 
8. In the context of this accelerating corporate restructuring, an 
increasing number of employees will be affected by key corporate 
decisions taken at a level higher than their immediate employer, ie. by 
the undertaking's head office if located in a different country, or at 
group level by controlling undertakings situated either within or, 
increasingly, outside the country where their own establishment or 
undertaking is located. Despite the growing complexity in company 
organisation, ownership and control, the existing procedures for 
informing and consulting employees and employee representatives are 
still confined to enterprise level (though there is legislation 
concerning national group-level works councils or equivalent bodies in 
a few Member States). This means that, although employees may be part 
of an undertaking whose headquarters are located in a different country 
or which belongs to a group of undertakings whose controlling 
undertaking is located abroad, the scope and effectiveness of their 
information and consultation rights could be endangered if the 
decision-making centre chooses not to provide the employer with the 
required information. 
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9. The 1975 directive requires employers who are contemplâting 
redundancies to inform and consult workers' representatives ¥*»th a view 
to reaching an agreement and to notify the competent public authority. 
However, it does not make specific provision for situations in whsch 
redundancies among an employing undertaking's employees are proposed by 
its controlling undertaking whether the controlling undertaking is 
situated in the same Member State as the controlled undertaking (the 
employer) or in a different State. However, it cannot be assumed that 
'all relevant information' (Article 2(3)) held by a controlling 
undertaking concerning the proposed redundancies will always be 
provided to the employing undertaking for the purposes of consulting 
worker representatives. 
10. Similarly, where the central administration of a multi-
establishment undertaking proposes to make workers redundant in one of 
its establishments, the existing directive does not make specific 
provision for the disclosure to local management of all relevant 
information held by the central administration where it is situated 
outside the Member State in which the establishment concerned is 
situated. 
The application of the existing directive 
11. In reviewing the implementation of the existing directive by 
Member States it will be noted that certain Member States' provisions 
concerning collective redundancies may not be fully consistent with 
particular aspects of the directive, and related infringement 
proceedings have been initiated or are under consideration within the 
Comm18S i on. 
Proposed changes to the directive 
12. Having examined the scope, application and effectiveness of the 
1975 directive in current circumstances, the Commission is proposing a 
series of amendments. 
( i ) Ensuring the enforcement of the Directive where the decision 
leading to collective redundancies Is being taken by an undertaking 
other than the employer 
13. The directive applies to all proposed collective redundancies 
affecting workers within the territorial scope of the Treaty, even 
where the employer concerned is a controlled undertaking or is part of 
a multi-establishment undertaking, the central administration of which 
is situated in another State, and the redundancies to be implemented 
are proposed by the controlling undertaking or, as the case may be, by 
the central administration of the multi-establishment undertaking. 
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14 The main changes proposed are to fulfil the aim of ensuring tha 
enforcement of the existing directive in cases of transnational 
undertakings and associated undertakings. Thus, it is provided the 
the Information and consultation requirements laid down by the 
directive apply irrespective of whether the decisions entailing 
collective redundancies are taken by the employer himself, by 
controlling undertaking or by the central administration of a multi­
es tab M shment undertaking. In order to reinforce this central 
obligation it is also established that an employer's failure to comply 
with the directive's requirements can not be condoned on the ground 
that the undertaking taking the decision leading to collective 
redundancies failed to inform the employer in due time. 
15. Furthermore, collective redundancies effected without the 
fulfilment of the information, consultation and notification 
requirements laid down by the Directive may be rendered null and vo<cf 
by the competent courts at the request of the workers' representatives 
or workers concerned. This particular provision will ensure that tha 
information, consultation and notification requirements are met 
whatever the identity of the undertaking which takes the relevant 
decisions leading to the collective redundancies. 
16. It should be emphasized that the revised text does not directly 
impose any obligation on controlling undertakings as such. Problems of 
extraterritoriality are therefore avoided. It should also be noted 
that the Commission is not proposing a mechanism (as envisaged under 
the original draft of the 'Vredeling' directive) whereby employees 
would have the right to seek consultation with the undertaking's 
central administration or with the management of a controlling 
undertaking (the so-called 'by-pass' system). 
(ii) Crews of sea-floing vessels 
17. The information, consultation and notification requirements Said 
down by this Directive are in no way incompatible with the special 
nature of the contract of employment or employment relationships of the 
crews of sea-going vessels. Their exclusion from the protection 
provided by the Directive is not Justifiable, unless they are covered 
by other forms of guarantee offering them protection equivalent to that 
resulting from the Directive. It cannot be argued that the temporary 
nature of the employment of some seafarers is incompatible with the 
Directive's provisions because Article 1(2)(a) excludes from this 
Directive "collective redundancies effected under contracts of 
employment concluded for limited periods of time or for specific tasks, 
except where such redundancies take place prior to the date of expiry 
or the completion of such contracts". The argument that the 
notification to the public authorities and the compliance with the 
period of 30 days before the planned collective redundancies can take 
effect is incompatible with the necessary flexibility and the sector's 
need to implement urgent decisions should be rejected. Article 4(1) 
second subparagraph establishes that "Member States may grant the 
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competent public authority the power to reduce the period provided for 
in the preceding subparagraph". The fact that the directive does not 
apply to establishments normally employing less that 20 workers and 
that the consultation procedure is not imposed upon establishments 
employing less than 50 workers provides the appropriate flexibility as 
regards the great number of undertakings which operate mainly in the 
fishing sector. It should be noted that Council Directive 
80/987/EEC (2> relating to the protection of employees in the event 
of the insolvency of their employer applies to the crews of sea-going 
vessels unless they benefit from "the existence of other forms of 
guarantee offering the employee protection equivalent to that 
resulting from this Directive" (Article 1(2)). Only members of crews 
of a fishing vessel, if and to the extent that they are remunerated by 
a share in the profits have been expressly excluded by Greece, Ireland 
and the United Kingdom on the ground of the special nature of the 
employment relationship referred to in Article 1(2) of that Directive. 
(iii) Judicial decisions 
18. The general exclusion of the current directive in cases where an 
establishment's activities are terminated as a result of a Judicial 
decision no longer appears to be appropriate. There seems no reason 
why employees' information and consultation rights (as opposed to the 
delays imposed on the implementation of redundancies under Article 4 
of the existing directive) should not apply in such cases. 
Legislation implementing the directive is already generally applicable 
to redundancies brought about by Judicial decision in six Member 
States (France, Federal Republic of Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, 
Netherlands, Portugal). 
(iv) Information and consultation requirements 
19. A number of clarifications and refinements are proposed in respect 
of the timing and objectives of consultations about projected 
redundancies and the nature of the information to be supplied to 
workers' representatives (and therefore to the public authorities), 
reflecting among other things the corresponding provisions of the 
transfers of undertakings directive, ILO Convention 158 and Article 2 
of the Additional Protocol to the European Social Charter of the 
CounciI of Europe. 
( v ) Designation of workers' representatives for redundancy 
consultation purposes 
20. Council Directive 75/129/EEC imposes on Member States an 
obligation to provide for workers' representatives for the purposes of 
the information and consultation obligations referred to therein, but 
leaves the definition of workers' representatives to "national law and 
practice". That was why the Commission initiated infringement 
proceedings against a Member State under that Directive. In order to 
alleviate the legal constraints imposed upon small undertakings and to 
provide for adequate flexibility, in accordance with the revised text 
(2) OJ No L 283, 28.10.1980, p. 23. 
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Member States may not provide for workers' representatives in 
establishments normally employing less than 50 workers. Moreover, 
where collective redundancies are envisaged in such establishments the 
employer shall supply in good time to the workers concerned the 
information referred to in Article 2(3) of the Directive but no 
obligation to consult is imposed in such cases. This rule mirrors a 
similar provision contained in Article 6(4) and (5) of Council 
Directive of 14 February 1977 on the safeguarding of employee's rights 
in the event of transfers of undertakings, businesses or parts of 
businesses*3^. Table I provides overview of the systems of worker 
representation in the 12 Member States. 
(vi) Failure to comply 
21. Although the directive is subject to the general principles of 
Community law including those of effectiveness and non-discrimination, 
the Commission is proposing a new article introducing an explicit 
provision aimed at ensuring the enforceability of the Directive. 
The proposed new article has a twofold objective: to provide for the 
availability of Judicial procedures at the request of the workers' 
representatives and workers concerned in the event of failure to comply 
with the directive's requirements (notwithstanding the eventual 
recourse to other procedures such as mediation, arbitration or 
conciliation) and to require that specific Judicial procedures should 
be available to render null and void those collective redundancies 
effected in contradiction with the Directive. 
Collective redundancies implemented without compliance with the 
obligations on information, consultation and notification may be 
rendered null and void under the existing laws of eight Member States 
(Portugal, Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, the 
Netherlands, France and Spain). 
(vii) Implementation by collective agreement 
22. Finally, it is proposed to introduce an explicit provision allowing 
for the implementation of the directive by collective agreements, in 
line with other recent proposals for directives in the labour law 
sphere. 
(3) 0J No L 61, 5.3.1977, p. 26. 
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Relationship with other Community instruments 
23. The Commission is aware that in a number of important respects, 
the reasons for revising the collective redundancies directive apply 
equally to the existing transfers of undertakings directive. This 
requires the transferor and transferee employers to inform and consult 
the representatives of their respective employees about the 
implications of the transfer, and provides for the safeguarding of 
employees' acquired rights by means of the automatic transfer of the 
employment relationship from the old employer to the new employer. The 
two directives thus reflect similar objectives (i.e. the need to 
guarantee employees an appropriate degree of Job security and 
information and consultation where their employing undertaking is 
involved in restructuring) and have broadly parallel provisions, 
although the transfers directive differs from the collective 
redundancies directive in that it obliges Member States to confer 
substantive rights on workers. To ensure a consistent approach, 
therefore, the Commission is also considering whether changes proposed 
to the collective redundancies directive should also be proposed, where 
appropriate, in respect of the transfers of undertakings directive. 
24. As regards the relationship between the proposed changes to the 
collective redundancies directive and the provisions of the proposed 
directive on European Works Councils, the following points are 
relevant. While the collective redundancies directive applies to all 
undertakings employing more than 20 workers, the proposed European 
Works Council directive is confined to 'Community-scale' undertakings 
or groups, i.e. those with at least 1000 employees within the Community 
and with at least 100 employees in each of at least two Member States. 
Moreover, under minimum requirements set out in the directive, the 
competence of European Works Councils is restricted to transnational 
issues, i.e. those affecting the Community-scale undertakings or groups 
as a whole or those affecting two or more establishments or group 
undertakings situated in different Member States. 
25. Only where proposed redundancy programmes affected an undertaking's 
or group's operations in more than one Member State Therefore, would 
they be subject to the consultation procedure envisaged by the European 
Works Councils directive. Moreover, where this is the case, the scope, 
content and objectives of the information and consultation requirements 
envisaged by the two measures differ considerably. At European Works 
Council level, consultation would take place on the transnational 
aspects of such a redundancy programme, in addition, the proposed 
European Works Council Directive includes in Article 11 the provision 
that 'Nothing in this directive shall affect the operation of the laws 
or practice of the Member States in respect of the provision of 
information to and the consultation of employees at group level, 
undertaking level and establishment level'. In particular, it is 
specifically stated that 'This directive shall be without prejudice to 
measures taken pursuant to directive 75/129/EEC...' (ie. the collective 
redundancies directive). 
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26. Under the collective redundancies directive, the information and 
consultation requirements are imposed upon the employer, relate to 
nationally-defined employee representatives, are much more detailed and 
specific, and should be undertaken 'with a view to reaching an 
agreement'. The collective redundancies directive, moreover, contains 
provisions relating to the notification of competent national public 
authorities and the timing of notified redundancies which do not of 
course feature in the European Works Council directive. The two 
measures therefore fulfil different functions and are substantially 
different in terms of their scope, thresholds, representative 
institutions, level of applicability and procedures. 
legal basis 
27. Article 100 of the EEC Treaty provided the legal basis for the 
existing collective redundancies directive, and the same legal basis 
will also apply to the proposed revision. Article 100A which derogates 
from Article 100, in so far as it concerns the harmonization of 
legislation with the view of the attainment of the objectives referred 
to in Article 8(a), does not apply here, for it can not be sustained 
that the proposal is intended to remove the obstacles to the completion 
of the Internal Market. 
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TABLE I 
SITUATION IN THE MEMBER STATES CONCERNING WORKERS' REPRESENTATION IN 
UNDERTAKINGS EMPLOYING MORE THAN 50 WORKERS WHICH MUST BE RECOGNISED BY 
THE EMPLOYER FOR INFORMATION AND CONSULTATION PURPOSES. 
LEGISLATION COLLECTIVE 
AGREEMENT 
BELGIUM YES -
NETHERLANDS YES 
SPAIN YES 
FRANCE YES 
GREECE YES 
IRELAND * 
DENMARK - YES 
ITALY YES 
LUXEMBOURG YES 
PORTUGAL YES 
GERMANY YES 
UK * 
Workers' representatives within the meaning of Irish and UK law are 
members of independent trade unions voluntarily recognised by their 
employer. 
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Proposal for a 
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 
amending Directive 75/129/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the 
Member States relating to collective redundancies 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic 
Community, and in particular Article 100 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission*1), 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament*2), 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee*3), 
Whereas the Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of 
Workers states in paragraph 7 that "the completion of the internal 
market must lead to an improvement in the living and working conditions 
of workers in the European Community ... The improvement must cover, 
where necessary, the development of certain aspects of employment 
regulations such as procedures for collective redundancies ..." 
Whereas paragraphs 17 and 18 also state that "information, consultation 
and participation for workers must be developed along appropriate 
lines, taking account of the practices in force in the various Member 
States ... Such information, consultation and participation must be 
implemented in due time, particularly ... in cases of collective 
redundancy procedures ..." 
(1) 
(2) 
(3) 
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Whereas Council Directive 75/129/EEC*4) promoted the harmonization of 
the relevant national laws by requiring employers who are contemplating 
collective redundancies to inform and consult workers' representatives 
with a view to reaching an agreement and to notify the competent public 
authorities; 
Whereas, as the establishment of the Internal Market is resulting in a 
growing concentration of undertakings across national frontiers, the 
decisions leading to collective redundancies may be taken by an 
undertaking other than the employer; 
Whereas Directive 75/129/EEC should therefore be revised so as to 
ensure that the existing information, consultation and notification 
requirements are complied with irrespective of whether the decision 
leading to collective redundancies is taken by the employer, by the 
controlling undertaking or by the central administration of an 
undertaking of which the employer is part; 
Whereas, with a view to ensuring that this Directive has the desired 
effect, account should not be taken of any defence on the ground that 
the employer was not provided in time with the relevant information by 
the controlling undertaking which takes the decision leading to 
collective redundancies; 
Whereas the information and consultation rights of workers laid down by 
Directive 75/129/EEC should also apply to crews of sea-going vessels 
unless they benefit from equivalent protection, and to collective 
redundancies effected where an establishment's activities are 
terminated as a result of a Judicial decision; 
Whereas a number of clarifications and amendments are required in 
respect of the timing and objectives of consultations and the nature of 
the information to be supplied to workers' representatives and to the 
public authorities, reflecting, inter alia. the corresponding 
provisions of Council Directive 77/187/EEC*5* and ILO Convention 158 
and Recommendation 166; 
(4) OJ No L 48, 22.2.1975, p. 29. 
(5) OJ No L 61, 5.3.1977, p. 26. 
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Whereas in order to allow for more flexibility with respect to small 
undertakings, Member States need not provide for workers' 
representatives in establishments employing less than 50 workers; 
Whereas it is necessary to provide for appropriate measures to ensure 
the enforcement of obligations laid down by this Directive and in 
particular for Judicial procedures to render null and void collective 
redundancies effected without compliance with the abovementioned 
obligat Ions; 
Whereas Directive 75/129/EEC should be amended accordingly, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
Article, } 
Directive 75/129/EEC is hereby amended as follows: 
1. The fol lowing point is added to Article 1(1): 
"(c) 'employer' means any natural or legal person who has an 
employment relationship with the worker." 
2. The following is inserted at the end of Article 1(2)(c): 
"inasmuch as the special regime covering them provides protection 
equivalent to that resulting from this Directive". 
3. Article 1(2)(d) is deleted and the following paragraph is added to 
Article 1: 
"3. Member States need not apply Article 4 to collective 
redundancies resulting from the termination of an 
establishment's activities where that is the result of a 
Judicial decision". 
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4. Section II is replaced by the following: 
"SECTION I S 
Information and consultation 
Article 2 
1. Where an employer is contemplating collective redundancies, he 
shall begin consultations with the workers' representatives in 
good time with a view to reaching an agreement. 
2. These consultations shall, at least, cover ways and means of 
avoiding collective redundancies or minimizing the number of 
workers affected, and mitigating the consequences. 
3. To enable the workers' representatives to make constructive 
proposals the employer shall supply them in good time with all 
relevant information and shall in any event give in writing the 
reasons for the projected redundancies, the number of workers 
normally employed, the employer's proposals with regard to the 
number and categories of workers to be made redundant, the 
criteria proposed for the selection of the workers to be made 
redundant, the proposed basis of any redundancy payments, and 
the period over which the projected redundancies are to be 
effected. 
The employer shall forward to the competent public authority a 
copy of all the written communications referred to in the first 
subparagraph. 
4. The obligations laid down in paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 5 shall 
apply irrespective of whether the decision regarding collective 
redundancies is being taken by the employer or by an 
undertaking controlling the employer. 
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In considering alleged breaches of the information, 
consultation and notification requirements laid down by this 
Directive, account shall not be taken of any defence on the 
ground that the necessary information has not been provided by 
the undertaking which took the decision leading to collective 
dIsm i ssaI s. 
5. For the purposes of implementation of this Directive Member 
States need not provide for workers' representatives in respect 
of establishments normally employing less than 50 workers. In 
that case, Member States shall ensure that employers are 
obliged to supply in good time to the workers concerned by the 
projected collective redundancies the same information as is 
required to be given to workers' representatives under 
paragraph 3." 
5. The following phrase is inserted at the end of Article 5: 
"or to promote or to allow the application of col Iective agreements 
more favourable to workers." 
6. The fol lowing Article is inserted: 
"Article Sa 
Member States shall ensure that Judicial procedures exist for the 
enforcement of obligations under this Directive at the suit of the 
workers' representatives and workers and in particular procedures 
rendering null and void the collective redundancies concerned, 
notwithstanding the availability of recourse to other procedures." 
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Article 2 
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and 
administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive 
by 31 December 1992, or shall ensure that the social partners 
establish the necessary provisions through agreement, subject to 
the obligation on Member States to take all the necessary measures 
to guarantee compliance at all times with the requirements of this 
Directive. 
2. When Member States adopt the provisions referred to in paragraph 1, 
these shall contain a reference to this Directive, or shall be 
accompanied by such reference at the time of their official 
publication. The procedure for such reference shall be adopted by 
Member States. 
3. Member States shall immediately inform the Commission of the 
measures adopted to comply with this Directive. 
Article 3 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 
Done at Brussels, For the Council 
The President 
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IMPACT ASSESSMENT FORM 
IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL ON UNDERTAKINGS 
WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES (SMEs) 
Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 75/129/EEC on the 
approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to collective 
redu,nclanç|ss 
The Proposal 
1• Taking account of the principle of subsidiarity. Why is Community 
legislation necessary in this field and what are the main aims? 
The proposal takes account of the undertaking process of corporate 
restructuring associated with the completion of the internal market, in 
particular the transnationalisation of company organisation ownership 
and control. In this context, the requirements of the existing 
collective redundancies directive require updating in order to ensure 
that it applies to cases where a redundancy decision is taken by a 
decision-making centre which is not the direct employer of the workers 
concerned, in particular where the decision-making centre is located 
outside the Member State where the employer is located. Given the 
transnational nature of this matter, and the fact that collective 
redundancy procedures are already regulated by EC legislation, a 
response at Community level is the most appropriate approach. 
The central aim of the proposed revisions to the directive is to ensure 
that where redundancy decisions are taken by such decision-making 
centres, all relevant information is provided to the employer to enable 
him to inform and consult workers' representatives and notify the 
competent public authorities. Other changes (e.g the requirement of 
the information and consultation requirements and provisions on the 
designation of workers representatives for redundancy consultation 
purposes) are proposed in the light of the experience of the 
application and operation of the existing 1975 directive over the years 
since it came into force. 
The impact on undertakings 
2. Who will be affected by the proposal? 
The revised directive - like the existing directive - applies to 
employers with establishments employing more than 20 employees who 
propose to make redundant a certain proportion of the workers employed 
in such an establishment. The proposed revisions to the directive would 
ensure that the controlling undertakings and the central administration 
of a multi-establishment undertaking of which the employer is part 
where the central administration is situated outside the Member State 
where the employer is located, provide the employer with the necessary 
information to enable him to inform and consult the representatives of 
the workers. 
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3 • What will undertakings have to do to comply w it h thQ_p.ro.eosa j? 
A number of clarifications and refinements are proposed \:\ respect of 
the timing and objective of consultations about projected redundancies 
ârsd the nature of the information to be supplied to workers 
representatives and the public authorities. In addition, a new proposed 
provision is that, where redundancies are proposed not by the direct 
employer but by a controlling undertaking, or by the centrai 
administration of a multi-establishmeni undertaking of which the 
employer is part, account shall not be taken of any defence on the 
ground that the relevant decision-making centre did not provide the 
employer in time the required information to enable him to comply with 
the directive's provisions. It is proposed to extend the information 
and consultation procedure to collective redundancies brought about by 
the closure of an establishment resulting from Judicial decision, which 
were excluded from the scope of the directive so far. 
4. What economic effects is the proposai likely to have? 
- on employment 
The objective of the information and consultation procedure laid down 
in the existing directive and modified by the proposal for its 
revision is to identify ways and means of avoiding redundancies or 
minimising the number of workers affected. 
- on investment and the creation of new businesses 
None. 
- on the competitiveness of undertakings 
The proposed amendments to the collective redundancies directive may 
entail some indirect costs of compliance for firms, due to the 
strengthening of the information and consultation procedure. However 
their effect on the competitiveness of EC undertakings should remain 
marginal. On the other hand, 2(5)(b) introduces a change entailing more 
flexibility by allowing small undertakings not to consult but to inform 
the workers concerned. 
5. Does the proposal contain measures to take account of the specific 
situation of small and medium - sj_zed enterprises (reduced px 
different reguirements. etc.)? 
By virtue of the definition of 'collective redundancies' the existing 
and proposed directive does not apply to establishments normally 
employing 20 or fewer workers. Moreover, the proposal's requirements 
regarding information and consultation with workers' representatives do 
not oblige Member States to provide for procedures for the designation 
of such representatives, in establishments normally employing less than 
50 workers. Where there are no workers' representatives in such 
establishments, workers affected by redundancy proposals should be 
directly informed by the employer. 
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Consultations 
A. With employers and trade unions 
19.03.91 UNICE / CEEP _ ETUC 
05.06.91 UNICE / CEEP - ETUC 
22.05.91 Transport 
23.05.91 Commerce 
28.05.91 Fishing 
Construction 
ganjcs ft Insurance 
7.06.91 Agriculture 
B. With individual organisations 
C.G.T. (France) (General Confederation of Labour) 
CEC (European Confederation of Professional Staff) 
Consultation of employers' organisations by DG XXIII: 
Organisations consulted; 
AECM (Association Européenne des Classes Moyennes) 
Eurochambre 
Eurogroup 
- UEAPME (Union of Crafts and SMEs) 
- UNICE (Union of Industries of the EC) 
CECOP (European Committee of Workers' Production Cooperatives) 
EUR0PMI (European Committee for Small and Medium-Sized 
Independent Enterprises) 
EMSU (Union Européenne des Classes Moyennes) 
CECD (European Retail Trade Confederation) 
FEWITA (Federation of European Wholesale and International 
Trade Associations) 
CED I (Centre Européen des Indépendants) 
CCACC (Com. Coord, des Associations des Coopératives de la 
Communauté européenne) 
The trade union organisations are in favour of the revision of Council 
Directive 75/129 but consider that the Commission's Proposal falls 
short of their expectations, in particular with respect to the social 
plan and the intervention of the public authorities. The employers' 
organisations generally support the objective of applying the 
information and consultation procedure also to collective redundancies 
of a transnational dimension, but think the existing directive already 
covers this case; they do not favour amendments introducing new 
elements in the proposal, such as additional information to be provided 
to the workers. 
EN C0M(91) 292 final BSN 0254-1475 
DOCUMENTS 
06 04 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-91-507-EN-C 
ISBN 92-77-77501-7 
Office for Officiai Publîcatîozis of the European Communities 
L-2985 Luxembourg