Case C-323/08: Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 10 December 2009 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid (Spain)) — Ovidio Rodríguez Mayor, Pilar Pérez Boto, Pedro Gallego Morzillo, Alfonso Francisco Pérez, Juan Marcelino Gabaldón Morales, Marta María Maestro Campo, Bartolomé Valera Huete v Unclaimed estate of Rafael de las Heras Dávila and Sagrario de las Heras Dávila (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Protection of workers — Collective redundancies — Directive 98/59/EC — Termination of contracts of employment as a result of the death of the employer)
Date: 2009-12-10
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: collective dismissal, interpretation of the law, job cuts, labour law, severance pay








C_2010024EN.01001001.xml










30.1.2010   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 24/10





Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 10 December 2009 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid (Spain)) — Ovidio Rodríguez Mayor, Pilar Pérez Boto, Pedro Gallego Morzillo, Alfonso Francisco Pérez, Juan Marcelino Gabaldón Morales, Marta María Maestro Campo, Bartolomé Valera Huete v Unclaimed estate of Rafael de las Heras Dávila and Sagrario de las Heras Dávila
(Case C-323/08) (1)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Protection of workers - Collective redundancies - Directive 98/59/EC - Termination of contracts of employment as a result of the death of the employer)
2010/C 24/15
Language of the case: Spanish

Referring court

Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicants: Ovidio Rodríguez Mayor, Pilar Pérez Boto, Pedro Gallego Morzillo, Alfonso Francisco Pérez, Juan Marcelino Gabaldón Morales, Marta María Maestro Campo and Bartolomé Valera Huete

Defendants: Unclaimed estate of Rafael de las Heras Dávila and Sagrario de las Heras Dávila

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid — Interpretation of Articles 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 of Council Directive 98/59/EC of 20 July 1998 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to collective redundancies (OJ 1998 L 225, p. 16) — National legislation restricting the concept of redundancy solely to dismissals made on economic, technical, organisational or production grounds — Termination of contracts of employment by reason of the death, retirement or incapacity of the employer — Different compensation in the two cases — Whether compatible with the Charter of fundamental rights of the European Union and the Community Charter of the fundamental social rights of workers

Operative part of the judgment







1.


Article 1(1) of Council Directive 98/59/EC of 20 July 1998 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to collective redundancies must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation according to which the termination of contracts of employment of a number of workers, whose employer is a natural person, as a result of the death of that employer is not classified as collective redundancy;










2.


Directive 98/59 does not preclude national legislation which provides for different compensation depending on whether the workers lost their jobs as a result of the death of the employer or as a result of a collective redundancy.






(1)  OJ C 236, 13.9.2008.