CELEX: 62016CA0126
Language: en
Date: 2017-06-22 00:00:00
Title: Case C-126/16: Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 22 June 2017 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Rechtbank Midden-Nederland — Netherlands) — Federatie Nederlandse Vakvereniging and Others v Smallsteps BV (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Directive 2001/23/EC — Articles 3 to 5 — Transfers of undertakings — Safeguarding of employees’ rights — Exceptions — Insolvency proceedings — ‘Pre-pack’ — Survival of an undertaking)

21.8.2017   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 277/15
            
         Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 22 June 2017 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Rechtbank Midden-Nederland — Netherlands) — Federatie Nederlandse Vakvereniging and Others v Smallsteps BV
   (Case C-126/16) (1)
   
   ((Reference for a preliminary ruling - Directive 2001/23/EC - Articles 3 to 5 - Transfers of undertakings - Safeguarding of employees’ rights - Exceptions - Insolvency proceedings - ‘Pre-pack’ - Survival of an undertaking))
   (2017/C 277/20)
   Language of the case: Dutch
   
      Referring court
   
   Rechtbank Midden-Nederland
   
      Parties to the main proceedings
   
   
      Applicants: Federatie Nederlandse Vakvereniging, Karin van den Burg-Vergeer, Lyoba Tanja Alida Kukupessy, Danielle Paase-Teeuwen, Astrid Johanna Geertruda Petronelle Schenk
   
      Defendant: Smallsteps BV
   
      Operative part of the judgment
   
   Directive 2001/23/EC of 12 March 2001 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 undertakings or businesses, and in particular Article 5(1) thereof, must be interpreted as meaning that the protection of workers guaranteed by Articles 3 and 4 of that directive applies in a situation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, in which the transfer of an undertaking takes place following a declaration of insolvency and in the context of a ‘pre-pack’ where that ‘pre-pack’ is prepared before the declaration of insolvency and put into effect immediately after that declaration, and, in particular, a court-appointed prospective insolvency administrator investigates the possibilities for continuation of the activities of that undertaking by a third party and prepares for acts which must be carried out shortly after the insolvency to enable such continuation and, moreover, it is irrelevant in that regard that the ‘pre-pack’ is also aimed at maximising the proceeds of the transfer for all the creditors of the undertaking in question.
   
      (1)  OJ C 165, 10.5.2016.