Arie Botzen And Others v Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij Bv: ECJ 7 Feb 1985

ECJ Article 3(1) covered the rights and obligations of the transferor arising from a contract of employment or an employment relationship existing on the date of the transfer and entered into with employees who, in order to carry out their duties, are assigned to the part of the undertaking or business transferred
Rotterdamsche . . claims that only employees working full-time or substantially full-time in the transferred part of the undertaking are covered by the transfer of employment relationships, to the exclusion of those engaged in partial tasks in various businesses or parts of businesses and those who, although working for several businesses or parts of businesses, form part of the remaining staff.
On the other hand, the Commission considers that the only decisive criterion regarding the transfer of employees’ rights and obligations is whether or not a transfer takes place of the department to which they were assigned and which formed the organisational framework within which their employment relationship took effect.
The Commission’s view must be upheld. An employment relationship is essentially characterised by the link existing between the employee and the part of the undertaking or business to which he is assigned to carry out his duties. In order to decide whether the rights and obligations under an employment relationship are transferred under Directive 77/187 by reason of a transfer within meaning of article 1(1) thereof, it is therefore sufficient to establish to which part of the undertaking or business the employee was assigned.’

Citations:

C-186/83, R-186/83, [1985] EUECJ R-186/83, [1985] ECR 519

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

European

Cited by:

CitedNorth Wales Training and Enterprise Council Ltd v Astley and others HL 21-Jun-2006
Civil servants had been transferred to a private company. At first they worked under secondment from the civil service. They asserted that they had protection under TUPE and the Acquired Rights Directive. The respondent said that there had only been . .
AppliedDuncan Webb Offset (Maidstone) Ltd v Cooper and Another EAT 15-Jun-1995
A company owned subsidiary companies in the printing industry at Maidstone, Basildon and St Albans. Three employees worked for the group. The Maidstone business was transferred in a transfer to which the 1981 Regulations applied. The three employees . .
CitedKimberley Group Housing Ltd v Hambley and others (UK) Ltd EAT 25-Apr-2008
EAT TRANSFER OF UNDERTAKINGS
The principles and approach which a Tribunal should take where there has been a transfer of one service provider’s activities to two or more transferees, and there is . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Employment

Updated: 21 June 2022; Ref: scu.215288