ECJ Council Directive 80/987 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the protection of employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer is to be interpreted as applying to all employees, other than those in the categories listed in the Annex thereto, whose employers may, under the applicable national law, be made subject to proceedings involving their assets in order to satisfy collectively the claims of creditors. The fact that the directive thus protects only employees faced with a situation in which their employer is insolvent in accordance with that definition is not such as to call into question its validity in the light of the principle of equal treatment. In the first place, in the exercise of the powers conferred on them by Article 100 of the Treaty, the Community institutions must be recognized as having a discretion in particular with regard to the possibility of proceeding towards harmonization only in stages, given the specific nature of the field in which coordination is sought and the difficulties involved in any harmonization. In addition, it undoubtedly constitutes a further step towards providing improved working conditions and an improved standard of living for workers throughout the Community and towards the gradual harmonization of laws in the field for a system of guarantees previously available, in differing forms, in some Member States to be extended to all the Member States. Finally, in the light of the difficulties inherent in the very concept of insolvency which the harmonization was intended to overcome, the objective criterion used to define the persons entitled to protection under that system is justified.
C-479/93, [1995] IRLR 355, [1995] EUECJ C-479/93, [1995] ICR 722
Bailii
European
Cited by:
Cited – Spencer v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Moore v Similar CA 1-Jul-2008
Frankovich claim – arises with measurable loss
Each claimant sought Frankovich damages alleging a failure to implement European law leading to a loss.
Held: Such a claim was available against the government after it had failed to implement the Directive so as to provide them with the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Employment, Insolvency
Leading Case
Updated: 01 November 2021; Ref: scu.161250
