EU: an ECJ ruling states that employees transferred are to retain their earlier working conditions, as concluded under their terminated collective agreements

Judges in the European Court of Justice ruled that the transferred employees are to be covered by the working conditions of the collective agreement terminated before the transfert but yet applicable as a result of the“after-effect” provision . This ruling clarifies an area of doubt that existed around the Directive 2001/23 over company transfers since the Directive only provides for the maintenance of the working conditions specified in the transferor’s collective agreement until its termination.
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The facts. Austrian Airlines cost-cutting plans included transferring one of its activities to an entity with a less generous collective agreement. The company terminated the more generous collective agreement in operation at the other entity. The unions went to court to claim maintenance of the application of the former collective agreement. Austrian labor law says ‘the legal effects of the collective agreement shall continue after its termination, in respect of employment relationships which

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