Collective Redundancies: CJEU rules on employer retirement

In a ruling issued last week the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU/ECJ) clarified that the collective redundancies directive applies when an employer retires, unlike when they pass away. The Court was ruling on a Spanish law which disapplied the Directive on the retirement of a “natural person employer”. The CJEU found this did not conform with the Directive.

Why it matters: The Court said that a Spanish law which disapplied the Collective Redundancies Directive on the retirement of a “natural person employer” was not in conformity with the Directive. It highlights that retired employers are still capable of conducting consultations and mitigating the consequences of their retirement. Workers' representatives and competent authorities must be involved in the consultation process for collective redundancies.

The big picture: The main objective of the Collective Redundancies Directive is to ensure fair and transparent procedures for collective redundancies, including prior consultation and notification. This ruling reinforces the importance of these procedures and the involvement of workers' representatives.

The bottom line: Retired employers are not exempt from consulting with workers and mitigating the effects of collective redundancies. Compliance with the Collective Redundancies Directive is crucial to ensure a fair and lawful process for all parties involved.