Analysis of the Portuguese legal framework concerning the safeguarding of employees' rights in the event of the transfer of an undertaking or an establishment compliance with the directive 2001/23/CE of 12 march 2001.

Abstract

The undertaking, business, or part of an undertaking or business can be transferred to another person or corporation as a result of a merger or a legal transfer, transitory or definitive. As a consequence of the transfer, there is subrogation ex lege of the transferee in the rights and obligations arising from the employment relationship existing on the date of a transfer. This issue is of the utmost importance to accomplish the freedom of the employer negotiate the undertaking and the protection of employees' rights as well. The Portuguese legal framework has been shaped by Directive 77/187/ CEE and subsequently by Directive 2001/23/CE. In this paper, in order to assess the compliance of the legal framework concerning the enshrined in Labor Code with the Directive 2001/23 /CE, it will be performed a comparative analysis between both regulations, which will be coordinated with the case law from the Court of Justice and Portuguese Courts. We will conclude that, apart from some issues, the Portuguese labour law regarding the safeguarding of employees' rights in the event of the transfer of an undertaking complies with the Directive 2001/23 /CE and the case law from the Court of Justice.