European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
Eurofound's ERM database on restructuring-related legal regulations provides information on regulations in the Member States of the European Union and Norway which are explicitly or implicitly linked to anticipating and managing change.
Employment Contracts Act: paragraph 112; Law of Obligations Act: paragraphs 180-182
A definition of business transfer can be found in paragraph 180 of the Law of Obligations Act, which states that the transferor of an enterprise or transfer of part of enterprise (paragraph 185) may undertake to transfer the enterprise to the transferee on the basis of a contract with the transferee. An enterprise may also be transferred pursuant to law. An enterprise comprises the things, rights and obligations relating to and in the service of the management of the enterprise, including contracts relating to the enterprise.
Paragraph 112 of the Employment Contracts Act states that in the event of a business transfer, employment contracts (permanent as well as fixed-term) shall be transferred to the new owner in their original form along with the business, as long as the business continues to operate in the same or a similar economic activity as before. Similarly, according to paragraph 182 of the Law of Obligations Act, obligations concerning the employees (with whom employment contracts have been concluded) that are laid out in the employment contracts are transferred to the new owner of the business in the event of an acquisition. Also, according to the Collective Agreements Act paragraph 11 section 4 states that upon the transfer of an enterprise or an organisationally independent part thereof from one person to another, the relevant collective agreement shall be transferred to the transferee of the enterprise. For the purposes of this Act, business entities which do not belong to an undertaking, and authorities and other organisations are also deemed to be enterprises.
According to the Employment Contracts Act, a business transfer does not warrant sufficient cause to dismiss employees. However, this provision does not apply if the employer is in a state of insolvency.
No information available.
Eurofound (2016), Estonia: Employment protection in relation to business transfers, Restructuring legislation database, Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/legislationdb/employment-protection-in-relation-to-business-transfers/estonia
Between the end of 2022 and the first half of 2023, almost 300,000 employees working for ‘big tech’ companies were laid off across the world, making headlines for months in global media. This development has been a shock, considering the high numbers of jobs in well-known tech corporations with a reputation for offering good working conditions and well-paid positions.
The retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions. Many banks in the sector have been undergoing serial restructuring since the global financial crisis, and it is one of the few service sectors with stagnant or declining employment.
Since 2011, the Restructuring support instruments database of the EU PolicyWatch has been collecting information on measures that assist companies and workers to anticipate and manage restructuring. This article looks at measures in the database aimed at supporting employees and employers during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022).
Eurofound’s European Restructuring Monitor database reveals the impact of the energy crisis on employment in the EU. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, energy prices have hit record highs. The European Commission imposed sanctions and limitations on the import of oil and gas from Russia, which has reacted by reneging on supply commitments to many Member States.
