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.
Case law only; applicable to establishments and workers covered by article 1 of the Employment Protection Act (Kündigungsschutzgesetz)
Following labour court rulings (see sources below), workers hold the right of reemployment if they are covered by the Employment Protection Act (Kündigungsschutzgesetz, KSchG) and if it can be shown that he/she was dismissed on grounds of wrong or outdated projections of future business developments. Workers have to file complaints for reemployment within the statutory time of dismissal protection (up to seven months depending on the tenure). The regulations only apply to employers employing more than 10 workers and to workers who have worked for the establishment for more than six months.
The right of reemployment is only based on case law and not on statutory legislation. A recent ruling by the federal labour court from 2017 endorsed that it only applies to workers covered by the Employment Protection Act.
Eurofound (2015), Germany: Reemployment obligation after restructuring, Restructuring legislation database, Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/legislationdb/reemployment-obligation-after-restructuring/germany
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.
