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.
Article 137 (6, 7, 9)
If there is a statutory business transfer, a new employer takes over all employees and their employment contracts, including all rights and obligations associated with these contracts with the previous employer. Previous employers are obliged to inform employees, the works council and the new employer of all employees’ employment contracts which the new employer will take over in writing before the day of the statutory business transfer.
The notice shall contain data on:
The measures may concern training, upskilling, requalification and/or other specific measures for employees with special needs. If the business transfer is done within a bankruptcy process or business rehabilitation, employees' rights transferred to the new employer can be reduced in accordance with special regulations, collective agreements or agreements between the works council and the employer. Reducing employees' rights only applies in special cases, that is in the event of bankruptcy and liquidation of the business activity.
Article 137, paragraph 13 of the Labor Act (OG, 93/14, 127/17 and 98/19) stipulates that if a company, a part of a company, an economic activity or a part of an economic activity is transferred to a new employer, the new employer jointly and severally with the employer who transfers the company, part of the company, performance of economic activity or part of economic activity (hereinafter, the old employer), is responsible for the obligations towards the workers incurred up to the date of transfer. Furthermore, the employer should keep the documentation about the workers that he has collected for the duration of the worker's employment contract with him in accordance with a special regulation. A special regulation, namely the Act on Archival Materials and Archives (OG 61/18 and 98/19) applies to the handling of documentation.
Bearing in mind the above, the Ministry of Labor, Pension System, Family and Social Policy issued the opinion that joint and several liability also existed in relation to the handling of documentation collected by the old employer up to the time of takeover, and it refers to the personal data of workers whose employment contracts were transferred to the new employer.
Employees whose employment contract has been transferred retain all rights arising from the employment relationship and acquired until the date of transfer. The purpose of this provision is to preserve the continuity of employment and all employees' rights in the current employment contract, including the ban on terminating contracts due to the transfer of economic activities to a new employer.
Eurofound (2015), Croatia: Staff information and consultation on business transfers, Restructuring legislation database, Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/legislationdb/staff-information-and-consultation-on-business-transfers/croatia
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