Anställningen vid verksamhetsövergång (The Employment in the Event of Transfer of Undertaking)

When Sweden in 1995 became a member of the European Union, Swedish labour legislation was enacted on the safeguarding of employees’ rights in the event of transfer of undertaking. These Swedish rules and regulations are examined. EU law and national law form two parallel systems, which between themselves arrange the legal sources hierarchically, and, as a result of that, the Member States have transferred both legislative and adjudication competences to the institutions of the European Union. Therefore also EU legislation must be noted, especially Council Directive 2001/23/EC and its predecessor Counsil Directive 77/187/EEC, the 1977 and 2001 transfer of undertakings directive, and the case law concerning these directives.

The main examination of substantive law deals with the question when the implementation rules of the transfer of undertakings directive are applicable and, to some extent, the legal effects of the applicability of the directive. The overall question concerning the directive's applicability is divided into three sub-questions. The first sub-question examines the objects that are covered by the directive and the forms of transfer to which the directive is applicable. the second sub-question concerns the significance of retained identity under the directive, and the third deals with the legal effects of the directive's rules.

Automatic transfer of employment is quite new and therefore focussed as well as the provisions on prohibition of dismissals and on continuation of employment of the transferee.