Eversheds International

International Employment Law

Transfers of undertaking across Europe

The challenge for employers

"Since its introduction, the Acquired Rights Directive and the respective national implementing legislation have given rise to complex legal issues. Starting with the assessment of whether or not a transfer occurs through to practical difficulties as to how to transfer certain benefits such as pensions, share option schemes or group wide bonus schemes, case law has often given rise to just as many new questions as it has answered. An extra layer of complexity is added when a transfer occurs across borders and two or more legal systems are involved."
Owen Warnock, Partner

How we can help

Transfers of undertaking pose particular challenges: some clients will not be aware of the concept at all, others will bring with them their own understanding based on their country's implementation of the Acquired Rights Directive. Our team's experiences of multi-jurisdictional projects allow us to quickly identify the different approaches of European jurisdictions and to focus on how to deal with transfers in practice.