This book presents the results of a study of workers’ rights during company takeover situations in Europe. Takeovers are extremely important for workers because a change in ownership frequently leads to restructuring in the firm, including replacement of management, changed working conditions, increased work intensity and/or mass redundancies. It is therefore crucial that workers have strong rights to receive timely and full information about the planned takeover and to intervene at an early stage of the takeover process to protect their interests. The major conclusion of the book is that the EU Takeover Bids Directive needs to be revised, as it does not provide an adequate level of workers’ rights in its current form.

The study was carried out by the ETUI’s GOODCORP network of academic and trade union experts on corporate governance and company law. The book includes case studies of takeovers as well as analyses of national legal frameworks regulating takeovers and of transversal issues related to takeovers. The book is the first in a new ETUI book series on workers’ rights in company law.

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Table of contents

Full text

Jan Cremers and Sigurt Vitols: Introduction

Blanaid Clarke: Chapter 1 - The role of employees in the Takeover Bids Directive

Hans Schenk: Chapter 2 - The Takeover Bids Directive's flawed economics jeopardises our wealth

Andrew Pendleton: Chapter 3 - The employment effects of takeovers

Séverine Picard: Chapter 4 - European company law and the Takeover Bids Directive - The need for a change

Helmut Gahleitner: Chapter 5 - The Austrian Takeover Act - an instrument for worker participation?

Guy van Gyes: Chapter 6 - Information and consultation rights of employee representatives in Belgium in public takeovers

Laura Horn: Chapter 7 - Worker participation rights under the EU Takeover Bids Directive: a deviant Danish case

Maria Jauhiainen: Chapter 8 - Takeovers in Finland: the case of SSAB' bid for Rautaruukki

Udo Rehfeldt: Chapter 9 - Worker participation rights under the EU Takeover Bids Directive: the case of France

Christos A. Ioannou: Chapter 10 - Worker involvement and the EU Takeover Bids Directive in the Greek banking crisis

Kevin P. O'Kelly: Chapter 11 - Implementation of the Takeover Bids Directive in Ireland

Robbert van het Kaar and Jan Cremers: Chapter 12 - Implementation of the Takeover Bids Directive in the Netherlands

Bernard Johann Mulder: Chapter 13 - Worker involvement during a public takeover: the case of Norway

Janja Hojnik: Chapter 14 - An analysis of worker involvement rights under the Slovenian Takeover Act

Erik Sjödin: Chapter 15 - Worker involvement and the EU Takeover Bids Directive: the Swedish case

Georgina Tsagas: Chapter 16 - Worker involvement and the EU takeover Bids Directive: the case of the United Kingdom

Jan Cremers and Sigurt Vitols: Conclusion - An analysis of workers' rights under the EU directive on takeover bids