European Labour Law

The vast single labour market of the European Union continues to manifest an ever-increasing interdependence of economies, companies, trade unions and employees, calling once again for an update of Roger Blanpain’s magisterial European Labour Law. This Twelfth Edition remains the preeminent practice guide in its field, covering the full spectrum – legislation, collective agreements, and more than 400 cases – of both individual and collective labour law and practice from the fundamental freedoms to the significance of the Reform Treaty of Lisbon.

Among the abundant new material in the Twelfth Edition the reader will find incisive commentary and analysis of such issues and trends as the following:

• EU action plans regarding equal treatment;
• restructuring of enterprises in relation to collective redundancies, the transfer of enterprises and the insolvency of the employer;
• the increasing impact of international private law;
• new developments in worker health and safety regimes;
• the protection of motherhood in individual employment contracts;
• new concrete measures regarding part-time employment, temporary work, and fixed-term contracts;
• employers’ obligation to inform employees of conditions applicable to the contract of employment relationship;
• the new voluntary agreement on parental leave;
• the recast Directive on European Works Councils of 6 May 2009; and
• workers’ participation in the public limited liability company and the SE.

Recognizing the impact of the EU on labour law and especially the crucial role of the European Court of Justice, the Twelfth Edition updates the book’s case law regarding such important issues as free movement of labour, freedom of services, and equal treatment. It also surveys the possibilities for European-wide collective agreements, as the social dialogue is evaluated against the background of European social realities.

A comprehensive general introduction details how the Community institutions affect labour law, focusing on the legislative process in the EU and its relationship to other international organizations, especially the ILO. Special attention is given to the role of the European social partners – Business Europe, CEEP, UEAPME and the ETUC. In this context the author also elucidates the role of such organs as the Economic and Social Committee and the European Social Fund.

As in previous editions, the Thirteenth Edition includes such user-friendly features as appendices presenting primary texts, a bibliography, an alphabetical list of cited cases from the European Court of Justice, and an index.