CJEU Case C-338/17 / Judgment

Virginie Marie Gabrielle Guigo v Fond 'Garantirani vzemania na rabotnitsite i sluzhitelite'.
Policy area
Employment and social policy
Deciding body type
Court of Justice of the European Union
Deciding body
Court (Seventh Chamber
Type
Decision
Decision date
25/07/2018
ECLI (European case law identifier)
ECLI:EU:C:2018:605

Charte des droits fondamentaux de l'Union européenne

  • CJEU Case C-338/17 / Judgment

    Key facts of the case:

    Reference for a preliminary ruling — Social policy — Protection of employees in the event of employer’s insolvency — Directive 2008/94/EC — Articles 3 and 4 — Employees’ claims borne by guarantee institutions — Limitation on the liability of guarantee institutions — Exclusion of wage claims arising over three months prior to the entry in the commercial register of the judicial decision initiating insolvency proceedings.

    Outcome of the case:

    On those grounds, the Court (Seventh Chamber) hereby rules:

    Directive 2008/94/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2008 on the protection of employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation, such as Article 4(1) of the Zakon za garantiranite vzemania na rabotnitsite i sluzhitelite pri nesastoyatelnost na rabotodatelia (Law on employees’ guaranteed claims in the event of the employer’s insolvency), which does not guarantee the wage claims of employees whose employment relationship ended more than three months prior to the entry in the commercial register of the judicial decision initiating insolvency proceedings in respect of their employer.

  • Paragraphs referring to EU Charter

    1) This request for a preliminary ruling concerns the interpretation of Articles 151 and 153 TFEU, Article 20 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’), Articles 3, 4, 11 and 12 of Directive 2008/94/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2008 on the protection of employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer (OJ 2008 L 283, p. 36), and the principles of procedural autonomy, equivalence, effectiveness and proportionality.

    ...

    23) Lastly, the referring court states that it entertains doubts as to the compatibility with Article 20 of the Charter of the difference in treatment of employees who are entitled to the protection of their outstanding claims, depending on whether Article 358(1)(3) of the Employment Code or Article 4(1) of the Law on employees’ guaranteed claims applies, and depending on whether or not the employer is solvent.

    24) In those circumstances, the Varhoven administrativen sad (Supreme Administrative Court) decided to stay the proceedings and to refer the following questions to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling: 

    1. Are Articles 151 and 153 TFEU and Articles 3, 4, 11 and 12 of Directive [2008/94] to be interpreted as permitting a national provision such as Article 4(1) of the [Law on employees’ guaranteed claims], under which persons whose employment was terminated prior to the three-month period provided for before registration of the decision initiating insolvency proceedings in respect of the employer are excluded from the protection of outstanding wage claims?
    2. If the first question is answered affirmatively, is the procedural autonomy of the Member States, in the light of the principles of equivalence, effectiveness and proportionality in the context of the social objective underpinning Articles 151 and 153 TFEU and Directive 2008/94, to be construed as permitting a national measure, such as Article 25 of the [Law on employees’ guaranteed claims], which provides that, on expiry of a period of two months from the date of registration of the judicial decision initiating insolvency proceedings, the rights to assert and obtain satisfaction of guaranteed claims are extinguished if the domestic law of the Member State contains a provision, such as Article 358(1)(3) of the Employment Code, under which the period for asserting outstanding wage claims is three years from the date on which the claim ought to have been met and payments made after expiry of this period are not deemed to have been made without a legal basis?
    3. Is Article 20 of the [Charter] to be interpreted as permitting such a distinction to be made, on the one hand, between employees with outstanding claims whose employment was terminated before the three-month period before registration of the judicial decision initiating insolvency proceedings in respect of the employer and employees whose employment was terminated during the three-month period laid down and, on the other hand, between those employees and employees who, under Article 358(1)(3) of the Employment Code, are entitled on the termination of their employment to protection of their outstanding claims during a period of three years commencing at the time when the claim ought to have been met?
    4. Is Article 4, read with Article 3, of Directive 2008/94 and with the principle of proportionality, to be interpreted as permitting a provision, such as Article 25 of the [Law on employees’ guaranteed claims], under which the rights to assert and to obtain satisfaction of guaranteed claims are automatically extinguished, without any possibility of an individual assessment of the relevant factors, on expiry of a two-month period from the date of registration of the judicial decision initiating insolvency proceedings?’
  • Paragraphs referring to EU Charter (original language)