BL v Dr. A, en qualité de mandataire liquidateur de Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter mbH.

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Court: Court of Justice (European Union)
• Writing for the Court: Arastey Sahún
• ECLI: ECLI:EU:C:2025:840
• Docket Number: C-402/24
• Date: 30 October 2025
• Procedure Type: Reference for a preliminary ruling

Provisional text

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Fifth Chamber)

30 October 2025 (*)

( Reference for a preliminary ruling – Social policy – Directive 98/59/EC – Collective redundancies – First subparagraph of Article 3(1) – Incorrect or incomplete notification of the projected collective redundancies to the competent public authority – First subparagraph of Article 4(1) – 30-day standstill period – Validity of the redundancies – Article 6 – Penalties )

In Case C‑402/24 [Sewel], (i)

REQUEST for a preliminary ruling under Article 267 TFEU from the Bundesarbeitsgericht (Federal Labour Court, Germany), made by decision of 23 May 2024, received at the Court on 10 June 2024, in the proceedings

BL

v

Dr A, acting as insolvency practitioner for Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter mbH,

THE COURT (Fifth Chamber),

composed of M.L. Arastey Sahún (Rapporteur), President of the Chamber, J. Passer, E. Regan, D. Gratsias and B. Smulders, Judges,

Advocate General: R. Norkus,

Registrar: A. Calot Escobar,

having regard to the written procedure,

after considering the observations submitted on behalf of:

– BL, by M. Posner and M. Stickler-Posner, Rechtsanwälte,

– the Greek Government, by V. Baroutas and M. Tassopoulou, acting as Agents,

– the European Commission, by S. Delaude and B.‑R. Killmann, acting as Agents,

having decided, after hearing the Advocate General, to proceed to judgment without an Opinion,

gives the following

Judgment

1 This request for a preliminary ruling concerns the interpretation of Articles 3, 4 and 6 of Council Directive 98/59/EC of 20 July 1998 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to collective redundancies (OJ 1998 L 225, p. 16), as amended by Directive (EU) 2015/1794 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 October 2015 (OJ 2015 L 263, p. 1) (‘Directive 98/59’).

2 The request has been made in the proceedings between BL and Dr A, acting as insolvency practitioner for Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter mbH, concerning the validity of BL’s dismissal, occurring in the context of collective redundancies.

Legal context

European Union law

3 Recitals 2 and 12 of Directive 98/59 state:

‘(2) Whereas it is important that greater protection should be afforded to workers in the event of collective redundancies while taking into account the need for balanced economic and social development within the Community;

…

(12) Whereas Member States should ensure that workers’ representatives and/or workers have at their disposal administrative and/or judicial procedures in order to ensure that the obligations laid down in this Directive are fulfilled’.

4 Article 1(1) of that directive provides:

‘For the purposes of this Directive:

(a) “collective redundancies” means dismissals effected by an employer for one or more reasons not related to the individual workers concerned where, according to the choice of the Member States, the number of redundancies is:

(i) either, over a period of 30 days:

…

– at least 30 in establishments normally employing 300 workers or more,

(ii) or, over a period of 90 days, at least 20, whatever the number of workers normally employed in the establishments in question;

…’

5 Article 2 of the directive provides:

‘1. Where an employer is contemplating collective redundancies, he shall begin consultations with the workers’ representatives in good time with a view to reaching an agreement.

2. These consultations shall, at least, cover ways and means of avoiding collective redundancies or reducing the number of workers affected, and of mitigating the consequences by recourse to accompanying social measures aimed, inter alia, at aid for redeploying or retraining workers made redundant.

Member States may provide that the workers’ representatives may call on the services of experts in accordance with national legislation and/or practice.

3. To enable workers’ representatives to make constructive proposals, the employers shall in good time during the course of the consultations:

(a) supply them with all relevant information and

(b) in any event notify them in writing of:

(i) the reasons for the projected redundancies;

(ii) the number and categories of workers to be made redundant;

(iii) the number and categories of workers normally employed;

(iv) the period over which the projected redundancies are to be effected;

(v) the criteria proposed for the selection of the workers to be made redundant in so far as national legislation and/or practice confers the power therefor upon the employer;

…

The employer shall forward to the competent public authority a copy of, at least, the elements of the written communication which are provided for in the first subparagraph, point (b), subpoints (i) to (v).’

6 The first and fourth subparagraphs of Article 3(1) of that directive provide:

‘Employers shall notify the competent public authority in writing of any projected collective redundancies.

…

This notification shall contain all relevant information concerning the projected collective redundancies and the consultations with workers’ representatives provided for in Article 2, and particularly the reasons for the redundancies, the number of workers to be made redundant, the number of workers normally employed and the period over which the redundancies are to be effected.’

7 According to Article 4(1) and (2) of Directive 98/59:

‘1. Projected collective redundancies notified to the competent public authority shall take effect not earlier than 30 days after the notification referred to in Article 3(1) without prejudice to any provisions governing individual rights with regard to notice of dismissal.

Member States may grant the competent public authority the power to reduce the period provided for in the preceding subparagraph.

2. The period provided for in paragraph 1 shall be used by the competent public authority to seek solutions to the problems raised by the projected collective redundancies.’

8 Under Article 6 of that directive:

‘Member States shall ensure that judicial and/or administrative procedures for the enforcement of obligations under this Directive are available to the workers’ representatives and/or workers.’

German law

The Civil Code

9 According to Paragraph 134(1) of the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (Civil Code):

‘Any legal act contrary to a statutory prohibition shall be void except as otherwise provided by law.’

Law on protection against dismissal

10 Paragraph 4 of the Kündigungsschutzgesetz (Law on protection against dismissal), in the version applicable to the case in the main proceedings (‘the KSchG’), provides:

‘Where a worker wishes to challenge a dismissal because it is socially unjustified or otherwise legally ineffective, he or she must bring an action before the [Arbeitsgericht (Labour Court, Germany)] within three weeks of receiving written notice of the dismissal in order to seek a finding that the dismissal has not ended the employment relationship. …’

11 According to Paragraph 17 of the KSchG:

‘(1) The employer is under an obligation to notify the employment agency before it makes redundant:

…

2. in establishments normally employing at least 60 workers and less than 500 workers, 10% of the workers normally employed in the establishment, or more than 25 workers,

…

over a period of 30 calendar days. …

…

(3) … The notification referred to in subparagraph 1 shall be given in writing and shall enclose the observations of the works council on the redundancies. If the works council has not made any observations, the notification shall be valid if the employer can demonstrate that the works council was notified at least two weeks prior to the notification given in accordance with the first sentence of subparagraph 2 and sets out the stage reached in consultations. The notification must include information on the name of the employer, the registered office and type of establishment, as well as the reasons for the projected redundancies, the number and professional categories of workers to be made redundant, the number of workers normally employed, the period over which it is planned to carry out the redundancies and the criteria for selecting the workers to be made redundant. The notification shall also include, for the purposes of job placement and in agreement with the works council, information on the sex, age, profession and nationality of the workers to be made redundant. …’

12 Paragraph 18(1) and (2) of the KSchG reads as follows:

‘(1) Redundancies which must be notified under Paragraph 17 may take effect less than one month after the employment agency has received the notification only with the latter’s consent; consent may be given with retroactive effect up to the date of the application.

(2) In certain cases, the employment agency may decide that the redundancies shall take effect not earlier than at most two months after receipt of the notification.’

13 Article 20(1) of the KSchG provides:

‘The decisions of the employment agency pursuant to Paragraph 18(1) and (2) shall be made by its management or a committee (decision-maker). …’

Book III of the Social Security Code

14 Under Paragraph 2(3) of the Drittes Buch des Sozialgesetzbuches (Book III of the Social Security Code), in the version applicable to the dispute in the main proceedings (‘the SGB III’):

‘Employers shall inform the employment agencies at an early stage of any operational changes that may have an impact on employment. This includes in particular notifications about

…

(4) projected reductions in or relocations of operations and the associated effects and

(5) plans as to how dismissals of employees can be avoided or transitions to other employment relationships can be organised.’

15 Article 38 of the SGB III provides:

‘(1) Persons whose … employment relationship ends shall undertake to register as jobseekers with the employment agency at least three months before the end of the employment relationship, stating their personal details and the date of termination of the … employment...