During two decades of intensive economic globalisation, business firms in nearly every country have undergone mergers, acquisitions, sales, reductions in the workforce, plant closures, and other forms of restructuring. Many legal issues of critical importance to employers arise in the course of such transactions and activities.
This book offers clear comparative legal analysis of these issues, derived from the labour and employment law of 12 major trading jurisdictions: Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chile, England and Wales, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Mexico, Spain, Sweden and the United States.
The emphasis throughout is on answers to practical questions, such as the following:
Is a purchasing company required to hire some or all of the employees of a target business?Can the purchaser pick and choose which employees are transferred or hired?Is a purchaser required to assume a target company¿s collective bargaining agreement?What is the nature and timing of notices required of purchasers?Can an acquisition, closure, or reduction in force be delayed by a strike or other industrial action?Can a company dismiss any or all employees at a facility it wants to close?
How questions like these are answered in each of the 12 countries is spelled out in detail by panels of outstanding practitioners from each of the jurisdictions.
The chapters in this book were developed by the 22 authors from a set of more theoretical papers delivered at a full-day session presented by Committee P (the Employment and Industrial Relations Law Committee of the section on Business Law) at the October 2002 annual conference of the International Bar Association in Durban, South Africa.
Business leaders and their counsel would do well to consult this valuable book before they take any significant restructuring action in any of these 12 countries.
List of Contributors, Case Study
Chapter One Business
Restructuring Issues in Argentina
Federico Brandt Chapter Two
Business Restructuring Issues in Belgium
Marcel Houben and Chris Van Olmen
Chapter Three Acquisition, Disposal and Closure Issues in Canada
David L. Brisbin Chapter Four Labour Issues in Connection with
Business Restructuring in the Republic of Chile
Marcelo Montero and Ignacio
Concha-Vial Chapter Five Business Restructuring Issues in England
and Wales
Raymond Jeffers and Tim Johnson Chapter Six Business
Restructuring Issues in France
Joel Grange and Pascale Lagesse
Chapter Seven Business Restructuring Issues in Germany
Gerlind
Wisskirchen and Werner Walk Chapter Eight Business Restructuring
Issues in Luxembourg
René Diederich Chapter Nine Business
Restructuring Issues in Mexico
Oscar de la Vega and Pilar Tortolero
Chapter Ten Business Restructuring Issues in Spain
Salvador del Rey and
Juan Bonilla Chapter Eleven Business Restructuring Issues in Sweden
Anders Nordström and Mikael Nelson Chapter Twelve Business
Restructuring Issues in The United States
Robert J. Mignin, Joshua L.
Ditelberg and Jeffrey C. Kauffman
