Acquiring ‘Revised’ Rights?: Council Proposal to Revise the Acquired Rights Directive
| Author | R.W. Painter,S.T. Hardy |
| Date | 01 March 1996 |
| Published date | 01 March 1996 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1023263X9600300103 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
R.W. Painter"
S.T. Hardy "
Acquiring 'Revised' Rights?
Council Proposal to revise the Acquired Rights
Directive 1
For
some time now the 1977 ED Acquired Rights Directive (ARD) has not only
attracted much criticism from Member States' governments, but also suffered from a
barrage of rulings from the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Consequently, the
Commission has decided to revise the Directive.
This paper examines the content of the revised Directive. It assesses the effects of the
proposed revisions, as well as the views of the Commission, Member States, the social
partners and the
ED's
institutions. In particular, it analyzes the British response. More
significantly, this paper will analyze how this piece of revised legislation advances ED
Social Policy, if at all.
§1. Background
By 1972, there was an emerging view amongst the heads of government of the Member
States that the Community should adopt a policy of more rigorous action in the social
field. This led to the Social Action Programme which was adopted by the Council of
Ministers in 1974. However, as Davies asserts
the argument for a social policy was still one that made social policy subor-
dinate to economic goals, but it was now accepted that economic growth
through closer European integration would require the support of a Com-
munity social policy, both to ensure that the benefits of growth were
*Professor, Institute of Industrial and Commercial Law, Staffordshire University (UK).
** Research Scholar, Institute of Industrial and Commercial Law, Staffordshire University (UK).
1. (77/187/EEC) COM (94) 300 Final.
MJ 3 (1996) 35
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