How a 28th company law regime jeopardises workers' rights
Meyer-Erdmann, Marcus ; Hoffmann, Aline
European Trade Union Institute, Brussels
ETUI - Brussels
2025
11 p.
company law ; workers rights ; workers participation ; European company
ETUI Policy Brief. European Economic, Employment and Social Policy
2025.05
Law
English
Bibliogr.
"Policy recommendations
The European Commission is soon expected to propose a European
company law framework designed specifically for ‘innovative' companies.
The evidence shows that the Achilles heel of a ‘28th company law regime'
is its inevitable impact in areas beyond company law, for example on
labour law, taxation, insolvency and social security.
A new company law framework for ‘innovative' companies must ensure:
• precise, enforceable eligibility criteria to prevent abuses;
• anti-abuse rules that block 'letterbox' setups and the exploitation of
known loopholes;
• dynamic worker participation safeguards that cannot be frozen or
evaded;
• guardrails for any Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) to protect
wages and revenues;
• a registration process that preserves real scrutiny over speed: a onestop digital portal can be built while maintaining necessary checks
and in a realistic verification timeframe using existing instruments.
Fostering innovation in the EU is possible without eroding workers' rights
or regulatory integrity if the relevant measures reflect lessons derived
from existing instruments, develop new instruments and ensure robust
cross-border enforcement."
Digital
ISBN (PDF) : 2031-8782
The ETUI is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the ETUI.