Compliance with European law

Case 2: The facts

The German government awarded a contract to provide airport security services to a new company. The new contractor used the same equipment as the previous one, which was provided by the government.

Under German case law there is no transfer of assets unless the assets are transferred for use on an “independent commercial basis”, and the European Court of Justice (ECJ) was asked to rule on the meaning of that term.

The ruling

The ECJ held that there is no requirement under European law that any assets that transfer must be for “independent commercial use”. This is not something that is derived from the wording or the purpose of the relevant European Directive, and is not relevant in deciding whether TUPE applies.

Güney-Görres and another v Securicor Aviation and another

C-232/04 and C-233/04 ([2006] IRLR 305)