European information and consultation in business sales: comparative guide

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European information and consultation in business sales: comparative guide

08 April 2022

Difficult employment issues can arise during an international business purchase and what is straightforward in one country can prove challenging in another. Our new cross-border tool provides a quick reference guide to the employee information and consultation requirements that apply in the context of a business sale involving European jurisdictions and the potential implications for a deal’s timetable. The guide is colour-coded by reference to the complexity of the requirements in each jurisdiction and the potential consequences of failing to comply.

If a deal involves businesses in several different countries, project managers may not be familiar with the implications of local law for the deal as a whole. Our experience shows that this is particularly the case where deals involve European jurisdictions.

Our comparative guide to information and consultation on business sales will guide you through the key issues in asset and share sales, including:

How employees transfer to a purchaser;
Employee information and consultation requirements, including whether consultation has to take place before signing or before completion and how to facilitate pre-signing consultation requirements;
Typical timescales for information and consultation; and
The potential consequences of failing to comply with employee consultation requirements.

Next steps

The issues surrounding employee information and consultation are complex and can be politically sensitive. Clients can keep up to date with the current position by accessing our employee information and consultation guide.

Authored by Jo Broadbent and Ed Bowyer.