Transfer of undertakings and the right of objection from a Portuguese vantage point

Abstract

This article seeks to analyse the right of the employee to object to her employment contract being transferred to a new employer (transferee) under the framework of the transfer of undertakings. I will first address the terms, basis, and consequences of the right of objection in accordance with the Portuguese Labour law amendment of 2018. Subsequently, I will show how that right is already being divergently interpreted by the national courts. In conclusion, I will argue that despite the fact that the Portuguese final legal outcome restricted, or sought to restrict, the right of objection to the existence of motives to do so, and regardless of the intense debate in both the doctrine and jurisprudence around it, the social and legal benefits that are inherent to the model will not be outweighed. In fact, the legal enshrinement of the right of objection in Portugal has had a significant impact on the protection of fundamental employment rights.