‘Entrepreneurial Freedom Versus Employee Rights’: the Acquired Rights Directive and EU Social Policy Post-Amsterdam

Abstract

In attempting to reconcile the objectives of both employment security and labour market flexibility, the 1977 Acquired Rights Directive (ARD) represents the type of social legislation championed in the Treaty of Amsterdam. This article discusses the 20-year history of this Directive in order to examine some of the problems which arise when policy is driven by economic and social objectives which may be mutually inconsistent. In particular, we consider whether the continuing legal confusion associated with this Directive can be, in part, attributed to the conflict between these objectives. This examination concentrates particularly upon the impact of the ARD upon the attempts by EU Member States Government, particularly Britain, attempts to impose market-based reforms upon the public provision of services.