Suciu Popa has successfully represented Hidroelectrica S.A in a class action lawsuit initiated by 3,000 employees concerning certain rights claimed under the collective bargaining agreement.
According to Suciu Popa, the Bucharest Court of Appeal set an important precedent in the matter of collective bargaining agreement clauses regarding certain benefits, holding that such clauses do not grant absolute rights to the beneficiaries, regardless of the actual circumstances of the claim.
"The case is noteworthy both in terms of value of the dispute and of solving a significant legal problem," Suciu Popa reports, "[clarifying] that, under collective bargaining agreements, employees gain a general entitlement to the payment of a specific benefit, and not an actual receivable against the employer. Thus, an employee's right to be paid the relevant benefit arises at the date when the respective employee requests payment of the benefit, and [it] is exercised in accordance with the law applicable at that date."
Suciu Popa Partner Cleopatra Leahu explained that “this decision sets a standard of normality for labor law jurisprudence, [with] the court confirming the correctness of the management decisions made by our client in relation to employees, as well as the fact that general principles of law, traditionally applied in other fields, such as distribution of dividends by companies, are also fully applicable in the labor law field.”
Last year, Suciu Popa also successfully represented Hidroelectrica in two court cases involving claims of over EUR 2 million made by an equipment provider as reported by CEE Legal Matters on March 26, 2018.
The Suciu Popa team in this most recent matter consisted of Partner Cleopatra Leahu and Managing Associate Daciana Popa.
