What role does the Court of Justice play in relation to the normative model underlying EU labour law? By looking at the Court's approaches to balancing of values underlying the rules on transfer of undertakings, the norms to which the Court adheres are identified. The research clarifies the extent to which the emancipatory dimension of labour law is present in the way the Court interprets the transfer of undertaking directive. In observing the jurisprudential developments in this area of labour law, the author considers the dynamics that influence the Court's decision-making.