Under German law, works councils have so-called co-determination rights on certain subjects. This means that an employer must reach an agreement with the works council on these matters, such as rules and policies for employee conduct. Works council co-determination is, however, excluded if there are binding and final statutory provisions dealing with a certain matter. …
Tag Archive: co-determination
Co-determination right if the employer sets up and operates a Twitter account
In a judgment dated 13 September 2018 the Higher Labour Court of Hamburg (docket number 2 TaBV 5/18) ruled that if the employer operates a Twitter account, at least on the basis of the reply function, the (general) works council has a co-determination right according to section 87 para. 1 no. 6 Works Council Constitution Act (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz). The …
Obligation to provide the works council with salary data does not allow for anonymized lists
Under the Works Constitution Act, the works council has a right to access information regarding the gross salary of employees. Such information is provided to the works council in form of a chart including relevant compensation details. In a case decided by the Higher Regional Labour Court of North Rhine Westphalia – Hamm – (judgment …
Restructuring of a business in Germany – an overview
Where restructuring measures comprising collective redundancies become necessary, the employer must fulfil a number of legal requirements to successfully implement such measures. While it is sometimes tempting to implement the necessary restructuring in a way that ignores the various legal requirements (e.g. co-determination of the works council etc.), there are only exceptional situations in which …
The Works Council’s right of co-determination regarding the Employer’s Facebook presence
The German Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht) decided on 13 December 2016 that the Works Council has a right of co-determination when the employer’s Facebook page allows other users to post comments, which are related to the behaviour and performance of the employees. The employer operates a blood donor service. The doctors working at the blood …
Co-determination of the works council concerning Facebook presence of the employer
The Federal Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG) decided on 13 December 2016 (docket number: 1 ABR 7/15) that the works council has a right of co-determination if an employer launches a Facebook page and allows Facebook users to publish posts on his Facebook page which refer to the behavior or performance of individual employees. The employer …
No right of the works council to remove a managing director
The works council has no right to have the company´s managing director removed, the Higher Labour Court Hamm (Landesarbeitsgericht Hamm, docket number 7 TaBV 11/16) ruled on 2 August 2016. The works council had claimed to remove the managing director of the employer pursuant to sec. 104 of the Works Constitution Act (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz, BetrVG). …
Instructions about phone use require prior consultation of Works Council
On 18 November 2015, the Labour Court (Arbeitsgericht, ArbG) Munich (November 18, 2015 – docket-number: 9 BV-Ga 52/15) decided that an employer must consult the works council prior to establishing and enforcing a ban on private mobile phone use. In this decision the works council (plaintiff) argued that a ban of mobile phones at the …
Fake camera in the workplace – No co – determination right for works council
The works council does not have a co-determination right where the employer installs a fake security camera on the premises. This question was subject to a decision issued by the higher labour court Mecklenburg-Vorpommern dated 12 November 2014, docket number 3 TaBV 5/14. The employer, a clinic, had installed a fake camera at the back …
Gender quota in boardrooms from 2016
At the beginning of this month, German lawmakers passed a law requiring companies to give 30 per cent of seats on a supervisory board to women as of next year. It is intended to increase this quota to 50% from 2018 onwards. The new rules apply to listed companies with a co-determined supervisory board, ie …
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