Information and consultation directive 2002/14/EC

1. Information and Consultation PracticeInformation and Consultation Practice
acrossacross
Europe five years after the EUEurope five years after the EU
DirectiveDirective
Christian WelzChristian Welz
Eurofound – European Foundation for the
Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
www.eurofound.europa.eu

2. TOCTOC
I. Methodology
II. Research objectives
III. Procedures for establishing I&C bodies
IV. Incidence of I&C bodies
V. I&C practice
VI. Relationship between I&C bodies and other
forms of employee voice
VII. Views of the social partners
VIII. Policy Pointers

3. I. MethodologyI. Methodology
• comparative analytical report of EIRO
• structured questionnaire
• 27 national reports & NO
• 1 overview report
University of Warwick (IRRU)
Mark Hall / John Purcell

4. II. Research objectivesII. Research objectives
• assess developments in employee information and
consultation (I&C) across the EU
• 5 years after the implementation of Directive
2002/14/EC
focus is on the extent &
practical experience of I&C rather than legal
implementation

5. III.III. Procedures for establishing I&C bodiesProcedures for establishing I&C bodies
• in some Member States (MS) I&C processes are
mandatory
e.g. AT, BE, FR, LU,NL
• in most cases I&C rights are dependent on
employees or trade unions (TUs) taking the
initiative to trigger the establishment of I&C
arrangements
BG, CZ, DE, ES, GR, HU, IE, IT, PL, SI, UK

6. III.III. Procedures for establishing I&C bodiesProcedures for establishing I&C bodies
• in a minority of MS constitutional provisions are
regulated solely by statute
BG, DE, GR, ES
• others rely on a combination of statutory
requirements and agreements at sectoral or
undertaking level
BE, NL > statute +
DK, NO, SE > CA ++
IE, UK

7. III.III. Procedures for establishing I&C bodiesProcedures for establishing I&C bodies
• in some MS there is only limited scope for
organisation or sector-specific variation
• while in others CA are the dominant regulatory
instrument

8. IV. IncidenceIV. Incidence
• European Company Survey 2009
• based on interviews with 27,160 managers at the
establishment level in 30 countries with the results
weighted

9. IV. IncidenceIV. Incidence
• asked about presence of
legally established or institutional forms of employee
representation at establishment level,
which can be a trade union representation and/or a
general works council type depending on the country

10. IV. IncidenceIV. Incidence
• in many MS broad coverage of employee
representative arrangements will exceed the scope of
I&C bodies
especially the case where I&C bodies and TU
representatives exist
• baseline for inclusion of an establishment in the
survey was the employment of 10 + employees

11. IV. IncidenceIV. Incidence
• directive applies either to establishments with 20+ or
enterprises over 50+ employees
the inclusion of small establishments below the
threshold will lead to an underestimate
• very smallest of establishments are more numerous
and much less likely to have forms of representative
participation

12. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
PT
GR
MT
CZ
AT
EE
UK
LT
DE
HU
IE
BG
EU
IT
PL
CY
LV
SK
SINL
RO
LU
FR
ES
BE
FIDK
SE
IV. Incidence: companies in %IV. Incidence: companies in %

13. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
PT
GR
MT
EE
CZ
UK
CY
LV
LT
HU
BG
AT
DE
SK
EU
IT
PL
SI
IE
ES
NL
RO
FR
LU
BE
SE
DK
FI
IV. Incidence: employees in %IV. Incidence: employees in %

14. IV. IncidenceIV. Incidence
• company size matters
largest categories of establishments, whether with 500+
or 250 + employees
- are much more likely to have an I&C body
in the smallest establishments the coverage is low

15. IV. IncidenceIV. Incidence
• sector matters
varying size distribution of enterprises is probably the
main explanation for this pattern
2. factor will be the rate of unionisation since I&C
arrangements are more likely in unionised companies
both factors combine in the public sector
- in IE > 40% of public sector enterprises
have partnership committees compared
with 16% in the private sector

16. IV. IncidenceIV. Incidence
• changes since transposition
countries with a stable pattern of I&C arrangements
(AT, BE, DK, DE, NL, NO, SE)
MS with a growing incidence of I&C arrangements
(EE, ES, FR, LU, PL, SK, SI, UK)
MS with declining incidence, or very low take up, of
I&C arrangements (BG, CY, CZ, GR, HU, IE, IT, LI,
MT, PT, RO)

17. V. I&C practiceV. I&C practice
• subject matter covered
rare for information exchange to be a near universal
practice
consultation (defined at its minimum as ‘social dialogue’)
is much less likely to take place
• frequency of meetings
practice can vary widely
often from once a month to once a year

18. V. I&C practiceV. I&C practice
• meetings without management
very little data
• special meetings
important feature of consultation since management
proposals cannot be expected to be delayed until the
next meeting of the I&C body
• confidential information
in most MS confidentiality rules to apply

19. V. I&C practiceV. I&C practice
• protections and facilities for representatives
seems to be universally accepted
access to training is less common and few MS make
reference to the provision of facilities such as offices,
telephones and IT
• use of legal sanctions
only 11 countries provided data
only a small number of complaints about I&C
arrangements are made to the judicial/government
authorities

20. VI.VI. Relationship between I&C bodies and otherRelationship between I&C bodies and other
forms of employee voiceforms of employee voice
• relationship between I&C bodies & TUs
high degree of TU influence over the I&C process
where TUs and I&C bodies coexist, CB rights are
assigned by law to TUs only, with I&C bodies restricted
to a consultative role
- formal separation of roles is blurred in a no. of MS
- scope for I&C bodies to become involved to some
degree in CB issues

21. VI.VI. Relationship between I&C bodies and otherRelationship between I&C bodies and other
forms of employee voiceforms of employee voice
• is consultation required by the collective
redundancies and transfer of undertakings
directives carried out via I&C bodies, trade unions
or other employee reps?
in most MS > via I&C bodies of 2002/14 directive
in a number of MS with works councils or similar bodies,
there is also scope for TU involvement
- e.g. BE, DK, EE, DE, NL, PT
- in the UK & IE consultation must be via TUs, or in
non union situations via elected employee reps

22. VI.VI. Relationship between I&C bodies and otherRelationship between I&C bodies and other
forms of employee voiceforms of employee voice
• relationship between I&C bodies & direct forms
of employee participation
relationship generally seen as being complementary
TU suspicion was highlighted by only two national
correspondents (ES, IE/ BE less than in the past)
employers’ use of direct means as a preferred alternative,
especially in smaller enterprises (BE, IE, NL)

23. VII.VII. Views of the social partners (SPs)Views of the social partners (SPs)
• general SP support for national I&C frameworks
particularly true of MS with ‘mature’ systems of I&C
• some employer organisations and TUs are not enthusiastic
about I&C
in BG, IE, MT and the UK
little employer interest in PT and RO
TU scepticism reported in IT
in PL ‘sceptical attitude of employers changed slowly’ and
TUs have begun to view works councils as ‘potentially useful
• in a minority of MS SP conducted a review of the national
I&C framework or were pressing for reform

24. VIII.VIII. Policy pointersPolicy pointers
• patchy evidence makes it difficult to provide a
measured assessment of I&C practice across Europe
 need for more comprehensive research
• directive’s flexibilities and lack of promotion of I&C
by SP in some MS
have limited the directive’s impact
underlines the EP’s resolution for the SP to take
‘proactive steps’ to influence national implementation

25. VIII.VIII. Policy pointersPolicy pointers
• some features in the ‘recast’ EWC Directive may
promote more robust I&C processes
particularly in MS with statutory I&C frameworks

26. Further informationFurther information
• http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/studies/tn10090
• New research project on ‘National Practices on
I&C’ launched in 2/2011.
• christian.welz@eurofound.europa.eu