Consultation with Trade Unions & Works Councils

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Consulting employee representatives has many dimensions -  internal and practical as well as external/legal  and even political.  It can be extremely context sensitive. Getting the strategy right, within and between each affected country and business unit, can be a real logic puzzle;

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In today's highly connected world it is harder than ever to balance transparency, control and compliance.  What is right for one country may land you in trouble elsewhere and the consequences of getting it wrong can be severe:

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• In some countries failure to consult fully in advance of a commercial agreement being signed  or a board decision can result in criminal sanctions or a transaction or restructure being blocked.

• In others, the consequences are merely financial, but with penalties as much as a quarter of the annual paybill;

• It may be necessary to involve trade unions, even when they have no ongoing relationship with the company - and dealing direct with employees can then result in penalties for anti-union behaviour

• Social media can be used to organise adverse PR - mass gatherings with TV cameras can emerge seemingly out of nowhere;

• For a while, "kidnapping" and locking in the head of the Works Council became a newsworthy feature of some EMEA closure processes