INFORMATION, CONSULTATION, AND CODETERMINATION RIGHTS

With regards to the rights of the works council, a differentiation is made between information, consultation, and codetermination rights. With regards to social matters, the works council has a comprehensive codetermination right. Comprehensive means that the employer is not authorised to implement measures in the following areas if a mutual agreement in this regard has not been previously reached with the works council. If an agreement cannot be reached on a social matter, a so-called arbitration committee makes the decision. The costs for an arbitration committee are significant so that German employers generally try to avoid the necessity of such an arbitration committee. Social matters for which the works council has a codetermination right are: ƒ Company rules: e.g. code of conduct, smoking bans, dress codes, name tags ƒ Beginning and end of the daily working hours including breaks ƒ Temporary reduction or extension of working hours, e.g. overtime ƒ Establishing general policies on holiday ƒ Introduction and application of technical equipment and software PAGE 3 ƒ Issues concerning the company wage structure, in particular policies on distributing bonuses, premiums and other performance-related benefits. Due to the comprehensive codetermination right for social matters, the employer is very limited in its ability to make free entrepreneurial decisions. If the employer implements measures on social matters without the consent of the works council, the works council can prevent these measures within the scope of an interim injunction.