SEMI-FORMAL WORKS AGREEMENT
| GERMANY |
| BETRIEBSABSPRACHE SEMI-FORMAL WORKS AGREEMENT |
An informal agreement between the employer and the works council for which no specific regulations are laid down by the statutory provisions of the works constitution . It is to be distinguished from informal rules on the one hand and the works agreement on the other. Like the latter, however, it signifies a contractual understanding and presupposes a due and proper decision on the part of the works council. Semi-formal works agreements have no normative force directly affecting individual employment relationships , and are therefore often used to regulate purely individual cases. Such agreements are lawful and can contain subject-matter relating to all reciprocal obligations between the employer and the works council and to the exercise of the co-determination rights of the works council , provided the law does not stipulate that the matters in question must be covered by a works agreement and provided there is no question of evading the restrictions applying to works agreements.
Please note: the European industrial relations glossaries were compiled between 1991 and 2003 and are not updated. For current material see the European industrial relations dictionary.