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Employee representation

Employee representation may be defined as the right of employees to seek a union or individual to represent them for the purpose of negotiating with management on such issues as wages, hours, benefits and working conditions. In the workplace, workers may be represented by trade union and through works councils – or similar structures elected by all employees. EU law has established rights and obligations for employees and their representatives to be informed and consulted via a set of directives that provide for the information and consultation of the workers, at both national and international level.

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Ricardo Rodriguez Contreras

Ricardo Rodriguez Contreras is a research manager in the Working Life unit at Eurofound and focuses on comparative industrial relations, social dialogue and collective bargaining...

Research manager,
Working life research unit
Publications results (74)

New topics, new tools and innovative practices adopted by the social partners

Social dialogue still matters in Europe. Recent EU-level policy debates have highlighted that, particularly since the 2008 crisis, the emergence of new debates on social justice, democracy, the quality of work and new models for labour relations have been challenging traditional industrial relations

12 July 2016
Publication
Research report
Social partners
Social dialogue
Gender equality
Collective bargaining
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Innovation
Job quality
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Third European Company Survey – Direct and indirect employee participation

This report studies practices in EU establishments for direct and indirect employee participation in decision-making. Indirect employee participation is the involvement of employee representatives in decision-making processes, while direct employee participation describes direct interaction between

14 December 2015
Publication
Research report
Social dialogue
Participation at work
Working time
Working conditions and sustainable work
Working conditions
Work organisation
Employment and labour markets
Employee representation
Industrial relations and social dialogue
Industrial relations
Innovation

Linking information and consultation procedures at local and European level

This report examines the differences in alignment, timing and content of workplace information and consultation processes at national and European level. It compares the legal situation at national and European level in six EU Member States: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the

07 July 2015
Publication
Customised report
Participation at work
Industrial relations
Employee representation
Industrial relations and social dialogue

European Works Council developments before, during and after the crisis

European Works Councils (EWCs) provide an important vehicle for transnational information and consultation in multinational companies. This report explores the efforts of 10 EWCs to make these bodies optimally fit for purpose for European company level social dialogue. Looking at the developments in

10 June 2015
Publication
Research report
Social partners
Social dialogue
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

National practices of information and consultation in Europe

The aims of this project are to explore recent experiences in the practice of information and consultation (I&C) at national level, building on the findings of the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) 2011 report entitled Information and consultation practice across Europe five years

30 May 2013
Publication
Research report
Social partners
Participation at work
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Performance-related pay and employment relations in European companies

This report analyses data from Eurofound’s European Company Survey of 2009 to examine the incidence of performance-related pay (PRP) in European establishments and what determines it, with a specific focus on the role of employment relations. Larger establishments, those in foreign ownership, in the

16 October 2012
Publication
Research report
Social partners
Pay and income
Participation at work
Working conditions
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Social dialogue and recession in the banking sector (info sheet)

The financial global crisis, the deepest the world has experienced since the 1930s, originated in the US mortgage market and led to a liquidity shortfall in the US banking system, the full effect of which started to be felt in August 2007. One of the first victims was the UK bank Northern Rock

16 February 2012
Publication
Information sheet
Labour market policies
Structural change
Employee representation
Social dialogue
Social partners
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Industrial relations and sustainability: The role of social partners in the transition towards a green economy (résumé)

An increasingly important aspect of EU policy making is that of ‘greening’ the economy, in the face of an urgent need to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Greening the economy means producing products and services with less energy, fewer raw materials and with reduced carbon emissions. It

16 February 2012
Publication
Résumé
European Green Deal
Social partners
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Job creation
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Employment and industrial relations in the agricultural and rural contractor (ARC) sector

This study shows the main characteristics and specifics of the ARC sector in four European countries. The overall picture shows that the activities of contractors go beyond the agricultural and forestry sectors, into construction services or services to public authorities. The project also shows

15 January 2012
Publication
Research report
Social partners
Social dialogue
Collective bargaining
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Employee representation at establishment level in Europe

Across Europe, diverse forms of employee representation structures have developed, providing workers with differing opportunities to voice their interests and to be consulted by their employers directly, at their workplaces, on matters such as economic and human resources developments, working

20 November 2011
Publication
Research report
Participation at work
Work organisation
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue
Online resources results (298)

Moulinex: chronicle of a death foretold?

The French-based electrical household appliance manufacturer, Moulinex, which was bought out in 2000 by the Italian group Elfi and merged with Brandt, has been slipping further and further into financial crisis since the start of 2001. Following the restructuring of Moulinex's industrial operations

1 Samhain 2001
Article
Restructuring
Working time
Social partners
Employee representation
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

Survey examines role of women in works councils

A study published in 2001 by the IRES research institute examines the position of women in works councils in France. It finds that women are generally well represented in the position of works council secretary. However, access by women and men to employee representative positions differs, depending

10 Deireadh Fómhair 2001
Article
Gender equality
Employee representation

Agreements signed on Volkswagen's '5000 x 5000' project

On 28 August 2001, the German-based car producer Volkswagen (VW) and the IG Metall metalworkers' trade union concluded a package of company agreements for the new VW subsidiary, Auto 5000 GmbH. The company agreements will be effective for 3,500 newly hired employees at the VW Wolfsburg plant and

24 Meán Fómhair 2001
Article
Pay and income
Working time
Work organisation
Employee representation
Participation at work
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

Works Constitution Act reform adopted

On 22 June 2001, the lower house of the German parliament (Bundestag) passed legislation [1] to reform the Works Constitution [2] Act (Bertriebsverfassungsgesetz, BetrVG) by a majority of 336 votes to 208. The reform of the law, which determines the legal framework for co-determination at the level

27 Iúil 2001
Article
Employee representation
Skills and training
Employment relationship
Discrimination at work
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

Employees at Pixelpark multimedia agency elect works council

On 11 May 2001, a first works council [1] was elected at the Berlin office of Germany's flagship multimedia design agency Pixelpark AG, which is a subsidiary of the German-based media corporation Bertelsmann. The new works council, consisting of nine members, has been elected for a five-year period

27 Meitheamh 2001
Article
Employee representation
Social partners

ECJ rules on employees' information rights prior to seeking establishment of an EWC

On 29 March 2001, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) delivered its judgment [1] in the first case concerning the interpretation of the European Works Councils (s) Directive [2] (94/45/EC) to reach the ECJ - /Betriebsrat der bofrost* Josef H Boquoi Deutschland West GmbH & Co KG v bofrost* Josef H

27 Meitheamh 2001
Article
Labour and social regulation
Employee representation

Overall union membership declines

Spring 2001 saw the publication of the 2000 membership figures for Swedish trade unions The three central trade union confederations - bringing together unions representing university graduates, blue-collar workers and white-collar workers respectively - always make their figures public, even when

27 Meitheamh 2001
Article
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Denmark has too many trade unions

The structure of the Danish trade union movement, with its large number of unions - a total of 169, of which one-third have fewer than 1,000 members - means the duplication of many tasks for the unions. Many union officials spend their time in meeting each other and organising the framework for

27 Bealtaine 2001
Article
Social partners
Employee representation
Social protection
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

New economic regulations law adopted

In May 2001, the French parliament adopted a law on "new economic regulations", aimed at adding an "ethical" aspect to financial practices, clarifying competition rules, improving social dialogue and enforcing consumer rights. On the industrial relations front, the new legislation strengthens to

27 Bealtaine 2001
Article
Employee representation

Globalisation blamed for restructuring at Danone and Marks & Spencer

In March 2001, under the pressure of economic and financial globalisation, the French-based food group Danone and the UK-based retail multinational Marks & Spencer announced a restructuring of their operations, including redundancies in France and the rest of Europe. The simultaneous announcement of

27 Aibreán 2001
Article
Restructuring
Labour and social regulation
Employee representation
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work
Blogs results (1)
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Restructuring: Do unions still matter?

Trade unions in many EU Member States face the issue of declining membership. This is a fundamental challenge for organised labour, but it is premature to speak about the redundancy unions: when it comes to important decisions affecting the workplace, restructuring being one, trade unions remain a

20 Samhain 2019
Sara Riso
Blog
Restructuring
Working conditions
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Employment and labour markets
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue
Data results (1)

European Company Survey

24 Deireadh Fómhair 2023
Reference period:
2019

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