employee_representation.jpg

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.

Topic

Recent updates

Eurofound expert(s)

ricardo-rodriguez-contreras-2023.png

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)

Time-off provisions for employee representatives in Europe - Background paper

M

15 November 2011
Publication
Customised report
Working time
Working conditions
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Employee involvement in companies under the European Company Statute (ECS): Strabag SE

Strabag is a multinational building and construction company. It operates in three areas: building construction and civil engineering; road construction; and tunnelling and services, in more than 500 locations worldwide. In 2009, Strabag SE had 75,500 employees, of which more than 80% worked in

20 October 2011
Publication
Case study
Employee representation
Participation at work
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Employee involvement in companies under the European Company Statute (ECS): Fresenius SE

Fresenius was one of the first German companies with a two-tier corporate governance structure to become a European company in July 2007. The actors involved in the negotiation process worked under the impression to accomplish pioneer work. Both the management and the employee side representatives

20 October 2011
Publication
Case study
Employee representation
Participation at work
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Employee involvement in companies under the European Company Statute (ECS): Hager SE

The Hager Group is a family-run company based in the German Saarland with approximately 10,000 employees worldwide. The company offers a complete range of systems, solutions and services for energy distribution in buildings, including security solutions as well as electrical installations supplies

20 October 2011
Publication
Case study
Employee representation
Participation at work
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Employee involvement in companies under the European Company Statute (ECS): Elcoteq SE

Elcoteq is a global contract manufacturer of electronic equipment headquartered in Luxembourg. While the origins of the company are in Finland where Elcoteq was founded in 1984, the established production sites in European as well as non-European countries. Until 2008 the European centre of the

20 October 2011
Publication
Case study
Employee representation
Participation at work
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

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

This study examined best practice examples of social partner involvement in greening the economy in different Member States. It analysed the role of the trade unions and employers’ associations as well as employees, their direct representatives and company management in selected projects at national

28 June 2011
Publication
Research report
Employee representation
European Green Deal
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue
Job creation
Just transition
Social partners

The European Company Survey – First Findings (Résumé)

In spring 2009, Eurofound launched a large-scale representative survey addressed to managers and employee representatives. The European Company Survey 2009 – Flexibility practices and social dialogue (ECS) is the second European-wide establishment survey launched by Eurofound. The European Company

30 May 2011
Publication
Résumé
Social dialogue
Working time
Working conditions
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

European Company Survey 2009 - Overview

The European Company Survey 2009 on flexibility practices and social dialogue is the second European-wide establishment survey to be undertaken by Eurofound. The survey documents flexibility strategies in firms and is a unique source of comparative information on social dialogue at the workplace

30 May 2011
Publication
Research report
Social dialogue
Working time
Working conditions
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Employee involvement in companies under the European Company Statute (ECS): GfK SE

GfK, the German-based market research company, transformed itself into an SE in 2009. Management saw the change as reflecting GfK’s international perspectives and structure, although it also had the side effect of avoiding a major change in the composition of the supervisory board. The

23 May 2011
Publication
Case study
Employee representation
Participation at work
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Employee involvement in companies under the European Company Statute (ECS): SCOR SE

The reinsurance group SCOR was the first French listed company to create a European Company (SE) with employee participation. Three parallel agreements secure employee involvement through a common SE works council for the SCOR SE and its two subsidiaries. This was an important progress, since with

25 April 2011
Publication
Case study
Employee representation
Participation at work
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue
Online resources results (298)

Gender-related pay differentials examined

Aside from the general principle of equal treatment in working life (Gleichbehandlungsgrundsatz) which has been developed by case law in Austria, a special obligation to apply the principle of equal treatment for men and women at work (Gleichbehandlungsgebot) is explicitly laid down in the 1979 Act

27 ožujka 2001
Article
Gender equality
Collective bargaining
Non-standard employment
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Social policies
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Trade union initiatives on equal opportunities

Italian trade unions are increasingly addressing the issue of representing their women members, and the three main confederations (Cgil, Cisl and Uil) have set up a variety of specific structures for this purpose. Here we review the various structures established within the unions and outline a

27 ožujka 2001
Article
Social partners
Gender equality
Employee representation
Non-standard employment
Working time
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Union representativeness under debate

In February 2001, the Dutch Minister of Social Affairs and Employment published the findings of a study into the representativeness of trade unions, prompted by parliamentary questions on the issue. The study indicates that while around a quarter of the labour force are union members, 85% are

27 ožujka 2001
Article
Employee representation
Collective bargaining
Social partners
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

WSI survey examines decentralisation of bargaining in 1999/2000

Since the beginning of the 1990s, the German system of collective bargaining has seen a continued process of decentralisation and flexibilisation. This process has a "regulated" and an "unregulated" dimension. The regulated dimension has found expression in the widespread introduction of "opening

27 ožujka 2001
Article
Collective bargaining
Working time
Pay and income
Employee representation
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

The state of trade unionism

Trade unions originally developed in Ireland in response to the spread of industrialisation. Many employers in the early factories used authoritarian methods and working conditions were often extremely poor. Individual workers were unable to resist this exploitation, so they organised collectively

27 veljače 2001
Article
Social partners
Employee representation
Non-standard employment
Small and medium-sized enterprises
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Danone reignites controversy over redundancies in profitable firms

In January 2001, the French press reported the content of a leaked memo indicating that the Danone food-processing group is planning to close several biscuit production sites in Europe. This measure is reportedly aimed at improving the profitability of this division, which is nonetheless making

27 veljače 2001
Article
Restructuring
Industrial action
Employee representation
Employment and labour markets

The institutional framework of public sector industrial relations

Industrial relations in the Spanish public sector are undergoing change, moving closer to the private sector model, with a greater role for collective bargaining rather than state intervention. This feature examines this process and outlines some key features of public sector industrial relations in

27 veljače 2001
Article
Employment status
Non-standard employment
Employee representation
Employment and labour markets

Survey examines industrial relations at establishment level in 1999/2000

In February 2001, the Institute for Economic and Social Research within the Hans Böckler Foundation (Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut in der Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, WSI) presented the first results of its recent /Works Council Survey/ (published in a special issue [1] of /WSI

27 veljače 2001
Article
Employee representation
Collective bargaining
Industrial relations
Participation at work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Reform of Works Constitution Act proposed

On 6 December 2000, the Federal Ministry of Labour presented a first draft of legislation [1] to reform the Works Constitution [2] Act (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz, BetrVG) - the law which determines the legal framework for co-determination at the level of the establishment [3] in the private sector

27 veljače 2001
Article
Labour and social regulation
Employee representation
Collective bargaining
Participation at work
Skills and training
Migration and mobility
Social policies

Survey examines workers' views on employment and unions

Greek workers are in favour of the 35-hour working week, but not of current government industrial relations policy, while their main priorities include quality of life, job security and working conditions. Only a third are union members but the great majority are in favour of trade unions. These are

27 siječnja 2001
Article
Working time
Employee representation
Employment relationship
Non-standard employment
Health and well-being at work
Job quality
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue
Blogs results (1)
image_blog_unions_20112019.png

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 studenog 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 listopada 2023
Reference period:
2019

Disclaimer

When freely submitting your request, you are consenting Eurofound in handling your personal data to reply to you. Your request will be handled in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data. More information, please read the Data Protection Notice.