Countdown - Coming in 2018!
Works Council Election 2018: Change of generations and social changes entail above all new opportunities for companies
Works council elections will be held again between March and May 2018. Companies should prepare early on. This allows them not only to avoid inconsistencies and cost: they can also benefit from the generational change of works councils and their new ideas.
Between March and May 2018, the employees of many companies will re-elect their new representatives. For employers, this often means a period of uncertainty – for example, caused by new discussion partners who want to enforce other topics. While disputes may arise, and thus risks, a new works council always presents opportunities as well. This applies in particular to the 2018 elections.
Many companies are facing a generational change: Older members of the works council are retiring and young members are following, frequently with different ideas. They no longer feel that they are properly represented by the traditional unions with their traditional polarization of “oppressed workers” and “capitalist employers.” It is not company cars and salary levels that are the main incentives for their professional activities; they are more focused on flexible and individual working time systems. They also do not want to impose blanket regulations, but rather express their individual needs and wishes more strongly and implement them independently. Thus, this new generation not only exemplifies but also demands the increasingly important trends for a modern working environment. At the same time, many young employees – including works council members – aim at shaping more than preventing. This willingness to act is positive for companies and may lead to improvements that can make the company more attractive for new talent and professionals.
Many young members of the works council have the desire to shape things and not to prevent them. This will have a positive effect on well-prepared companies.
In order to benefit from the imminent generational change in the works councils, companies should prepare for the elections to the works council at an early stage. Ad-hoc decisions in the hot election phase may not only result in undesirable consequences; employers and their executives may even be subject to a punishable offense. In order to make strategically correct and legitimate decisions, the scope for action must be discussed and leaders must be instructed. Thus, the works council election may become a great opportunity for companies.
We support you in preparing the elections thoroughly and in avoiding risks.
Your contacts are the experts from the Employment Practice Group. Bernd Weller and his team specialize in employment law, restructuring, and works constitution law.
