German Works Council, explained:

If you’ve lived in Germany even for just a few months, you are likely familiar with the term Works Council. Hopefully, you work at a company that has an active one present.

What is a Works Council?

A Works Council is formed to help protect the interests of all employees, and serves as an advisory board that liaises with the senior leadership of their respective company; they also ensure the company is following the laws in relation to everything from workplace safety and labor. Another way they support employees is by preventing discrimination in the workplace- based on factors such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, age, ableism, nationality, sexuality, etc - whether it be amongst employees, in the hiring process, in the promotion process and/or dismissals.

Those who are a part of the Works Council do so on a voluntary basis; there is no financial compensation for the work. However, it is to be done during working hours - therefore the employer must release the employee from their other tasks so that this can be done.

What is the benefit of having a Works Council?

Having a Works Council can be great for the company; it ensures employees are heard, it provides a clear pathway for improvements, and can keep leadership in check. However, it’s not uncommon for companies - particularly startups or any company within a less established period of the business - to have “resistance” to the formation of a Works Council. This is presumably because they want to avoid greater scrutiny of their work practices, but also, because they generally mean lower profitability (if a Works Council is advocating for higher wages, that means less money left over). However, Works Councils have incredible long-term benefits for the good of the company. They can reduce strikes, create collective problem solving, provide psychological and physical safety for employees, and overall create a more satisfied work force (reducing turnover).

If your company has a Works Council, and you're interested in being part of it, you will need to: be at or above the age of 18, employed at the company for at least 6 months, be in a role that isn’t a managerial position and be elected.. Works Council members serve a term of four years.

What if my company doesn’t have a works Council?

You can reach out to your company’s leadership and HR team to ask for there to be a change; you might find that there are other colleagues that have already expressed interest, and be connected to those individuals. If there aren’t any plans to start a Works Council, you can take action to create one. Note: it is illegal for a company to obstruct or not allow a Works Council if employees are asking for one.

In order to have a Works Council, there needs to be at least five voting member employees - this means at least five people who are: aged 18 and above and have worked at the company for at least three months. Whether they are contract or permanent, part time or full time is not an issue. The minimum size of the works council required is dependent on the size of the company and gradually increases based on this. For example: with 20 or less people, you need at least one person, between 21 and 50 two people are required, and so on. The general rule is that there should be at least double the amount of candidates running as there are positions.

Where can I find support on creating a Works Council?

If you are looking for greater guidance on how to start a Works Council, we encourage you to find the trade unions that are within your area and affiliated with your industry. They can provide greater guidance on where to begin. Some resources we found helpful are below:

• https://techworkersberlin.com/works-councils/how-to-form-a-works-council

• https://www.igmetall-berlin.de/aktuelles/meldung/ig-metall-faq-for-tech-workers/