Reinier advises national and international companies
reinier.russell@russell.nl +31 20 301 55 55For a number of important decisions the management of a company needs the consent of the Works Council. What happens if the works council does not grant consent?
If a company has 50 or more employees, the entrepreneur (represented by the management) is allowed to make certain decisions only with the consent of the Works Council. In addition to the right to be consulted, the right of consent is the second important right of the Works Council.
The right of consent refers to intended decisions regarding the social policy of a company which are not regulated by a collective agreement. This includes decisions relating to the establishment, modification and withdrawal of arrangements regarding:
Matters already regulated by a collective agreement or of an individual nature do not fall under the right of consent.
A decision made without the required consent is void (not valid), if the works council invokes nullity of this decision in writing up to one month after:
At the request of the Works Council, the entrepreneur may be obliged by the subdistrict court not to apply or implement this void decision.
The entrepreneur may request the subdistrict court’s alternative consent. The subdistrict court may only grant this consent after having considered the arguments brought forward by the entrepreneur and the objections of the Works Council, if
Do you have any questions about the right to be consulted and the other powers of the Works Council, or any other questions regarding corporate law and employee participation, please contact us:
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