SE works council membes' training rights across Europe
Directive | Part of the Standard Rules (g) In so far as this is necessary for the fulfilment of their tasks, the members of the representative body shall be entitled to time off for training without loss of wages. |
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Austria | Not part of the Standard Rules
Rights of employee representatives § 251. … (2) Without prejudice to § 118 subpara. (1), each Austrian member of the European Works Council shall be entitled, for training and further-education purposes, to leave of absence from work for a period of up to one week during a term of office, and without any loss of remuneration.
§ 118 subpara. (1) states that all works council members have the right to up to three weeks’ paid time off for training during their period of office (unpaid in workplaces with fewer than 20 employees). | 82. Federal Act amending the Labour Constitution Act (Arbeitsverfassungsgesetz), the Federal Act on Employee Representation in the Post Office (Bundesgesetz über die Post-Betriebsverfassung) and the Labour and Social Security Courts Act (Arbeits- und Sozialgerichtsgesetz) July 2004 |
Belgium | Part of the Standard Rules
Article 42 In so far as this is necessary for the fulfilment of their tasks, the members of the representative body shall be entitled to time off for training without loss of wages. | 22 December 2004 - Royal Decree implementing Collective Labour Agreement No 84 of 6 October 2004, concluded within the National Labour Council, concerning the involvement of employees in the European company |
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Bulgaria | Not part of the Standard Rules. (The legislation amends the Labour Code which has general application.)
Final Provisions 2. Paragraph 3 shall be inserted in Article 161 [of the Labour Code]: “(3) An employee who is member of a Representative Body of an European Company or a European Cooperative Society, shall have the right to pay leave for education such as may be necessary for the efficient exercise of his/her duties. The duration of the leave and the remuneration due for the period of the leave shall be determined in the collective employment contract or by agreement between the parties to the employment relationship.” | Law on Information and Consultation with Employees of Multinational (Community-Scale) Undertakings, Groups of Undertakings and Companies Promulgated in the State Gazette No 57 of 14.07.2006 |
Croatia | Both part of the Standard Rules and generally applicable to Croatian representatives
Article 210 [dealing with the Standard Rules] (3) The provisions of Article 201 of this Act shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to members of the special negotiating body, members of the works council of the European Company, employees' representatives in supervisory organs of the European Company. Article 201 states that “With regard to rights and protection, the provisions of Article 155 and 156 of this Act shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to employees' representatives involved in the procedures of information, consultation and participation of employees who are employed in the Republic of Croatia…” Article 155 states in paragraph 6 that “The employer must permit members of the works council to undergo training necessary for work in the council.” | Labour Act |
Cyprus | Part of the Standard Rules
14 … (3) The members of the representative body shall be entitled to time off for training without loss of wages, in so far as this is necessary for the fulfilment of their tasks.
| Act No 277(1) of 2004 Act of 2004 supplementing the Statute for a European company with regard to the involvement of employees with a view to enhancing employees' rights to participate in management and decisions concerning the European public limited-liability company (SE) |
Czech Republic | Part of the Standard Rules
Section 60 (1) Members of the employees’ committee shall be entitled to time off from work and remuneration in lieu of work for the period strictly necessary for training related to the performance of their activities in the employees’ committee, unless serious operating reasons prevent this. | 627 Act of 11 November 2004 on the European Company |
Denmark | Part of the Standard Rules
§29 The members of the representative body shall be entitled to time off for training without loss of wages, if this is necessary for the fulfilment of their tasks within the representative body. | Act on the involvement of employees in European companies Act No 281 of 26 April 2004 |
Estonia | Part of the Standard Rules
§ 691. Entitlement of the member of the representative body of employees to time off for training The member of the representative body of employees shall be entitled to time off for training without loss of wages, if the training is necessary for the fulfilment of his/her tasks. At least 14 calendar days a year shall be provided for training with retaining of average wages. | Act on the involvement of employees in the affairs of a Community-scale undertaking, a Community-scale group of undertakings, or a European Company January 2005 |
Finland | Part of the Standard Rules
§ 27 Right to time off for training, responsibility for costs In so far as is necessary for the fulfilment of their tasks, the members of the representative body shall be entitled to time off for training without loss of income. | No 758 Act on the involvement of employees in European companies 13 August 2004 |
France | Part of the Standard Rules
Art L. 439-40 … Members of the committee of the European Company have a right to time off for training on the terms set in article L. 434-10
Article L. 434-10 states that committee members have a right to five days economic training, which can be repeated if they have been in office for four years. The training should be provided by a body approved by the government authorities or by centres linked to the unions (among others). The training should take place during working time and is paid as such. The cost of the training is paid by the works council. (This paragraph relates to training for French works councils.) Elsewhere in Article L439-40, the legislation states that the costs of the functioning of the committee of the European Company are paid by the European Company | Loi n° 2005-842 du 26 juillet 2005 pour la confiance et la modernisation de l'économie |
Germany | Part of the Standard Rules
§ 31 Further training The European Works Council may designate members to take part in education and training events where the knowledge/skills concerned are necessary for the work of the European Works Council. The European Works Council shall notify the management of the European company in good time about any participation in, and the timing of, such events. When determining the timing, the needs of the company shall be taken into consideration. | Act on the participation of employees in a European company (Participation of Employees (European Companies) Act) (SE-Beteiligungsgesetz – SEBG) 28 December 2004 |
Greece | Part of the Standard Rules
Section 2: Standard rules for information and consultation … g) If necessary for the fulfilment of their duties, members of the special representative body entitled to time off for training without loss of salary. | Presidential Decree 91 of 4 May 2006 Efimeris Tis Kyvernisseos (FEK) |
Hungary | Not part of the Standard Rules Article 33 … (2) The persons referred to in paragraph (1) [see below] shall be granted sufficient leave of absence to perform their duties in this capacity, during which time they are entitled to the leave of absence allowance (távolléti díj). Unless otherwise provided in the agreement referred to in Article 31, the duration of leave of absence shall be governed by the provisions of Article 62(2) of the Labour Code. Those referred to in paragraph 1 are “members and alternate members of the special negotiating body and representative body employed within Hungary, employees’ representatives participating in the information and consultation procedures and employee delegates represented on the Administrative or Supervisory Board”.
Article 62 (2) of the Labour Code stated at the time that “The members and the chairman of the works council shall be eligible for a reduction in working hours, corresponding to 10 and 15 per cent of their normal hours respectively. Average wages shall be paid for such periods.” In the latest version of the Labour Code Article 260 deals with time off for works council members. It states that “With a view to discharging their duties, the chairman of the works council shall be entitled to working time reduction amounting to ten per cent of his monthly working time, while members of the works council shall be entitled to ten per cent. Claiming any working time reduction shall be notified at least five days in advance, except if claimed under unforeseen and overriding reasons of urgency, or under exceptional circumstances. | Act XLV of 2004 on the European Company 24 May 2004 |
Iceland | Part of the Standard Rules
Article 14 … h) In so far as this is necessary for the fulfilment of their tasks, the members of the representative body shall be entitled to time off for training without loss of wages. | Law on the involvement of employees in European Companies 27 April 2004 |
Ireland | Part of the Standard Rules
Schedule 1 Part 2 12. (3) In so far as is necessary for the fulfilment of their duties, the members of the representative body shall be entitled to time off for training without loss of wages. | European Communities (European Public Limited-liability Company) (Employee involvement) Regulations 2006 No. 623 of 2006 14/12/2006 |
Italy | Part of the Standard Rules
Schedule 1 Second Part Reference rules for information and consultation … m) in so far as this is necessary for the fulfilment of their tasks, the members of the representative body have the right to time off for training without loss of wages; | Legislative Decree 19 August 2005 No. 188 |
Latvia | Part of the Standard Rules
Section 32. Standard rules for informing and consulting employees (12) Members of the representative committee shall be entitled to paid time off for training in order to acquire knowledge necessary for the fulfilment of their tasks. | European Company Law 24 March 2005 |
Liechtenstein | Part of the Standard Rules
Article 42 Further training measures 1) Members of that statutory representation body have the right to paid time off for further training where this is necessary for the fulfilment of their tasks. 2) The members concerned will be designated through a decision of the representative body. 3) The representative body must inform the management or administrative body of the European Company (SE) in good time of the participation of the members concerned in such events as well as their dates. Operational needs must be taken into account in fixing the dates. | Law on the involvement of employees in the European Company 25 November 2005 |
Lithuania | Part of the Standard Rules
Article 28 Expenditure for the formation and activities of the works council of a European company 5. Members of the works council of a European company shall be allocated time for the participation in training necessary for the performance of their functions; for the time spent in training the member shall receive salary that is equal at least to his/her mean salary. | Law of the Republic Of Lithuania on the involvement of employees in decision making in European Companies 12 May 2005 |
Luxembourg | Part of the Standard Rules
Article 11 7) In so far as this is necessary for the fulfilment of their tasks, the members of the representative body shall be entitled to time off for training without loss of wages. | Law of 25 August 2006 Mémorial Luxembourgeois A du: 31/08/2006 num: 152 page:02706-02719 |
Malta | Part of the Standard Rules
Schedule Part 2 Standard rules for information and consultation … (g) In so far as this is necessary for the fulfilment of their tasks, the members of the representative body shall be entitled to time off for training without loss of wages. | Employment and industrial relations Act, 2002 (Act No. XXII of 2002) Employee Involvement (European Company) Regulations, 2004 |
Netherlands | Not part of the Standard Rules
Article 1:4 3. As far as is reasonably necessary for the fulfilment of their tasks, they [see below*] shall be given an opportunity, during work time and without loss of income, to have discussions among themselves and consult with other persons with regard to matters having a bearing on their functions, and to undergo training.
* This relates to “employees working in the Netherlands who are members of a special negotiating body or the European Works Council or who, as employee representatives, are members of the supervisory body or administrative body of the European company, or who act as representatives in any other capacity involving information or consultation of employees. | Act of 17 March 2005 implementing Council Directive 2001/86/EC of 8 October 2001 supplementing the Statute for a European company with regard to the involvement of employees (Involvement of Employees (European Companies) Act) (Wet rol werknemers bij de Europese vennootschap) |
Norway | Part of the Standard Rules
Appendix 1 9 Right to leave In so far as this is necessary for the fulfilment of their tasks, the members of the representative body shall be entitled to time off for training without loss of wages. | Law on employees’ right to involvement in European Companies, FOR 2005-04-01 nr 273
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Poland | Part of the Standard Rules
Article 105 The members of the representative body, in so far as this is necessary for the fulfilment of their tasks, shall be entitled to time off for training, not exceeding two months during their term of office, without loss of wages. Remuneration calculated in the same way as for the annual leave shall be paid for time off for training. | Law of 4 March 2005 on the European Economic Interest Grouping and the European company |
Portugal | Not part of the Standard Rules
No specific reference to training or time off for training. However, Article 44 of the legislation, which is part of the section covering “Provisions of a national character” states that members of the SNB and members of the employee representative body have the same rights to time off as members of the works council, as well as time off to attend meetings with the company and preparatory meetings, including time spent travelling. Works council members have the right to 25 hours paid time-off a month, but only half this in very small companies. In addition, employee representatives can sometimes be entitled to time off going beyond this. However, employee cannot accumulate additional hours of time off because they are in more than one employee representative body. | Decree Law No. 215/2005 of 13 December 2005 |
Romania | Part of the Standard Rules
Article 18 In so far as this is necessary for the fulfilment of their tasks, the members of the representative body shall be entitled to time off for training without loss of wages. | Government Decree 187/2007 20 February 2007 |
Slovakia | Part of the Standard Rules
§49 (1) Members of the employee committee have the right to leave of absence with payment of salary for unavoidably necessary time for participation in training necessary for their activities on the employee committee. | 562 Act of 9 September 2004 on European companies and amendments to some acts |
Slovenia | Part of the Standard Rules
Article 28 (Training) The members of the works council of an SE shall be entitled to training, where necessary, for the performance of their tasks together with the right to paid absence from work. | 28 Participation of Workers in Management of the European Public Limited-Liability Company Act (SE) (ZSDUEDD) 10 March 2006 |
Spain | Part of the Standard Rules
Article 18 Arrangements for the operation of the employee representative body 5. In so far as this is necessary for the fulfilment of their tasks, the members of the representative body shall be entitled to time off for training without loss of wages. | Law 31/2006 of 18 October on the involvement of employees in European companies and cooperative societies |
Sweden | Part of the Standard Rules
§ 51. To the extent necessary for the fulfilment of their tasks, the members of the employees' council shall be entitled to time off for training while retaining their employment benefits. | Act on the involvement of employees in European companies (lag om arbetstagarinflytande in europabolag) adopted on 10 June 2004. |
UK | Not part of the Standard Rules
No specific reference to time off for training in the standard rules. However, Article 39 provides for a right to time off for members of the representative body, the SNB and a board level representative “to perform his functions”. Article 40 makes clear that this time off will be paid.
Right to time off for members of special negotiating body, etc. 39.—(1) An employee who is— (a) a member of a special negotiating body; (b) a member of a representative body; (c) an information and consultation representative; (d) an employee member on a supervisory or administrative organ; or (e) a candidate in an election in which any person elected will, on being elected, be such a member or a representative, is entitled to be permitted by his employer to take reasonable time off during the employee’s working hours in order to perform his functions as such a member, representative or candidate. (2) For the purpose of this regulation the working hours of an employee shall be taken to be any time when, in accordance with his contract of employment, the employee is required to be at work. Right to remuneration for time off under regulation 39 40.—(1) An employee who is permitted to take time off under regulation 39 is entitled to be paid remuneration by his employer for the time taken off at the appropriate hourly rate. | 2004 No. 2326 European Communities The European Public Limited-Liability Company Regulations 2004 |
L. Fulton (2013) Worker representation in Europe. Labour Research Department and ETUI. Produced with the assistance of the SEEurope Network, online publication available at http://www.worker-participation.eu/National-Industrial-Relations.