Changes to the law on European Works Councils or EWC’s
On June 5th the Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees (Amendment) Regulations 2010 come into operation. Although the law on EWC’s does not apply to very many organisations in Northern Ireland the changes brought in are important to those to whom they may apply. Essentially this is the law that governs how multinationals inform and consult their employees. The amended Regulations will apply to all EWCs, or information and consultation procedures, set up on or after 5 June 2011, and to those established after 15 December 1999 under agreements which were not revised between 5 June 2009 and 5 June 2011. Amongst other things the amendments require the company to - introduce new obligations on central management on the way that information and consultation should take place in EWCs, tighten the definition of a transnational issue that can be considered by an EWC, require EWCs to be adapted after a significant structural company change to ensure that all employees are represented and create a new right for members of EWCs and special negotiating bodies to receive necessary training and so on.
