Keywords
Summary

Keywords

Social policy — Information and consultation of employees in Community-scale undertakings — Directive 94/45 — Information essential to the opening of negotiations for the establishment of a European works council — Obligation of the central management of a group of undertakings to provide the employees ' representatives with that information — Central management not located in a Member State — Obligation on the deemed central management under Article 4(2) of the directive — Scope — (Council Directive 94/45, Arts 4(1) and (2), 5 and 11(1))

Summary

Articles 4(1) and 11(1) of Directive 94/45 on the establishment of a European Works Council or a procedure in Community-scale undertakings and Community-scale groups of undertakings for the purposes of informing and consulting employees must be interpreted as meaning that:

─ where the central management of a Community-scale group of undertakings is not located in a Member State, central management ' s responsibility for providing the employees ' representatives with the information essential to the opening of negotiations for the establishment of a European Works Council lies with the deemed central management under the second subparagraph of Article 4(2) of the directive;

─ where central management does not, for the purpose of establishing a European Works Council, make certain information available to the deemed central management, the latter, in order to be able to fulfil its obligation to provide information to the employees ' representatives, must request the information essential to the opening of negotiations for the establishment of such a council from the other undertakings belonging to the group which are located in the Member States, and has a right to receive that information from them;

─ the management of each of the other undertakings belonging to the group which are located in the Member States is under an obligation to supply the deemed central management with the information concerned where it is in possession of the information or is in a position to obtain it;

─ the Member States concerned are to ensure that the management of those other undertakings supplies the information to the deemed central management.

The obligation to provide information deriving from Articles 4(1) and 11(1) of Directive 94/45 encompasses information on the average total number of employees and their distribution across the Member States, the establishments of the undertaking and the group undertakings, and on the structure of the undertaking and of the undertakings in the group, as well as the names and addresses of the employee representation which might participate in the setting up of a special negotiating body in accordance with Article 5 of the directive or in the establishment of a European Works Council, where that information is essential to the opening of negotiations for the establishment of such a council.

see paras 64, 72, operative part 1-2