The German Works Constitution Act  

An Introduction for foreign businesses

Germany is a successful industrial location with a long tradition. It’s industry remains successful in global competition thanks to its innovation, productivity and flexibility. One of the basic pillars of this success is the way business activities focus on the global market and companies are integrated in global networks.

The global networking of German industry is not a one-way street. Many companies from abroad are also represented by subsidiaries in Germany. As a business location, Germany has specific characteristics - these include its employment law and tariff law. The regulations in these are often difficult to explain abroad. This can lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations in the evaluation of HR policy decisions in our companies.

The present brochure gives insights into the ‘rules of the game’ with regard to the Betriebsverfassungsgesetz (Works Constitution Act, BetrVG). It is planned as an introduction and is thus necessarily limited to the presentation of basic information. This overview cannot provide binding legal statements, nor can it take the place of concrete legal advice.

‘Gesamtmetall’ is the umbrella association of the regional employers’ associations for enterprises in the metal and electrical engineering industries in Germany. Our associations support their member enterprises in the shaping of industrial relations with regard to collective agreements, company agreements or the regulating of individual contracts, as required. For this purpose, they maintain an extensive network of offices, and they have excellent know-how in all aspects of employment law.

Member companies can order copies of the brochure free of charge from their regional association (please contract the person in charge of International Affairs). Non-members can order copies from the edition agrippa. Please contact Sonja Zengel (zengel@iwkoeln.de) for further details.