From 2cda8547c08e58f750b3db1a0a5ae2d40ee67a7f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Ben Naylor Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2024 11:35:47 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 1/6] A start of information about works councils --- _resources/works-council.md | 78 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 78 insertions(+) create mode 100644 _resources/works-council.md diff --git a/_resources/works-council.md b/_resources/works-council.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cad280b --- /dev/null +++ b/_resources/works-council.md @@ -0,0 +1,78 @@ +--- +# The title text to show on the page. Will be slugified, and needs to be unique +title: "Works Council (ondernemingsraad)" +# Uncommment to translate the title +#title_nl: Eerste +# Author keys are available in _data/authors.yml +author: ben +# Date format: YYYY-MM-DD +date: 2024-12-15 +# Set to true when you want this resource to be published +published: false +# Ensure permalink is specified for all languages - otherwise generation will fail +permalink: /resources/workscouncil/ +permalink_nl: /bronnen/ondernemingsraad/ +--- + +{% if site.lang == "nl" %} + +TODO: Help with the below translation + +Deze bron is alleen beschickbaar in het engels. Wil je een vertaling maken? We will het graag. Dat kan op ons [github][techwerkers-github] + +{% else %} + +TODO: Below is heavy WIP. Needs proof reading, needs content. + +# Works Councils + +Like some other european countries, The Netherlands has a legally enforced structure called an "Ondernemingsraad". This is often translated into "Works Council", or abbreviated to just "OR". "OR" will be used through the rest of this resource. + +There are legal rights to the formation of an OR, and in many cases, companies are required to have an OR. This resource will hopefully enlighten some common questions around an OR's, how they function, and what they can do for you. + +## Foreword + +It should be a given that IANAL and that laws and are fluid and change over time. We will make our best attempts to keep these documents current, however if you note something incorrect, please consider contributing on our [github][techwerkers-github]. + +In much of this document, measurements may be mentioned. e.g. "Large" change, or "Structural" change. In practise, the scope and/or requirement for some of these are not explicitly written into the law books. This means a lot of this is up to interpretation. + +## Some terminology + +- "The entrepreneur" - The head of the business, generally the CEO. When a company becomes large, this could also be the head of a specific business unit. At a 500 person company, it would not be unusual for the CEO to be "The entrepreneur" +- "WOR" - Wet Ondernemingsraden - Law Works Council + +## When is an OR required? + +In The Netherlands, any company that has 50 or more employees must have an OR. CITE. + +Surprisingly, not all companies with more than 50 employees have an OR. This is largely due to lack of audits and/or assumed good will. In some cases, an OR is required in order to undertake an large and/or structural change to the business. Some of these actions require communication with particular government departments, at which point an explicit content can be required from an OR. + +As an example, E Corp claims they are financially struggling, and as a result they want to lay off a significant portion of the workforce. In The Netherlands, the people that are fired can have a right to unemployment benefits - however this right is controlled through the UWV. During any layoff process, the UWV will check for explicit OR consent to the changes that the business is willing to make. + +## What is the purpose of an OR? + +[CITE] text from the lawbooks + +A general understanding is that an OR: + +- Works with "The Entrepreneur" (AKA the CEO) to ensure that the business remains healthy +- Is a sparing partner to The Entrepreneur to ensure changes in the business are understood by the employees +- Provide structural changes that the employees would like to see in the business. + +An OR is considered to be at an equivilient level as the entrepreneur. e.g. one does not have power over the other. + +## What does an OR NOT do? + +TODO: More info here + +## OR members are protected + + + + +## How disputes are resolved + + +[techwerkers-github]: https://www.github.com/techworkersco/twc-site-nl + +{% endif %} From 450f7a2d9836cfe07fb148fe420e2d044e8dcf3d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Ben Naylor Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2024 13:40:49 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 2/6] Add/clarify some of the preamble --- _resources/works-council.md | 12 +++++++++--- 1 file changed, 9 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) diff --git a/_resources/works-council.md b/_resources/works-council.md index cad280b..90dbcd0 100644 --- a/_resources/works-council.md +++ b/_resources/works-council.md @@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ TODO: Below is heavy WIP. Needs proof reading, needs content. # Works Councils -Like some other european countries, The Netherlands has a legally enforced structure called an "Ondernemingsraad". This is often translated into "Works Council", or abbreviated to just "OR". "OR" will be used through the rest of this resource. +As in some other european countries, The Netherlands has a legally enforced structure for employee representation. In the Netherlands, this is called an "Ondernemingsraad". This is often translated into "Works Council", or abbreviated to just OR. OR will be used through the rest of this resource. There are legal rights to the formation of an OR, and in many cases, companies are required to have an OR. This resource will hopefully enlighten some common questions around an OR's, how they function, and what they can do for you. @@ -34,7 +34,9 @@ There are legal rights to the formation of an OR, and in many cases, companies a It should be a given that IANAL and that laws and are fluid and change over time. We will make our best attempts to keep these documents current, however if you note something incorrect, please consider contributing on our [github][techwerkers-github]. -In much of this document, measurements may be mentioned. e.g. "Large" change, or "Structural" change. In practise, the scope and/or requirement for some of these are not explicitly written into the law books. This means a lot of this is up to interpretation. +In much of this document, comparisons and their scale will be mentioned. e.g. "Large" change, or "Structural" change. In practise, "how much is large", "what is structural" is not explicitly defined into the law books. This means a lot of this is up to interpretation - interpretation that eventually falls on judges to make the decision. + +In The Netherlands, workers rights are generally well protected, and this has been shown on the public records for court cases that are published each year [CITE: There is a publication of OR court cases]. ## Some terminology @@ -45,6 +47,8 @@ In much of this document, measurements may be mentioned. e.g. "Large" change, or In The Netherlands, any company that has 50 or more employees must have an OR. CITE. +The employees that count to this number are based on the number of people with contracts with the Dutch company. (e.g. multinationals generally have a local representation). + Surprisingly, not all companies with more than 50 employees have an OR. This is largely due to lack of audits and/or assumed good will. In some cases, an OR is required in order to undertake an large and/or structural change to the business. Some of these actions require communication with particular government departments, at which point an explicit content can be required from an OR. As an example, E Corp claims they are financially struggling, and as a result they want to lay off a significant portion of the workforce. In The Netherlands, the people that are fired can have a right to unemployment benefits - however this right is controlled through the UWV. During any layoff process, the UWV will check for explicit OR consent to the changes that the business is willing to make. @@ -59,7 +63,9 @@ A general understanding is that an OR: - Is a sparing partner to The Entrepreneur to ensure changes in the business are understood by the employees - Provide structural changes that the employees would like to see in the business. -An OR is considered to be at an equivilient level as the entrepreneur. e.g. one does not have power over the other. +An OR is considered to be at an equivilient level as the entrepreneur. This means one does not have power over the other. + +In general, an OR is involved at more of a policy and/or high level decision making part of a business. ## What does an OR NOT do? From 180bbe8b9f60238d4f5fe770f847fccf120eadce Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Ben Naylor Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2024 13:41:12 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 3/6] Details on what an OR does not do --- _resources/works-council.md | 40 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++- 1 file changed, 39 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/_resources/works-council.md b/_resources/works-council.md index 90dbcd0..bec69a5 100644 --- a/_resources/works-council.md +++ b/_resources/works-council.md @@ -53,6 +53,12 @@ Surprisingly, not all companies with more than 50 employees have an OR. This is As an example, E Corp claims they are financially struggling, and as a result they want to lay off a significant portion of the workforce. In The Netherlands, the people that are fired can have a right to unemployment benefits - however this right is controlled through the UWV. During any layoff process, the UWV will check for explicit OR consent to the changes that the business is willing to make. +### Less than 50 employes? + +TODO: Some basic info on the lesser OR (BRP?). + +Less than 50 employees? There are still rights to a very similar structure of an OR, but it needs to be employee initiated. + ## What is the purpose of an OR? [CITE] text from the lawbooks @@ -69,15 +75,47 @@ In general, an OR is involved at more of a policy and/or high level decision mak ## What does an OR NOT do? -TODO: More info here +Per the above, an OR is generally involved with structural changes to a business. As such, this generally means that they are kept separate from individual employee issues. + +As an example, a person may not be happy with their end of year performance appraisal. This can happen to any specific individual, so generally wouldn't be seen as something the OR should address. In the reality of "modern companies", there generally is always a certain percentage of under performers. + +Generally speaking, this would become an OR issue when there appears to be a systemic issue. Systemic issues can be from descrimination based on someones personal attributes (gender, race, etc), all the way to how an appraisal system is operated. e.g. if a manager has many underperformers company to another team doing similar work, then are there enough checks and balances to ensure people are not being unfairly targeted. + +In summary, OR members generally don't get involved with specific individual issues, however they should always be aware of them to help discover systemic issues. ## OR members are protected +An OR member should be able to do their OR work without any fear of repercussion. In The Netherlands, this means that OR members have a higher level of scrutiny when it comes to trying to fire them. + +Protections may stop an OR member from being fired, however there can be an element of career suicide, depending on how members interact with the Entrepreneur. As much as there is an element of standing up to "management" there is also an element of working with them. Ensuring people that you are working in you and your colleagues best intentions can help. + +There are specific sections of the law [CITE] for which protects OR members, in order to keep them operating impartially as mentioned above. + +Each situation and company will be different, however it is understood that it is very hard to fire an OR member from the company. There needs to be specific evidence of underperformance and/or wrong doing, and in no way should the reasoning be related to "needing to do OR realted work". +How this may look like in reality is for OR members that have specific monthly/weekly targets. Take a call center agent as an example, they generally have a target related to their hours of work. OR work is done and considered as part of members responsibilties. As such, a call center worker cannot be penalised/performance managed if they are spending time doing OR work that could otherwise be spent on the phones. In short, OR time is work time. +## Who is allowed to be in an OR? + +TODO: insert link to wetboek with details on legal minimums. Something like 3+ months in service, no difference for temporal/permanant contracts. Does not count contractors. + +Consult the WOR, however for brevity: + +- Worked at least 3 months for the company +- Permanent on temporal contract +- Doesn't include contractors +- Can't include the entrepreneur +- Direct reports to the entrepreneur are allowed, but generally they waive their rights due to a perceived conflict of interest. + +## What can an OR actually do though? ## How disputes are resolved +## What this all looks like in reality + + + + [techwerkers-github]: https://www.github.com/techworkersco/twc-site-nl From 82511a6d237380da1446ee238d59810d018bc5e0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Ben Naylor Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2024 13:41:44 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 4/6] Protections and who can join --- _resources/works-council.md | 18 ------------------ 1 file changed, 18 deletions(-) diff --git a/_resources/works-council.md b/_resources/works-council.md index bec69a5..eb54475 100644 --- a/_resources/works-council.md +++ b/_resources/works-council.md @@ -53,12 +53,6 @@ Surprisingly, not all companies with more than 50 employees have an OR. This is As an example, E Corp claims they are financially struggling, and as a result they want to lay off a significant portion of the workforce. In The Netherlands, the people that are fired can have a right to unemployment benefits - however this right is controlled through the UWV. During any layoff process, the UWV will check for explicit OR consent to the changes that the business is willing to make. -### Less than 50 employes? - -TODO: Some basic info on the lesser OR (BRP?). - -Less than 50 employees? There are still rights to a very similar structure of an OR, but it needs to be employee initiated. - ## What is the purpose of an OR? [CITE] text from the lawbooks @@ -95,11 +89,6 @@ Each situation and company will be different, however it is understood that it i How this may look like in reality is for OR members that have specific monthly/weekly targets. Take a call center agent as an example, they generally have a target related to their hours of work. OR work is done and considered as part of members responsibilties. As such, a call center worker cannot be penalised/performance managed if they are spending time doing OR work that could otherwise be spent on the phones. In short, OR time is work time. -## Who is allowed to be in an OR? - -TODO: insert link to wetboek with details on legal minimums. Something like 3+ months in service, no difference for temporal/permanant contracts. Does not count contractors. - -Consult the WOR, however for brevity: - Worked at least 3 months for the company - Permanent on temporal contract @@ -107,15 +96,8 @@ Consult the WOR, however for brevity: - Can't include the entrepreneur - Direct reports to the entrepreneur are allowed, but generally they waive their rights due to a perceived conflict of interest. -## What can an OR actually do though? - ## How disputes are resolved -## What this all looks like in reality - - - - [techwerkers-github]: https://www.github.com/techworkersco/twc-site-nl From 4917192b6b46b718e3b7ef44c3a2fcba69f39772 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Ben Naylor Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2024 13:42:13 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 5/6] Some more headings to fill out --- _resources/works-council.md | 12 ++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 12 insertions(+) diff --git a/_resources/works-council.md b/_resources/works-council.md index eb54475..cf3e0a9 100644 --- a/_resources/works-council.md +++ b/_resources/works-council.md @@ -89,6 +89,11 @@ Each situation and company will be different, however it is understood that it i How this may look like in reality is for OR members that have specific monthly/weekly targets. Take a call center agent as an example, they generally have a target related to their hours of work. OR work is done and considered as part of members responsibilties. As such, a call center worker cannot be penalised/performance managed if they are spending time doing OR work that could otherwise be spent on the phones. In short, OR time is work time. +## Who is allowed to be in an OR? + +TODO: insert link to wetboek with details on legal minimums. Something like 3+ months in service, no difference for temporal/permanant contracts. Does not count contractors. + +Consult the WOR, however for brevity: - Worked at least 3 months for the company - Permanent on temporal contract @@ -96,8 +101,15 @@ How this may look like in reality is for OR members that have specific monthly/w - Can't include the entrepreneur - Direct reports to the entrepreneur are allowed, but generally they waive their rights due to a perceived conflict of interest. +## What can an OR actually do though? + ## How disputes are resolved +## What this all looks like in reality + + + + [techwerkers-github]: https://www.github.com/techworkersco/twc-site-nl From b42771c80113ecad950042ad3762fcbfbf29b291 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Ben Naylor Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2024 13:42:30 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 6/6] What if there are not enough people to form and OR --- _resources/works-council.md | 6 ++++++ 1 file changed, 6 insertions(+) diff --git a/_resources/works-council.md b/_resources/works-council.md index cf3e0a9..bec69a5 100644 --- a/_resources/works-council.md +++ b/_resources/works-council.md @@ -53,6 +53,12 @@ Surprisingly, not all companies with more than 50 employees have an OR. This is As an example, E Corp claims they are financially struggling, and as a result they want to lay off a significant portion of the workforce. In The Netherlands, the people that are fired can have a right to unemployment benefits - however this right is controlled through the UWV. During any layoff process, the UWV will check for explicit OR consent to the changes that the business is willing to make. +### Less than 50 employes? + +TODO: Some basic info on the lesser OR (BRP?). + +Less than 50 employees? There are still rights to a very similar structure of an OR, but it needs to be employee initiated. + ## What is the purpose of an OR? [CITE] text from the lawbooks