The German quadrennial works council elections in spring 2026 are approaching. The modern workplace—with matrix structures, platform work, and home office arrangements—raises questions of who is entitled to vote, and where and when an independent establishment (or part thereof) exists. The German Federal Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht (BAG)) addressed this latter question in three of its most recent decisions, all issued on January 28, 2026, Ref. No. 7 ABR 23/24, Ref. No.7 ABR 26/24, and Ref. No. 7 ABR 40/24.
- For the election of a separate works council in Germany, a certain territorial unit belonging to a company must either constitute an establishment with unified management or an independent part of an establishment with a minimum degree of organizational autonomy.
- Mere delivery zones (“remote cities”) of a platform-based delivery service, where only delivery drivers are employed, do not constitute organizational units eligible to elect a works council. The simple grouping into a delivery zone with its own shift schedule is insufficient; nor does a community of interest among the drivers employed there provide the requisite minimum degree of organizational autonomy.
The employer operates a platform-based food delivery service. The company is organizationally divided into three areas: the central human resources department at the company’s headquarters, so-called “hub cities” (main distribution bases with administrative and back-office staff as well as delivery...
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