As a rule, if there are no trade unions active in an employing establishment, certain actions should still be consulted or even agreed upon with employee representatives. Such employee representatives are not protected by the Labour Code to the same extent as trade union members. In particular, they are not protected against termination of employment.
Most actions of the employer do not require the consent of employee representatives – consultation is usually sufficient.
However, there are specific cases in which the law requires consent and the employer is obliged to reach an agreement with the employee representatives. For example, under the COVID-19-related provisions, employers had to obtain the consent of the employee representatives in order to suspend or modify certain terms and conditions of employment contained in employment contracts, including working hours, full-time jobs, or to suspend certain provisions of remuneration regulations and bonus policies. In other words, mere consultation in this case would not have been sufficient.
The consent of employee representatives is also required for the following: (i) extending the settlement period; (ii) introducing flexible and interrupted working time systems, and (iii) taking decisions related to the social benefits fund, including the decision not to create one.
Interestingly though, if collective redundancies are necessary, the decision and the rules for the process need only to be consulted with employee...
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