How do I set up the works council area?
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On this page
The administration provides the Works Council section but does not see any content. This page describes what the administration sets up and how a support access works.
1. Activate module#
The Works Council section is a module of the platform. You activate it like any other module in the Module Manager:
Administration → Platform → Modules open.
Select the Works Council module and click Activate.
In the dialog under Additional roles with access, select the roles that should see the section, for example the role for all employees. Administrators always have access.
Info
Who sees the section? All persons whose role in the Works Council section has at least the level View. You define this later under Administration → Users → Roles & Permissions; for the standard employee role, this level is provided. It only opens the door for concerns, topic suggestions, office hours, and published agreements. Only members see the Works Council content.
2. Enable subsections#
Administration → Organization → Works Council open.
Under Subsections, enable the required switches. After activating the module, all are off.
Subsection |
BetrVG |
|---|---|
Meetings and resolutions |
§§ 29–36 |
Participation procedures |
§§ 87, 99–103, 111 |
Works agreements |
§ 77 |
Employee concerns |
§§ 84, 85 |
Topic suggestions |
§ 86a |
Committees and working groups |
§§ 27, 28, 28a, 106–108 |
Training |
§ 37 para. 6 and 7, § 40 |
Works meetings and office hours |
§§ 39, 42–46 |
Always available: Members, overview, and settings of the Works Council.
On this page, you only see the switches, not the Works Council content.
A disabled subsection is hidden; its data remains preserved.
Without the Meetings subsection, the Works Council records decisions as "decided outside the platform" with a date.
3. Enter first chairperson#
As long as the Works Council has no members or content, the administration enters the first chairperson:
In the navigation, open the Works Council section.
In the card Set up Works Council under Chairperson, select the person.
Click Set chairperson.
You can also enter yourself, for example if you hold the chair in a small company.
During setup, only the chairperson is defined. All further members, the deputy, and the settings are then maintained by the Works Council itself.
Once there is a chairperson or content, the setup is closed. As an administrator, you then no longer see any Works Council content unless you are a member yourself.
Warning
Concerns and topic suggestions are only possible when the Works Council has members. Therefore, enter the chairperson before directing employees to the section.
Info
Who works in the section is determined solely by the member list of the Works Council. No role and no administrator rights replace it.
Request support access#
If IT needs insight, for example for troubleshooting, there is exactly one way: a support access with the approval of the Works Council.
Administration → Organization → Works Council open.
Request a support access with reason and duration: 2, 8, 24, or 72 hours.
Chairperson or deputy are notified and approve or reject.
You receive a notification about the decision. The duration starts with approval.
The access is read-only.
It ends automatically. You can end it earlier, the chairperson can revoke it.
Every access is logged for the Works Council.
Per person, there is one open request or active access at the same time.
Involve Works Council from a workflow#
The employer can involve the Works Council directly from a platform workflow, for example in the "Hiring" or "Termination" process. The step Involve Works Council is only available if the section and its participation procedures are enabled.
The step submits a process with type, title, affected person, and the notification. The notification is mandatory: for terminations, the reasons; for personnel measures, the person, position, and documents.
The receipt date is the day of the step; in the evening from 6 PM, on weekends, or on holidays, the next working day.
In the case of extraordinary termination, the step can alternatively submit the ordinary hearing. The workflow then waits for both.
The workflow waits until the Works Council has responded or the deadline has expired. A refusal, objection, or concern is returned with reasons and justification as soon as the chairperson delivers it.
Branches per response: For approval, objection or refusal, concerns, and other conclusions, the workflow defines whether it continues, ends, or jumps to another step. An expired deadline counts as the response that the law then assumes. The editor explains for each type what a rejection means for the employer.
If the Works Council complains that the notification is incomplete, the person who submitted the process is informed.
Info
What the employer learns: only the result and the date, never the consultation.
Important
No legal advice: The platform implements the legal rules and cites the paragraphs. The decision remains with the Works Council.