The ruling on 17 June by a French court of first instance (lower court), came about from what ostensibly appeared as a classic dispute between works council (WC) and company management over the provision of the information necessary for the WC to be able to provide an reasoned opinion as part of a consultation procedure. In fact, the issue grew beyond the scope of a company dispute, because trade unions, expert and lawyers groups joined in to question the shortening of the information and consultation periods, which had been decided as part of the emergency measures implemented to deal with the Covid-19 health crisis. The complainants invoked European regulations but without success, as the judges considered that they were not applicable in a dispute between private individuals.
The company’s WC, believing itself insufficiently informed, went to court to obtain the missing information on the measures being considered for the resumption of activity and the protection of the health and safety of employees in the context of the Covid-19 health crisis. The WC was also requesting a new consultation period of two months in order to enable it to provide its opinion, which if so would be ignoring (and not implementing) national provisions adopted in the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis on the grounds that they run contrary to European provisions.
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