Two years after the Hans-Böckler Foundation survey of company works councils’ major foci relating to negotiated company agreements (c.f. article No. 9681), the Foundation has repeated the project. Two researchers analyzed the topics covered in currently operating company agreements, including those concluded since 2015 as well as provisions within. As was the case in 2015, data protection and working time continue to be primary themes across these agreements. Two additional topics however are being increasingly tackled namely, the analysis of psychological risks (+19% of agreements focusing on this topic compared with 2015) and secondly the promotion of work related health and safety (up 13% on 2015). The trade union backed Foundation found that these developments appear to indicate a growing number of companies that realize it is appropriate to protect employees from increasingly heavy workloads and the uncertainty stemming from digital transformation.
Twenty-three agreements average per company. Based on the Foundation’s vast number of archived agreements and works council survey results, the researchers note that companies with works councils have on average almost 23 agreements each. The larger the company the higher the number of agreements. Small companies have on average 12 agreements each as compared with 44 for companies employing more than 500 staff. Also noted is that companies, which are members of employers organizations and as su
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