The German laws on codetermination are definitive. Works council decisions made via videoconference have no legal value. However, amid the economic crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, works councils are having to make many decisions, in particular to authorise the range of short-time working measures that are being implemented. Therefore the German minister for employment and social affairs has announced that, in the view of his legal staff, decisions made via videoconference should be considered legally valid given the exceptional nature of the present situation. A directive on the matter is expected to arrive in due course.
According to IG Metall union spokesperson Silke Ernst, who spoke to Planet Labor, “the issue of the validity of works council decisions made by videoconference is a huge problem for such bodies, who keep calling us for advice”. She adds: “For example, the major car manufacturers all have to decide on thousands of short-time working measures.
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