In a decision passed on 18 June (here), a Central Arbitration Committee in the UK declared that the leadership of a non-European company, in this case Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE), may change the location of its European subsidiary that will act as its representative agent in the context of the negotiation of a European Works Council, provided that this re-designation is made in good faith and employee rights of information and consultation are preserved. In this case, the IT giant re-designated its Irish subsidiary as its representative agent in place of its UK subsidiary following the country’s vote to leave the EU.
The complaint to the CAC regards the refusal on the part of HPE to allow the chair of a special negotiating body (SNB), set up to negotiate the future European Works Council, to attend a special training course delivered by the UK trade union Unite, under rules transposed into UK law that requires company management to provide SNB members with the means to carry out their duties. The refusal leads on from HPE’s decision, made two years previously, to move its “representative agent” for informat
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