Alternative Arbeitnehmervertretungen

In more and more companies, alternative employee representative bodies are being set up instead of a statutory works council. These alternative employee representative bodies are referred to as “councils of trust”, “round tables” or the like and are not based on the Works Constitution Act but instead on a contractual agreement.
The dissertation takes an extensive look at the phenomenon of alternative employee representative bodies. It first provides an overview of the prevalence and formation of alternative employee representative bodies in practice. The dissertation then examines the question of the permissibility of alternative employee representative bodies. On the basis of the findings, the legal status of alternative employee representative bodies and their members is analysed and the possible courses of action of alternative employee representative bodies are explored. Finally, the dissertation looks into legal remedies.