Works Council may be dissolved after refusal to work with the personnel manager

The Regional Labor Court (Landesarbeitsgericht – LAG) Düsseldorf decided on 23 June, 2020 on the question whether the works council may refuse to cooperate with an employer representative, decision of 23 June, 2020, 14 TaBV 75/19. The LAG rejected this on the grounds that the works council was thus significantly in breach of its obligations under works constitution law and dissolved the works council at the request of the employer pursuant to sec. 23 para. 1 of the Works Constitution Act (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz – BetrVG).

The works council is not entitled to demand that the employer’s representative speaks German if sufficient translation is guaranteed in the company, according to the Regional Labor Court (Landesarbeitsgericht – LAG Nuremberg, decision dated 18 June, 2020 – 1 TaBV 33/19.

Is the works council an independent data processing body within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)? So far, this question was answered with a simple “no”.