Great Britain: national collective redundancies, even if decided locally, must be subject to European Works Council information and consultation when at least two countries are concerned (CAC)

On 05 March the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) * issued a decision that included conclusions pertaining to European Works Councils (EWCs) and information and consultation requirements. In its decision the CAC affirmed that as soon as collective redundancies are planned in at least two countries, an extraordinary meeting of the EWC must be organized, even if the redundancy plans do not result from the same corporate decision and are not coordinated. The CAC also decided that the management of the group concerned is required to communicate sales information on a country-by-country basis (and not region-by-region as practised by management) on the grounds that country-by-country information is necessary for the full exercise of the EWC’s mission.