Consulting employees

Legislation on consulting employees about developments in the workplace came into force on 6 April 2005.

The EC Directive on Informing and Consulting Employees means that staff will have a right to be informed and consulted on a regular basis about issues in the organisation they work for.

The legislation initially applies to organisations with 150 or more employees, and will extend to firms with 100 or more employees in April 2007, and to firms with 50 or more employees in 2008.

In order for the regulations to apply, an employee request must be made by at least 10% of the employees in the organisation.

Experts have expressed concerns that some firms are not sufficiently prepared for the regulations, and are urging employers to make sure they have sufficient measures in place to deal with an employee request.

Further information on the directive is also available.