New Work

▶

For English translation please switch on subtitles. 

Case Study | Group-wide IT projects and their pitfalls

It’s a fairly typical situation: the foreign parent company decides to deploy new HR software across all its local subsidiaries by a specific deadline in the near future. The group companies in each of the countries are thus faced with a dilemma. On the one hand, the expectations of the group’s senior management team have been communicated – the launch date is set in stone, at least from the headquarters viewpoint. On the other hand, many legal and practical hurdles need to be overcome at national level.

Act fast, but also with care and prudence

Our German client was in precisely this predicament. Quick action was needed to meet the deadline for introducing the HR software set by the group’s foreign parent, but without neglecting the necessary due care. The first step was to establish and document the full facts with the aid of the client’s IT department and (where necessary) the software provider itself (i.e.: Which modules of the software are to be used? What interfaces to other IT solutions are there? What personal data will be processed and for what purposes? What analysis, reports, checks, etc. does the software support? Will the data be transferred to other group companies, possibly outside Germany? etc.). In addition to providing support for establishing the facts, our main task at this point was to prepare the first draft of a workplace agreement on introducing the HR software. Software tools are the classic example of a technical monitoring system and the works council has an enforceable right of co-determination when any such system is introduced. 

So how do I tell my works council?

It was clear that the client’s works council would not be very enthusiastic about being “ambushed”, with a tight timeline for introduction of the software. So it was important to proceed with care and address the works council’s concerns by explaining the necessity and rationale behind introducing the HR software, and by informing it about the maximum scope of use and the intended purpose of the software. This was done in the form of an information event for works council members, which included a PowerPoint presentation of the key facts and a Q&A session. The works council was won over by the argument that modern corporate governance is virtually impossible without up-to-date HR software, thus providing a good basis for the rest of the process.

Skilful negotiation is half the battle

Shortly afterwards, the works council was presented with the draft workplace agreement we had prepared. Informed by our advice, the client was already aware which provisions would be “nodded through” by the works council and which would meet with considerable resistance. It thus came as no surprise that there was intense discussion around ensuring employee data protection, the ability to monitor performance and behaviour, and the policy on software access and authorisation. The comprehensive ban demanded by the works council on any evidence obtained in contravention of workplace agreement provisions was averted, fortunately, as was the exclusion of entire software modules that the works council initially viewed as problematic. However, some concessions were necessary. The employer agreed to a comprehensive training package, and also had to provide assurances that employee data would not be transferred to third countries without the works council being consulted.

All’s well that ends well?

The client was happy to accept these (minor) concessions, as the main goal had been achieved: introduction of the HR software on schedule while also respecting the works council’s co-determination rights. Yet it is also clear that projects of this kind can take a very different course (up to and including the time-consuming and costly involvement of a conciliation board) if the works council feels taken by surprise and rushed into decisions under the pretext of pressure from above. Accordingly, employers are well advised not to push their works council too hard even when there is a tight timeline. It is vital to remember that the support and approval of the works council is almost always needed when it comes to IT matters.

Germany

Guide · 11 Sept 2023

CMS Workation Guide | FAQ

24 min read