Worker representation on corporate boards of directors

Worker representation on corporate boards of directors refers to the right of workers to vote for representatives on a board of directors in corporate law. In 2018, a majority of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and a majority of countries and in the European Union, had some form of law guaranteeing the right of workers to vote for board representation. Together with a right to elect work councils, this is often called "codetermination". 
==Overview==
Country 	Law 	DescriptionSee worker-participation.eu and Z Adams, L Bishop and S Deakin, CBR Labour Regulation Index (Dataset of 117 Countries) (Cambridge: Centre for Business Research 2016))
Austria 	Labour Constitution Act 1975 	A third of supervisory board from 300 employees in private companies. No employee threshold for public limited companies.
Belgium 	 	No general law, but some public companies have employee representatives.See I Ferreras, Firms as Political Entities: Saving Democracy through Economic Bicameralism (2017)
Bulgaria 	 	No general law, but employees have rights to speak at shareholder general meetings.
Croatia 	LL 2009 art 166 	Employee representative on the supervisory board if the company has over 300 employees
Cyprus 	 	No general law
Czech Republic	 	State owned companies (and private companies over 50 employees before 2014) have one third employee representation
Denmark 	Companies Act 2010 s 140 	Companies over 35 employees have between two and one third board membership
Estonia 	 	No general law
Finland 	1990 Act on Personnel Representation in the Administration of Undertakings 	From 150 employees, there must be an agreement on employee representation. If there is none, one fifth of board members.
France 	Commercial Code Art. L. 225-79 	Private companies over 1000 employees in France or 5000 worldwide must have at least one or two board members. State-owned companies have one third.
Germany 	Drittelbeteiligungsgesetz 2003 (One-third Participation Act 2003), Mitbestimmungsgesetz 1976 (Codetermination Act 1976), Montanmitbestimmungsgesetz 1954	Enterprises with over 500 employees must have one third representation on a supervisory board. Over 2000 employees, half representation, but the chair of the supervisory board is a shareholder representative and has a casting vote. In coal and steel companies shareholder representatives do not have a deciding vote.
Greece 	 	State owned companies have one employee board member.
Hungary 	 	From 200 employees, one third of supervisory board members are employees.
Ireland 	Workers Participation (State Enterprises) Act 1977 	State owned companies have one third employee representation.
Italy 	 	No general law
Japan 	 	No general law
Korea 	 	No general law
Latvia 	 	No general law
Lithuania 	 	No general law
Luxembourg 	 	One third employee representation in companies over 1000 employees or state owned.
Malta 	 	No general law, except for companies owned by unions or the Labour Party.
Netherlands 	Works Constitution Act 1971, amended in 2004 	Over 100 employees, one third employee representation
Norway 	Limited Liability Companies Act 1973 	From 30 to 50 employees, one employee director. Over 50, one third of seats. Over 200, an extra employee seat. 
One director in companies with 30 to 50 employees; one third of the seats in companies with more than 50, with the possibility of an extra seat in companies with more than 200
Poland 	Law on Workers’ Self Management of 1981 	In state-owned companies employees have a third of supervisory board seats, and a seat on the management board.
Portugal 	1976 Constitution, Arts. 30 and 33 and Law 46/79 	In state owned companies, workers have a right to be consulted. In private companies work councils may elect representatives, but the number is determined by the employer.
Romania 	 	No general law, but unions can be heard at meetings.
Slovakia 	 	In companies over 50 employees, one third employee representation. In state owned companies, half the supervisory board.
Slovenia 	1991 Constitution art 75, and 1993 law. 	Companies over 50 employees, or with supervisory board, have one third to one half representation.
Spain 	Law 41/1962, repealed 1980 	Some state-owned companies retain two board members though it has not been compulsory since 1980 to have employee representation in private companies.
Sweden 	 	Over 25 employees, around one third representation on boards.
United Kingdom	Cambridge University Act 1856, etc 	No general law, except in universities, although Financial Reporting Council is introducing comply or explain rules for employee representation in the UK Corporate Governance Code
United States 	 	No general law, although in Massachusetts manufacturing firm may voluntarily have employees on boards. Any collective agreement can achieve the same result.
Australia 	 	No general law
Canada 	 	No general law
Chile 	 	No general law
Israel 	1977 Law and a 1985 High Court decision, Dapey Shituf (Tel-Aviv 1985) 	Worker representation in government companies
Switzerland 	 	No general law, but there was employee representation in railways, and there is representation in postal services.
Turkey 	 	No general law
==History==
==See also==
*European labour law
*UK labour law
*German labour law
*French labour law
*Indian labour law
*US labor law
==Notes==
==References==
*I Ferreras, Firms as Political Entities: Saving Democracy through Economic Bicameralism (2017)
*E McGaughey, 'The Codetermination Bargains: The History of German Corporate and Labour Law' (2016) 23(1) Columbia Journal of European Law 135 
*E McGaughey, 'Votes at Work in Britain: Shareholder Monopolisation and the ‘Single Channel’' (2017) 46(4) Industrial Law Journal 
*HJ Teuteberg, ‘Zur Entstehungsgeschichte der ersten betrieblichen Arbeitervertretungen in Deutschland’ (1960) 11 Soziale Welt 69
*HJ Teuteberg, Geschichte der Industriellen Mitbestimmung in Deutschland (1961)
*S Webb and B Webb, The History of Trade Unionism (1920) Appendix VIII
==External links==
*worker-participation.eu 
*Z Adams, L Bishop and S Deakin, CBR Labour Regulation Index (Dataset of 117 Countries) (Cambridge: Centre for Business Research 2016))
Category:Democracy
Category:Human resource management
Category:Labour law