Over het spanningsveld tussen het recht van de OR de achterban te raadplegen over een (voorgenomen) besluit van de ondernemer en aan de OR opgelegde geheimhouding

The Dutch Works Councils Act requires employers in the Netherlands who normally employ more than fifty employees to establish a works council. The works council promotes consultation and cooperation between employer and employees, with a view to both employee well-being and the effectiveness of the enterprise. The works council influences policy decisions through its rights of advice and consent and meets with the management at least twice a year to discuss current affairs and future plans. The employer must provide the works council with all information necessary for the proper performance of its duties, including business-sensitive information. In return, works council members are bound by a statutory duty of confidentiality. Tensions may arise when the works council, based on such information, wishes to consult its constituents in order to properly fulfil its role. In this contribution, we discuss how such situations should be handled and to what extent sharing confidential information with employees is permissible.