All you need to know as member of a Works Council

In accordance with the Dutch Works Councils Act, the board of directors has an obligation to consult the Works Council on critical matters and to consider their advice carefully when taking decisions. In order for a company to function in the Netherlands, the Works Council has therefore an important role to play.

Many members of Works Councils have no previous experience in this area and are unfamiliar with the unique Dutch environment and legislation. You may be looking for a course to get you up to speed quickly, in which  you gain insight into:
- the main topics of the Dutch Works Councils Act,
- your legal rights and obligations,
- the main aspects of how a Works Council functions in practice,
- in your team: how to build on each other’s strengths in the best possible way.

We offer you such training, provided in English.

Possible Works Council course topics

- The Dutch Works Councils Act: rights and duties of the WC
- Purpose and resources of the WC
- Regulations of the WC
- Strategy of the WC
- How to go about your work as a WC
- Teambuilding
- How to communicate to your stakeholders (employees)
- Written communication (also via intranet)
- Fruitful and resolute meetings of the WC
- Negotiating skills (with actor, playing the role of director)
- Personal power
- Strategic policy of the company
- Analysis of the company
- Finance policy
- Social policy
- Cooperation with a trade union

I am also available to assist in consultations with the board of directors and to help you negotiate in specific situations.
 

My background

As a manager of a business unit, I have had to sit on the other side of the table, deliberating with Works Councils. Now I train Works Councils and have done so for many years in Dutch as well as in English.

Satisfied Customers

Marc Gilbert, Secretary of the Sodexo Altys WC:

For more than twelve years Frank Dijkstra has trained and accompanied the Works Council of Sodexo Altys (the former KLM Facility Services). Key words that apply are: creative, honest, social, professional and humorous.

Arend van der Veen, former chairman of the Works Council of the city of Delft:

Frank has, among other things, mediated in a conflict between the Central Works Council and the municipal clerk. For the rest of our term, we cooperated with the municipal clerk in the most constructive way - just as it should be!

Jan van Dijk, former chairman of the Works Council of the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Fisheries:

Thanks to Frank’s creative, humorous and professional help we managed to create a well-functioning Works Council. With this WC, we initiated an important reorganisation, which we have since brought to a successful conclusion.

Louis Walpot, engineer and member of the AOES WC in Noordwijk:

His empathy and sound advice are well recognized and appreciated by all partners, irrespective of their origin. He has proven to be a skilled mediator. Frank is highly respected and recommended as a reliable and genuine broker, capable of unravelling even the most challenging situations.
 

Paul Hodgetts, engineer and member of the Staff Association Committee at ESTEC (European Space Agency) in Noordwijk:

He is an excellent Work’s Council adviser on specific and delicate issues.