Is Europeanised Board-Level Employee Representation Specific? The Case of European Companies (SEs)

Abstract

This working paper investigates whether European board-level representation of employees in European Companies (SEs) is really ‘Europeanised’ or is coloured by the national system of their company’s country of origin.

The authors used responses of employees sitting on SE boards to a questionnaire-based survey conducted between 2009 and 2013 and conclude that SE board-level representation is not an extension of national institutions and practice. It displays its own features, as well as sharing features with either German parity codetermination or one-third codetermination.

Keywords: Labour Relations; Corporate Governance; Workers Representation; Codetermination; European Company