The Works Council and money; a tricky combination. You have certain established rights to spend money, but there may be some social pressure…

– klik hier voor de Nederlandse versie van deze tekst –

the Works Council is frugal

I still notice that Works Councils first consider the cost of Works Council training (or off-site team days). The content comes second.

Of course, you must look at the price, but above all, you should focus on what you want to achieve and be critical about how best to achieve it. And let it be a conscious choice. After all, you want the most value for money.

the Director doesn't think it's necessary

I also regularly meet Directors who do not consider it necessary (or find it too expensive). Some Directors tell the Works Council that the cost of Works Council training will be deducted from the training budget of all employees, and that the Works Council will have to explain to colleagues that the money is gone. However, that is not true.

the Director does not actually have any say in the spending

Article 18, paragraph 3 B of the Works Council Act (WOR) describes what the Works Council is entitled to. The SER (Social and Economic Council) then indicates a reasonable price per day part, with a target amount.

 According to that WOR article, the Works Council is entitled to 5 days / 15 day parts per calendar year to spend on 'education and training', which we prefer to call off-site team days.

 The so-called ‘standing committees’ (set up by institutional decision) are given additional rights to education and training: 3 days / 9 day parts per calendar year.

the director may object

The Director may object if, in the Director's view, the costs are 'unreasonable'. For example, because the Works Council hires someone who charges twice the SER day-part rate. 

The Director cannot object to the number of days you want to spend. And if you stay within the budget, they cannot object to the amount you’re spending.

the Director wants to save money

In some cases, the Director wants to save on expenses because the organisation is not doing well (financially). And often, the Director ‘proves’ this by pointing out the savings achieved in departments.

But especially when an organisation is not doing well, the Works Council often has a lot to do. That is when there will be more requests for advice or consent. A period of reorganisation(s) or downsizing operations requires more time and effort from a Works Council. This is the time the Works Council should spend on professionalising itself through Works Council training/off-site team days.

Moreover, judgments are very clear in such situations; only the suspension of payments (postponement of payments to avoid bankruptcy) could be a legal basis for the Director to refuse the Works Council's request to spend money on education and training.  

a comparison with the hiring policy

As an organisation, you have your pick of candidates in the current job market. Ranging from someone who is inexperienced in the job to someone who has already earned their stripes in the profession.

A healthy organisation will make a well-balanced choice. We all see the two options, an inexperienced and (therefore) cheap novice employee, or someone with a lot of experience who would logically demand a good salary to switch from their current position.

The choice is between paying little now and reaping the benefits later or paying more and benefiting from your investment immediately.

rights and duties

As a Works Council, you have duties. However, you also have rights. You have a duty to represent all employees in the organisation independently. To ensure this, the legislator has granted you rights. Pretty simple.

comparing tenders and bids

Works Councils frequently tell me that their management requests three offers for comparison. Works Councils in government institutions are often required to implement a tendering procedure. Because “that’s what we always do when dealing with large expenses”.

The Supreme Court's rulings on this are clear: tendering for Works Council training is not allowed. The organisation’s management should not influence the choice of trainer or the content of the training.

independent

The independence of the Works Council must be guaranteed by law and case law. All regulations are designed to ensure the Works Council is fully independent and can determine the content and purpose of its training sessions, meetings, or conversations.

why independent?

Because they (the government, the SER, and policymakers) want to bring you, as a Works Council member, to the same professional level as your counterpart, the organisation’s management, ensuring that you are informed about conversation and meeting techniques, company politics and management skills. This ensures you gain experience communicating your point of view clearly and substantively. In short, that you are taken seriously and that people in the organisation act on what you have to say. After all, you are the representative of all employees.

social and moral pressures

In other cases, corporate management tries to limit the spending of the Works Council with social or moral arguments such as ‘we don't have off-site team days for our own team’ or even more guilt-tripping ‘your training comes at the expense of the training budget of the entire organisation’. You can accommodate this, but are the arguments relevant? All the support the legislator wants you to have is intended to make you an equal interlocutor. And you can ask yourself whether you would give in to these arguments if that is the case.

Works Council budget: €20,925,- per year (at least)

To further guarantee your independence, the SER provides additional statements about WOR rights. Each year, the SER announces the budget for Works Council training. From this, you can conclude that every Works Council in the Netherlands is entitled to approximately €20,925 (2026) for training and support (this does not include hiring experts for specific subjects).

This budget can be used for customised Works Council off-site team days/ Works Council training, or for specific training courses for Works Council members.

To be clear: this is your right, but of course, you can always choose not to (fully) claim it. It is entirely up to you, as an independent Works Council, to decide. Nevertheless, spending money as a Works Council remains difficult.

The (mandated) Director must budget at least €20,925 for the 'training and education' costs of the Works Council members. This amount does not include any accommodation costs.

Please note that this budgeting only applies to the so-called 'training days' and not to the possible hiring of external experts by the Works Council.

spending the 5 days / 15 day parts

It's up to the Works Council to determine how the 5 days / 15 day parts are spent. For example, if you want to spend 2 day parts on a course on note-taking for the secretary or on a course on conducting meetings for the chairperson, these are deducted from the total of 15 day parts. 

How many people join per day part is not relevant. A Works Council is always given 15 day parts per calendar year to spend.

the difference between ‘training’ and ‘advice’

It is important to note that the WOR clearly distinguishes between ‘education and training’ (what we now call Works Council training, or rather, off-site team days) and hiring an external expert. The latter is subject to additional rules that grant the Works Council even greater freedom to independently determine which expert is best suited to support it. 

Read more about hiring an (external) expert or advisor in this article. 

make your own decisions!

Whether you choose cheap or expensive support, whether you select a Works Council trainer you like or an institute with a good reputation, you must first determine your goal (statement) and then see what the best way to achieve it is. And remember… training can never be a goal in itself. Make sure you get the best return on your investment in time and money!

 

Note: Please note that we are a Dutch organisation and that all our information is originally composed in Dutch. For the benefit of our English-speaking customers we have translated some of our online information. We are still in the process of translating even more of our information. It could therefore be that you will come across Dutch pages on CT2.nl. Please contact us if you would like more information.