When coaching Works Councils, we often get asked questions about what an administrative secretary (AS) can do. There are many misunderstandings about the role of the administrative secretary, which is why we decided to write this article.
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The Works Council determines its own procedure and documents in the Works Council rules of procedure (Dutch). The WOR only stipulates that a Works Council must have a chairperson; the role of the secretary during the election is described in the Works Council rules of procedure (Dutch). The Works Council itself determines all other things.
The Works Council also determines whether the council needs other roles, such as a vice-chairperson or an administrative secretary.The article “The Works Council Executive Board: what do the chairperson and secretary do?” describes the tasks, roles and election of the Works Council’s chairperson and secretary.
what is an administrative secretary (AS)?
All members of the ‘Dagelijks Bestuur’ (DB) are elected Works Council members with an ‘additional task’. The administrative secretary is not an elected Works Council member; they are hired to support the Works Council and/or the DB in performing their tasks.
In other words, the AS is an employee, and the Works Council is the ‘employer’.
Well, the latter is not entirely correct; the organisation employs the AS. They are a regular employee, like all employees, but, due to this situation, it is the Works Council that determines the job content, tasks and management of the AS. Salary payments, vacation day administration and all other matters are the responsibility of the organisation’s management.
the administrative secretary (AS) is not a Works Council member
To be clear, an AS is not a Works Council member; they cannot vote on Works Council subjects. An AS can give professional advice but cannot provide substantive opinions on a subject.
The AS is, therefore, not a member of the Works Council’s ‘Dagelijks Bestuur’ (DB). The DB consists of the Works Council’s chairperson, secretary (and other roles). These DB members are elected from among the Works Council members.
The AS could benefit and improve in their role if they were invited to attend the Works Council and consultation meetings (OV = OverlegVergadering). The AS is also often invited to attend the meetings of the DB. However, the AS is and remains a supporting role (advisor or minute-taker) for the Works Council and DB.
the tasks of the AS
If you, as a Works Council, are considering using an AS, you will first need to determine what they will be expected to do: what are the tasks you expect them to perform?
The most straightforward task is to record the meetings (take minutes). You could, however, ask the AS to be a policy officer or even an advisor to the Works Council. In that case, you would expect them also to prepare, research and write things for the Works Council. Please note that these are entirely different job descriptions. Therefore, you should determine your needs before starting the application procedure.
TIP: make sure that as a Works Council, you clearly understand the AS’ tasks before you start looking for someone.
Often, this means that you will also have to consult with the ‘Bestuurder’ (Director) about the tasks (and the hours required for them) before you can start an application procedure.
difficult position of the AS: two (types of) managers
So the Works Council is the AS’ content supervisor and someone else in the organisation is the hierarchical or position manager.
This means that the AS can sometimes find themselves in a pretty difficult position. The Works Council supervises the content of the AS tasks and whether they are correctly performed. However, all other matters will be decided by the hierarchical leader in the organisation. That hierarchical manager has no say about the content of the work of the AS.
In practice, this will mean that the AS’ performance reviews are conducted by someone from the Works Council (usually the secretary) and the hierarchical manager.
rights and obligations of the AS
Like the Works Council members, the AS can use the facilities and utilities as described in the WOR (WOR article 17) (Dutch). An AS is also protected against unfair treatment and dismissal (WOR article 21 (Dutch) and article 7: 670 of the Dutch Civil Code (Dutch)). And, of course, they have, like the Works Council members, a duty of confidentiality (WOR article 20, sub 2 (Dutch)).
the benefits of an AS for the Works Council
Having an AS has its benefits for the Works Council. These benefits can also benefit the ‘Bestuurder’ (Director) and the organisation.
Some of the examples of the benefits an AS provides and tasks an AS could perform are:
- coordinating/structuring the Works Council work
- ensuring continuity in the work of the Works Council (the Works Council members are elected, the AS remains)
- ensuring a good and up-to-date Works Council archive
- writing (news)letters
- acting as a permanent point of contact for Works Council members
- the professionalisation of the Works Council work
- writing letters of advice and/or consent and policy notes (on behalf of the Works Council)
- sharing knowledge and advising on applicable legislation and regulations such as the WOR, Health and Safety Act, etc.
- offering a network of experts to assist with enquiries
In general, the Works Council members can focus (more) on the content of the Works Council work while the AS carries out the process and the tasks. This alone can make the Works Council more professional and (as a result) more interesting for the ‘Bestuurder’ (Director) as an interlocutor and a sparring partner.
we want an AS: what is next?
we want an AS: things to take into account
If you have any questions, please contact us; we are happy to answer them.
sources (Dutch):
https://www.ser.nl/nl/thema/medezeggenschap/ondersteuning-or/ambtelijke-secretaris
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.