writing the Works Council annual report: a mandatory task, but how do I do this?

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I regularly get asked how the Works Council can stay connected to its constituents. The Works Council annual report is an excellent opportunity, and let’s not forget: the annual report is mandatory.

– klik hier voor de Nederlandse versie van deze tekst –

the Work Council’s rights and duties

You’ve probably read that the Works Council has different rights, such as the right to advise and the right of consent on a whole list of topics. But the Works Council also has several responsibilities. 

One of those is that you must answer to the people who have elected* you. Therefore, one requirement is to write an annual report on what the Works Council has done in the last calendar year.

mandatory publication: not just the Works Council annual report

According to the Works Council Act (WOR article 14h (Dutch)), the Works Council annual report is not the only mandatory publication. Other documents, such as minutes and agendas, must also be shared with the organisation. You can read more about this in the article ‘Mandatory publication by the Works Council: explanations & tips‘ (Dutch).

Works Council annual report: when to publish?

The WOR does not stipulate when to publish the Works Council annual report. However, it is usually described in your Works Council rules of procedure. 

Most Works Councils in the Netherlands have used the SER’s Model Rules of Procedure for Works Councils to create their Works Council rules of procedure. If your Works Council has used the SER’s model rules of procedure, it is (probably) stated in article 22 of the Works Council rules of procedure: “Every year, before [date], the secretary shall draw up a report of the activities …” and “After approval from the Works Council, the secretary shall make the final annual report known to the entrepreneur and the persons working in the enterprise.”

You should check your Rules of Procedure to see what it says about the publication date.

However, most organisations publish more than one annual report, most published in the first quarter of the following calendar year. And that is a reasonable timeframe: publishing the annual report in January, February or March, accounting for the previous calendar year. It is recommended that you follow the publication date of the other annual reports in the organisation.

what information should the Works Council annual report contain?

It should mention what you’ve done in the previous year. This means you can make the report as comprehensive as you like or keep it brief, writing a concise summary (of everything), as long as you mention everything that happened.
To help you get started, here are some of the items that could be included in your Works Council annual report:

Works Council composition ↓
In the annual report, you should document the composition of the Works Council: who are the Works Council members, and which departments do they represent? And if there have been elections or new members have joined the Works Council, you should also mention this.

Works Council meetings and meetings with the 'Bestuurder' (Director) ↓
In the annual report, you can also document (in broad terms) how many meetings there have been and what the meetings were about. But you can also describe the atmosphere and the information exchange during the meetings.

how the Works Council experienced the past year ↓
From our practical experience, we recommend that you write about actual facts and how the Works Council experienced it.

what the Works Council did during the off-site team days ↓
Were there any off-site team days? In that case, write what you did or decided during these days. You can also include any training courses (e.g., occupational health/environment, health and safety) you have taken. In short, mention how it contributed to the (further) professionalisation of the Works Council.

share your successes ↓
Many people find this challenging. We are not used to ‘bragging about ourselves’. But don’t forget to mention what went well, what you were happy about. Most of all, document your successes, such as things you accomplished for the employees. Or write how you made things better for the organisation. Showcase your most visible results.

the future ↓
Perhaps the most challenging part is discussing how the Works Council sees the future. You can say something about the coming year for the Works Council, but you could also share your views on the organisation’s future. It is all up to you.

what should a Works Council annual report look like?

Working with Work Councils, I often encounter different types of annual reports. None of them are wrong; no one is better than the other. It is about achieving your goal: creating a report about the previous year.

The primary guideline for its form and content: the report must fit your organisation. Some organisations produce lengthy policy documents, while others create brief memos. You should make a report that matches your organisation’s reporting style.

the single-page Works Council annual report ↓
Some Works Councils manage to fit their entire annual report on one page. Concise and powerful. It is very likely that such a report, posted on the bulletin board, gets read more quickly. A short annual report will also be read more quickly on the intranet or via email; people will skim the headlines (Dutch) like they would read a newspaper.

You can also adjust the composition: some people create an A4 page with headings and paragraphs. But an accessible format such as in a newspaper (blocks of text, alternated with a photo or cartoon, lots of headlines) can also improve the readability.

We have created a template especially for you: a document that you just need to fill in. In the article OR-jaarverslag: op één A4! (Dutch) you will find more information and how to download this template. Although in Dutch, it can be easily altered in English.

a comprehensive Works Council annual report ↓
Other Works Councils create very comprehensive annual reports. These contain not only a foreword (by the chairperson, for example) and an introduction, but also detailed chapters on how each request for advice and consent was handled.

the Works Council annual report as part of the organisation's annual report ↓
In increasing cases, the Works Council gets a chapter in the organisation’s annual report. The Works Council is (still) entirely responsible for the content, but HR or the communication department help them to write a good text.

This also allows the Works Council to clearly demonstrate that they are part of the (key) decision-making procedures within the organisation.

and: how do I create the Works Council annual report? Some tips:

TIP 1: write a small piece every month
The easiest advice I can give every Works Council: write (a couple of sentences) about what has happened in the past 4 to 5 weeks. Do this every month. At the end of the year, you will have 12 pieces to combine into one report.
This is a smart way of creating the report because chances are that you won’t remember what happened in February of the previous year when you start writing your report in March of the new year.

TIP 2: everyone contributes
If the Works Council has many (different) committees or portfolio holders (Works Council members who are responsible for specific topics), you should agree at the beginning of the year that each committee, working group or portfolio holder is responsible for their own part of the Works Council annual report. I also recommend reminding everyone of this responsibility several times during the year.

TIP 3: make good arrangements in advance
A Works Council is part of the organisation, with its own tasks and responsibilities. All parties must well organise the work, and this requires suitable arrangements that you agree upon with each other.

Ensure that arrangements about the Works Council annual report are made just as clear as agreements on who is taking the minutes, who is the chair of the meeting or who is responsible for the publication and correspondence of the Works Council.

TIP 4: create links to published documents
Most organisations have their own Intranet where the Works Council can share all its documents with the organisation. In the article ‘Mandatory publication by the Works Council: explanations & tips‘ (Dutch), you can read more about publishing the reports/minutes of the Works Council meetings and consultation meetings (OV). 

In the annual report, you can then include direct intranet links to the documents that are being discussed. This enables your colleagues to read the documents you mention in the annual report.

The following documents can be shared via direct intranet links in your annual report:

  • requests for advice from the Director;
  • advice from the Works Council to the Director;
  • requests for consent from the Director;
  • consent from the Works Council for the Director;
  • consultation meeting reports;
  • Works Council meeting reports;
  • etc.

TIP 5: keep your writing simple

This is the most challenging tip to apply: keep your writing as simple as possible. It increases the chance that people will actually read it. This has nothing to do with the education level of your readers; even people with higher education levels can read simple texts more easily and faster.

How would you define ‘simple writing’? Use short sentences and as few commas as possible. Try to avoid ‘big words’. Keep the paragraphs as brief as possible. And use titles or headlines whenever possible.
Like we did in this article.

TIP 6: 'kill your darlings'!
One famous (and infamous) statement for all writers who want to improve their writing is eliminating unnecessary information and texts from your annual report. So when you’re done writing, get rid of what is redundant and make the text as clear as possible.

the Works Council annual report: not that difficult

Writing the Works Council annual report is not that hard, as long as you start writing on time. That is the crux of the matter. And if you can make it short, powerful and as fun as possible, chances are it will also be read.

If you have any questions, please contact us; we are happy to answer them.

PS: Want to download a template for an A4-size OR annual report? In the article OR-jaarverslag: op één A4! (Dutch) you will find more information and how to download this template. Although in Dutch, it can be easily altered in English.

*Even if no actual elections were held because there were fewer candidates than seats in the Works Council, we still call them ‘elected Works Council members’.

This article was written by Sander Vrugt van Keulen

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.

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