The Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 1999

Consultative Committee

15.—(1) Where a consultative committee exists—

(a) no UK member of the special negotiating body shall be elected by a ballot of the UK employees, except in the circumstances specified in paragraphs (2), (3) or (9) below; and

(b) the committee shall be entitled to nominate from its number the UK members of the special negotiating body.

(2) Where the consultative committee fails to nominate any UK members of the special negotiating body, all of the UK members of the special negotiating body shall be elected by a ballot of the UK employees in accordance with regulations 13 and 14.

(3) Where the consultative committee nominates such number of persons to be a UK member, or UK members, of the special negotiating body, which number is less or more than the number of UK members of the special negotiating body required, the consultative committee shall be treated as having failed to have nominated any UK members of the special negotiating body.

(4) In this regulation, “a consultative committee” means a body of persons—

(a) whose normal functions include or comprise the carrying out of an information and consultation function;

(b) which is able to carry out its information and consultation function without interference from the UK management, or from the central management (where it is not also the UK management);

(c) which, in carrying out its information and consultation function, represents all the UK employees; and

(d) which consists wholly of persons who were elected by a ballot (which may have consisted of a number of separate ballots) in which all the employees who, at the time, were UK employees were entitled to vote.

(5) In paragraph (4) “information and consultation function” means the function of—

(a) receiving, on behalf of all the UK employees, information which may significantly affect the interests of the UK employees, but excluding information which is relevant only to a specific aspect of the interests of the employees, such as health and safety or collective redundancies; and

(b) being consulted by the UK management or the central management (where it is not also the UK management) on the information referred to in sub-paragraph (a) above.

(6) The consultative committee must publish the names of the persons whom it has nominated to be UK members of the special negotiating body in such manner as to bring them to the attention of the UK management and, so far as reasonably practicable, the UK employees and UK employees' representatives.

(7) Where the UK management, a UK employee or a UK employees' representative believes that—

(a) the consultative committee does not satisfy the requirements in paragraph (4) above; or

(b) any of the persons nominated by the consultative committee is not entitled to be nominated,

it, or as the case may be he, may, within a period of 21 days beginning on the date on which the consultative committee published under paragraph (6) the names of persons nominated, present a complaint to the CAC.

(8) Where the CAC finds the complaint well-founded it shall make a declaration to that effect.

(9) Where the CAC has made a declaration under paragraph (8)—

(a) no nomination made by the consultative committee shall have effect; and

(b) all of the UK members of the special negotiating body shall be elected by a ballot of the UK employees in accordance with regulations 13 and 14.

(10) Where the consultative committee nominates any person to be a UK member of the special negotiating body, that nomination shall have effect after—

(a) where no complaint has been presented under paragraph (7), the expiry of a period of 21 days beginning on the date on which the consultative committee published under paragraph (6) the names of persons nominated; or

(b) where a complaint has been presented under paragraph (7), the complaint has been determined without a declaration under paragraph (8) having been made.