The affected employees and, where applicable, the staff council, as well as the SBEA as social partner, must be informed at an early stage. The information should be comprehensive and include not only the reasons that led to the decision, but also the future measures, organization and timing. The employees or their staff council must have the opportunity to make suggestions within the framework of the consultation procedure so that layoffs can be avoided or their consequences can be mitigated for those affected.
The banks must conduct negotiations on the social plan with the staff council. If a statutory social plan obligation applies, the employer must also enter into negotiations with the SBEA as the social partner. In any case, the staff council may involve SBEA in the negotiations. This is recommended because we are familiar with the standards for severance pay, outplacement and other social plan benefits that are common in the industry.
If there is no staff council, employees may exercise their participation rights directly. The obligation to involve the SBEA remains unchanged, as does the obligation to negotiate a social plan.