Employees can elect the works council in several establishments

According to a BAG ruling (7 ABR 28/24) from May 22, 2025, employees have the right to vote in all establishments to which they belong – even if these establishments are part of the same company.

In the specific case, a company in the IT sector had five establishments, including the southern region establishment. According to the company’s internal matrix structure, the work tasks were performed by teams from different areas, each of which included employees from different establishments. These mixed teams were led by so-called matrix managers. 

In the works council election in the southern region establishment, the local election committee took the view that those matrix managers who are supervisors of the employees belonging to the southern region establishment were also entitled to vote – regardless of whether they have already participated in the works council election in another establishment of the company. Accordingly, the committee had included the supervisors in the list of voters and allowed them to take part in the election. 

Legal dispute over two instances: Employer challenges works council election

The employer contested the works council election because, in its opinion, the managers did not belong to the southern region establishment but were assigned to another of the company’s five establishments and were therefore not entitled to vote in the southern region establishment. Multiple eligibility to vote was ruled out.

The Baden-Württemberg Regional Labor Court agreed with the employer’s opinion and upheld the claim. As the managers concerned had already taken part in the election in another establishment, they were not entitled to vote in the southern region establishment. Multiple eligibility to vote was ruled out.

Multiple eligibility to vote is possible

The BAG expressly contradicted this. According to Art. 7 sentence 1 of the German Works Constitution Act (“BetrVG”), the right to vote is linked to the employee's affiliation to the establishment, which is established by their integration into the business organization. Even if an employee is already integrated into one establishment and is therefore entitled to vote there, this does not, in the opinion of the BAG, prevent their eligibility to vote in another establishment. On the contrary, it was possible to be entitled to vote in several establishments.

The BAG left open the question of whether the managers in the specific case were entitled to vote multiple times and were therefore also entitled to participate in the works council election in the southern region establishment and referred the matter back to the Baden-Württemberg Regional Labor Court. The Regional Labor Court must first clarify the facts of the case further, but must then take the BAG’s opinion into account in its new decision.

Consequences for the upcoming works council elections

With its decision, the BAG emphasized that employees can also be entitled to vote in works council elections in several establishments within a company.

This decision has consequences for both the election procedure and the size of the works council in accordance with Art. 9 BetrVG. The number of works council members is determined by the number of employees entitled to vote in an establishment. Employees who are entitled to vote in several establishments may therefore determine the size of the works council to be elected several times. Companies are therefore well advised to pay close attention to their business organization. As the next regular works council elections are due in spring 2026, there is not much time to adapt existing organizational structures if necessary.

If you have any questions about the upcoming 2026 works council elections, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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