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Employee/Industrial Relations

Research Preview & Webinar: European Works Council Reform in Action: The New Directive

  • May 26, 2026

This CRF ER/IR Network report explores how organisations are responding to the forthcoming EWC Directive reforms and the wider questions these changes are raising around consultation, governance and employee voice.

Drawing on research, legal analysis and interviews with senior HR and ER leaders, the report examines why organisations facing similar regulatory pressures are arriving at very different conclusions about what their EWC is for, how integrated it should become and what a deliberate and defensible consultation model looks like in practice.

The full report is available to members of the Employee and Industrial Relations Network, however you can access a research preview or watch the webinar recording below:

Key themes covered in the full report include:

  • Why the forthcoming reforms are increasing pressure on organisations to reassess legacy EWC arrangements
  • How different organisations are positioning their approach to transnational consultation and employee voice
  • The growing importance of governance clarity, consultation timing and organisational accountability
  • The strategic questions emerging around UK representation and post-Brexit consultation structures
  • A practical framework for thinking about different EWC consultation models and what shapes them in practice

Click here to access the research preview >>

Click here to watch the webinar recording >>

View the session slides >>

Employee and Industrial Relations Network

The Employee Relations (ER) and Industrial Relations (IR) network builds on CRF’s 30+ year track record of enhancing knowledge, capability and effectiveness in the HR function by recognising the issues, challenges and opportunities directly related to this specialist area.

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