Collective agreements
Under which circumstances may collective agreements apply on an employment relationship?
England
Collective agreements are made between employers and Trade Unions. They are not intended to be legally enforceable unless in writing and stated to be so but this is rare. Collective agreements may be binding as between the workers and an employer if incorporated into the workers' contracts by express reference or implied by custom and practice.
France
A CBA is a written agreement, entered into between one or more trade union(s) representing employees and one or more organization(s) representing employers in a specific line of business (and sometimes, a specific location). It governs: individual and collective labour relations; working conditions; and employee benefits. The application of a CBA is mandatory if the company's main line of business falls within the CBA's scope and if: either, the employer is a signatory of the CBA or is affiliated to signatory organization, or the CBA has been extended by ministerial order to all employees operating in a given line of business.
Belgium
Collective agreements stipulate employees' minimum requirements and rights. A collective bargaining agreement is a contract between a trade union and an employers' association or an individual employer which regulates working conditions. Collective bargaining agreements are legally binding on the parties to the employment contract if both parties are members of the contract parties to the CBA.
Portugal
Collective agreements stipulate employees' minimum requirements and rights. A collective bargaining agreement is a contract between a trade union and an employer's association (or a group of independent employers or a single employer) which regulates working conditions. Collective bargaining agreements are legally binding upon members of the union of work for companies which are a party there to, or affiliated with the signatory employer's association. Frequently a collective bargaining agreement is declared "generally binding" by the authorities.
Germany
Collective agreements stipulate employees' minimum requirements and rights. A collective bargaining agreement is a contract between a trade union and an employers' association or an individual employer which regulates working conditions. Collective bargaining agreements are legally binding upon the parties of the employment contract if both parties are members of the contractual parties of the collective agreement, in the case that the collective bargaining agreement is declared "generally binding" by the authorities or in case the employment contract refers to the collective agreement.
Ireland
Trade union recognition is not compulsory in Ireland. Where an employer recognises a trade union, it is common for the parties to have a written collective agreement governing terms and conditions of employment. In addition to local level collective agreements, there are collective agreements that apply to all employers within a particular industry sector or geographic region (e.g. the hotel and retail sectors). There is a rebuttable presumption that collective agreements are not legally binding, for example, if the employment contract refers to the collective agreement. However, collective agreements that are registered with the Labour Court are, generally speaking, legally enforceable (Industrial Relations Acts 1946 – 1990).
Spain
Collective bargaining agreements are agreements entered into between, on the one hand, an individual employer or one or various employer organizations and, on the other hand, the legal representatives of the employees within the company (e.g. works committee or employee delegates) or one or various Trade Unions. Collective bargaining agreements establish the minimum terms and conditions of employment (e.g. access to employment, trial period, leaves of absence, remuneration, overtime, holidays, working time, disciplinary procedures, etc.) in a particular work centre, company or sector at local, regional or state level. If the collective bargaining agreements meet certain requirements regarding content and the representative authority of the negotiating parties, they bind all employers and employees - including those not directly represented by the negotiators - within certain sectors, thus making such collective bargaining agreements mandatory.
Italy
In the absence of specific public regulation, National Collective Labour Agreements contain and include employees' minimum requirements and rights. A collective bargaining agreement is – as a rule - a contract between a trade union and an employers' association or an individual employer which regulates working conditions, however - by virtue of specific constitutional recognition of the principle of trade union freedom - spontaneous groups of workers, as private individuals, can also enter into collective agreements. Collective bargaining agreements are only legally binding upon the parties to the employment contract if both parties are members of associations/bodies that are contractual parties to the collective agreement, or of third parties who have granted those stipulating the contracts with an explicit mandate. Social experience shows that collective contracts have actually extended their effects to workers and employers who do not belong to any trade union or employers organization and who thus have not given anyone a mandate to act on their behalf.
The Netherlands
Collective bargaining agreements are written agreements concluded between employers or associations of employers and the trade unions, which are binding on the parties and the members they represent and which have a normative effect. The provisions of a collective bargaining agreements are mandatory and apply automatically to the individual contracts of employment between employers and employees, who are both bound by that CBA.
These pages may contain information of general interest about current legal issues, but do not give legal advice.
