The need for information varies

The need for communication depends on the nature of the topics addressed. It may be that a separate decision cannot be – or indeed intended to be – made on the topic addressed in the dialogue.

Matters generally affecting workplace practices

Nevertheless, it is often necessary to communicate matters that influence the workplace practices in general to the entire personnel or at least the personnel group affected by these matters. In the dialogue, the development plan may have been updated or matters based on other legislation may have been addressed. As a rule, these kinds of matters related to the position of the personnel fall within the scope of the communication obligation.

Information on dialogue shall be provided to the extent necessary

The employer must communicate information about the dialogue to the extent necessary. When this is assessed, attention must be paid to the nature and extent of the topic addressed in the dialogue and to its significance for the personnel.

The Act does not include provisions on the format of communication

The Act does not include provisions on the format of communication. As a result, workplaces may use different communication methods, such as websites, bulletin boards and email or other internal messaging services. The key point is that information is actually available to the personnel.

As a rule, the employer and the employee representative should agree on the principles of com-munication. This agreement may apply to, for example, the format of communication and the topics that are communicated in the first place.