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A revised EWC agreement for the largest insurance group in Switzerland was signed on 10 February 2016 in Zurich. It contains guidelines and minimum conditions for cross-border restructuring, particularly in case of downsizing. The agreement stipulates that alternatives to dismissals are first to be examined and goes on to define these further in six points. In addition, there is a clear definition of collective redundancy procedures within the national companies including guidelines for social plans. Its fundamentals go considerably beyond any comparable agreements and from a quality aspect are usually only to be found in French agreements, such as for example in the Axa Insurance group.
The EWC, known as the Zurich European Forum (ZEF), has been faced with continuous restructuring within the group and had already concluded a memorandum on socially responsible restructuring and guidelines for social plans during a specific project with the central management, in May 2014 (see EWC News 2/2014). The new agreement develops on this further and remains as a "voluntary" agreement which is not subject to the EU Directive. Nevertheless, key elements of the new legal situation have been integrated into the text which no longer lies under Belgian but under German jurisdiction. The consultation procedure has also been clearly defined without any specified deadlines. The ZEF has been assisted by advisors from the EWC Academy since November 2014, both during the elaboration of legal texts and for the analysis of business figures in the course of restructuring measures (see EWC News 4/2014).
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