PRAXIS

RATIONALE

The last decades, the European Union has introduced more than 15 EU directives and regulations that deal with Information and Consultation between workers and employers and the definitions of the terms information and consultation has been improved over time in favour of employees.
The Directive 2002/14 previews that in cases of offence of employees' rights to information and consultation there should be sanctions that are effective, dissuasive and proportionate to the seriousness of the offence. The type of sanctions, though, is a subject left to national legislations.
In Member States there is a great differentiation in the transposition of the Directive 2002/14 into national laws. In some countries like Germany, Austria and France, there have been established procedures for information and consultation, even before the directive 2002/14 while in some other countries in particular in Southern Europe, there is uncertainty about not only the application of the Law concerning information and consultation, but even about the awareness of workers as far as the existence of this Law is concerned.