Employee representation

Employee representation may be defined as the right of employees to seek a union or individual to represent them for the purpose of negotiating with management on such issues as wages, hours, benefits and working conditions. In the workplace, workers may be represented by trade union and through works councils – or similar structures elected by all employees. EU law has established rights and obligations for employees and their representatives to be informed and consulted via a set of directives that provide for the information and consultation of the workers, at both national and international level.

Participants during conference break

Latest

Find the latest content on this topic below.

Digital story
New

14 April 2026

European Working Conditions Survey 2024 – Highlights
This digital story presents the highlights from the European Working Conditions Survey 2024 overview report. It's explores key findings from each chapter of the report focusing on the European workforce, workplace practices, measuring job quality, trends over time in job quality, as well as the quality of working life in the EU.
Flagship report
New

14 April 2026

European Working Conditions Survey 2024: Overview report
+3
Agnès Parent-Thirionand 6 other authors
Now in its eighth edition, the European Working Conditions Survey 2024 maps changes in working life over more than three decades. This high-quality, probability-based survey covers 35 European countries, including the 27 EU Member States, Norway, Switzerland, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia. Over 36,600 face-to-face interviews, each lasting approximately 45 minutes, took place as part of the survey.
Digital story

11 September 2025

A new world of work – challenges and opportunities: EWCS 2024 first findings
The EWCS 2024 highlights how digitalisation, shifting expectations, and demographic change are reshaping the world of work. This EWCS digital story provides an overview of the initial analysis of the EWCS 2024 data.

Experts on Employee representation

Researchers at Eurofound provide expert insights and can be contacted for questions or media requests.

Christine Aumayr-Pintar

Senior research manager
Working life research

Christine Aumayr-Pintar is a senior research manager in the Working Life unit at Eurofound. She coordinates Eurofound’s research on social dialogue and industrial relations and oversees the Network of Eurofound Correspondents (NEC). Her primary research expertise – approached from a comparative EU-wide standpoint – centres on minimum wages, collectively negotiated pay and gender pay transparency. Prior to joining Eurofound in 2009 she was a labour markets and regional economics researcher at Joanneum Research in Austria. She earned a Master's degree in Economics and a PhD in Social Science/Economics having studied economics in Graz, Vienna and Jönköping.

Gijs van Houten

Senior research manager
Employment research

Gijs van Houten is a senior research manager in the Employment unit at Eurofound. He has specific expertise in cross-national survey methodology and the analysis of workplace practices and organisational strategies. He currently leads the preparations for the European Company Survey 2028, is in charge of methodology for the European Quality of Life Survey 2026, and is analysing the online data collected as part of the European Working Conditions Survey 2024, which will inform decision making on the future of surveys in Eurofound. Before joining Eurofound in 2010, he worked at the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP). Gijs spent a year away in 2016, working at the Pew Research Center in Washington, DC. He holds a Masters in Sociology from Radboud University Nijmegen and a PhD in Social Science from Utrecht University.

All content for Employee representation

This section provides access to all content that has been published on the topic.

Flag of the European UnionThis website is an official website of the European Union.
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
The tripartite EU agency providing knowledge to assist in the development of better social, employment and work-related policies