Codetermination In Large Enterprises : Germany

Enterprises not engaged in coal mining or iron and steel production which either alone or together with their subsidiaries have a work force of more than 2,000 are governed by the Codetermination Act of 1976, which requires the supervisory board to be made up of equal numbers of shareholder and employee representatives. However, the shareholders have a slight advantage in the event of a stalemate in that the chairman of the supervisory board, who in practice is always a representative of the shareholders, has a second, casting vote. In the appointment of a personnel director, the employee representatives have no veto.