Legal dispute over Hellofresh works council goes to court

The Berlin-based mail order company is sued by the trade union Verdi.

Hellofresh is said to have opposed U.S. union efforts as early as 2021. A conflict is now coming to a head in Berlin, which is now reportedly Gründerszene ends up in court. As delivery services like Gorillas or Flink show, startups and works councils are a combination with some conflict potential. But while Lieferando employees were able to form a works council on Thursday, the conflict at Berlin-based cooking box shipper Hellofresh has intensified. Gründerszene writes, among other things, that the trade union Verdi accused the management of the Dax company of hindering the formation of a works council through intimidation and misleading information. For this reason, they have now applied to the labor court for the appointment of an election committee. The company denies the accusation, they quote the Tagesspiegel. Verdi trade unionist Franziska Foullong considers the actions of Hellofresh management to be a "disinformation campaign". The lawyers would have misrepresented the tasks of the works council and informed the workforce about ways to thwart the election of the election committee. And this despite the fact that employees always had the opportunity to elect a works council.

According to media reports, three employees had called for a works meeting of more than 1,000 Berlin employees on June 2 through notices and a circular email. The first step in establishing a works council would have been for them to elect an election committee. Once elected, an election committee oversees the planning and execution of the works council election. A week later, the group planned an informational meeting with Verdi officials.

At the same time, management caused a ruckus. Gründerszene quoted a source in the Tagesspiegel, where co-founders Thomas Griesel and Dominik Richter had warned the staff in several circular emails that electing a works council was an important decision. The Tagesspiegel further wrote, saying, "The question of whether or not to form a works council and, if so, who to elect, should not be underestimated." It also said that management had asked Greenberg Traurig's legal team to organize its own information session. If true, management's efforts were successful, as the June 10 election of the election board was unsuccessful, with more than 50% of the votes cast either invalid or abstaining.