[1]: 28 According to BetrVG § 50, the Central Works Council has "original competence" over issues that affect one or more workplace establishments and or that cannot be solved by a single Works Council.
In practice however, Central Works Councils are increasingly given more responsibility and influence in the workplace.
[2]: 297 A 2006 survey commissioned by the Economic and Social Research Institute [de] (WSI) of the Hans Boeckler Foundation interviewed members of 2,000 local Works Councils and their corresponding 283 Central Works Councils.
[2]: 300 In companies with more than 100 employees, a Works Council appoints members of the Finance Committee.
If a Central Works Council exists, they appoint the members of the Finance Committee instead according to § 107(2).