Whoever plans in the works council only at the end negotiates. Whoever brings it into the design shapes. That is the whole difference.
One thing up front, because it is often misunderstood: the external rightly does not conduct works-council negotiations. He never speaks for the employees, and under works-constitution law not for the employer either. What he can supply is the critical component: experience, expertise and negotiation tactics.
The works council is an important body with a built-in handicap. It decides on a hundred topics a year, in which it cannot possibly be deep everywhere. That is why the whole argumentation has to move away from procedural advantages, efficiency and the beauty of the technical solution, toward a single question: what is in it for the employee?
What is in it for the employee
With posting compliance the answer is simpler than you would think. The purpose of the rule is to strengthen workers‘ rights, in the host country as well as for the posted workers themselves. With a travel-expense program it is just as concrete: less stress, transparent offers, less effort in booking, clearly structured settlement, the money back in the account faster. Whoever gets this across, and in Germany also has the documents in German, is almost through. Because every change should be good for someone. And when the company and the client are doing well, the employee usually is too.
Group and local
To the group body I go exactly once, right at the start, early enough not to seem impertinent, but with enough lead time to have thought the topic through for a good argument. From there it distributes into the local councils. Resistance still stirs there, and some things you have to explain several times. Here too it holds: argue cleanly, start early, stay friendly, then it goes without confrontation.
The most dangerous error in thinking is to see the works council as an opponent. That goes for almost all stakeholders: real opponents are rare, most can be won over with early involvement and openness. Whoever lets the works council surprise them shortly before go-live has missed a few exits beforehand. Bring it into the design, not into the final negotiation.
