Employee representation

Employee representation at UBS is implemented according to local legal requirements.

The UBS Employee Forum facilitates the exchange of information between employees and management on pan-European issues that have the potential to impact the performance and prospects of UBS and, in particular, its operations in Europe. This forum fulfills EU Directive 94 / 45 on the establishment of a European Works Council. Local forums also exist in a number of locations across Europe to address local issues such as health and safety, changes to workplace conditions, pension arrangements and collective redundancies. The UK Employee Forum, for example, is made up of internal elected representatives for each business area and division that has employees in the UK.

In Switzerland, Employee Representation Committee (ERC) representatives partner with UBS management in the annual salary negotiations and are involved in employee matters, including health and safety issues, social security and pension issues. ERC employee representatives are elected to represent the interests of employees whose work contracts are governed by Swiss law and the Agreement on Conditions of Employment for Bank Staff. The ERC also fosters an open dialogue between management and employees. During late 2008 and early 2009, for example, the ERC and management jointly hosted a program called "Trust is Key". In total, around 1,100 employees gathered in seven UBS locations across Switzerland for open forum events in which employees developed and proposed measures to rebuild trust and confidence in UBS. These measures can be implemented in employees' working environments or by management.