Works council vs CPPW: the differences, and what happens under 50 employees
It is the most common confusion around social elections: WC, CPPW, two acronyms people happily mix up. Yet they are two distinct bodies, with different thresholds, roles and votes. Here is how to tell them apart, and what happens when the company stays under the 50 mark.
Two bodies, two roles
- The CPPW, Committee for Prevention and Protection at Work. It handles well-being and safety at work: working conditions, risk prevention, health. It is the ground-level body, closest to workers' day-to-day.
- The WC, Works Council. It handles economic and social consultation: how the company is run, economic and financial information, employment, work organisation. It is the body for dialogue on strategy and the accounts.
Both are made up of elected worker representatives and employer representatives. But they do not deal with the same subjects, and above all, they do not appear at the same threshold.
Two thresholds: 50 and 100
This is where it all turns:
- From 50 workers (counted per technical business unit): a CPPW.
- From 100 workers: additionally, a Works Council.
That gives three situations:
- Under 50: neither body (see below).
- Between 50 and 99: a CPPW, no WC.
- 100 and up: a CPPW and a WC.
So a company of 100 workers or more runs two separate votes on the same day, each with its own ballots and colleges. A company of 70 runs just one (CPPW). For the detail of the headcount calculation, read 50 or 100 employees: is your company concerned?.
The classic trap: thinking they go together
Many assume that "social elections" = "Works Council." In reality, the most widespread body is the CPPW, because its threshold is lower. A 60-person SME has social elections, for the CPPW, without having a Works Council. Confusing the two risks believing you are not concerned because you do not reach 100 workers.
What happens under 50 workers?
Below the threshold of 50, no social elections: neither WC nor CPPW. But that does not mean no representation. The union delegation takes over.
The union delegation is set up under sector collective agreements, whose thresholds vary from one sector to another. When no CPPW must be set up (for example because the company does not reach 50 workers), it is the union delegation that carries out the CPPW's tasks on well-being and safety.
In other words, worker protection does not disappear below 50; it simply changes vehicle. The social-elections threshold and the union-delegation threshold are two distinct mechanisms that complement each other.
In short
The CPPW (well-being and safety, from 50) and the Works Council (economic and social consultation, from 100) are two distinct bodies, with two thresholds and two votes. The CPPW is the more widespread, because its threshold is lower: a company can have social elections without having a Works Council. And below 50 workers, the union delegation takes over the CPPW's role. The rule to remember: it is not "100 or nothing."
To understand the full vocabulary of the vote, read the social elections glossary. And if you want to clarify which bodies your company must elect in 2028, let's talk.
