This article examines board-level employee representative independence with regard to said representatives’ dual role as employee representatives and supervisory body members. In the context of corporate governance, board member independence has been of increasing interest, though this has mostly been related to shareholder representatives. We address board-level employee representative independence focused on Slovenia, a central-eastern European country with a developed system of employee participation. We conducted qualitative research at twelve public limited companies in Slovenia to gain in-depth understanding, with a CEO or board member, board-level employee representative and works councillor not at board-level being interviewed in situ following the same semi-structured format. Results indicate legal and practical concern regarding board-level employee representative independence, calling for further research and regulation.

中文翻译：

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董事会级别的员工代表独立性：神话还是现实？理论分析与实证研究——以斯洛文尼亚为例

本文就上述代表作为员工代表和监督机构成员的双重角色研究了董事会级员工代表的独立性。在公司治理的背景下，董事会成员的独立性越来越受到关注，尽管这主要与股东代表有关。我们以斯洛文尼亚为中心解决董事会级别的员工代表独立问题，斯洛文尼亚是一个拥有发达员工参与系统的中东欧国家。我们在斯洛文尼亚的 12 家公共有限公司进行了定性研究，以获得深入的了解，并按照相同的半结构化格式对 CEO 或董事会成员、董事会级别的员工代表和非董事会级别的工作委员会进行了现场采访。