(1) Subject to subsection (2) and section 9, the employer -

(a) may at his or her own initiative, or

(b) shall at the written request of at least 10 per cent of employees received either by him or her on the one hand, or by the Court or a nominee of the Court on the other hand,

enter into negotiations with employees or their representatives (or both) to establish information and consultation arrangements.

(2) The minimum requirement of 10 per cent of employees of the undertaking provided for in subsection (1)(b) shall be construed as meaning the lesser of -

(a) 10 per cent of the employees in the undertaking concerned (but not less, in any case, than 15 employees), or

(b) 100 employees,

(to be known and in this Act referred to as the "employee threshold").

(3) Where a request is received by the Court or a nominee of the Court under subsection (1)(b), the Court or the nominee shall -