1. Employee Relations
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2. Purpose
How employers deal with and interact with their employees as individuals or as a group.
Ensures that the organisation meets it objectives as employees will be happier, motivated and committed.
Employee’s are more likely to accept change, be more flexible and recognise the need for company to achieve objectives.
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3. Poor relations Leads to less co-operation of the workforce.
Industrial action
Poor image of the organisation for its customers.
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4. Role of HR
Drawing up and implementing the organisations employee relations policies.
Covers
Terms and conditions of employment
Procedures for dealing with staff complaints (grievances), discipline of staff and redundancy.
The involvement of staff in decision making
Trade union recognition (which some don’t do)
Collective bargaining (discussions with TU on pay and conditions or changes in working practices)
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5. Main Institutions of Employee Relations
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6. Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
Known as ACAS.
Employee relations experts which help people work together.
Spend most of the time advising on how to avoid disputes through good practice and dealing with individual cases.
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7. Provides help for:
Impartial information and help to anyone with a work problem.
Preventing and resolving problems between employers and their workforces by helping to settle disputes – joint approach to problem solving.
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8. Settling complaints about employee’s rights
Settling complaints about employee’s rights. Try to sort out the problem inexpensively and for unfair dismissal cases they are trying to start a confidential arbitration service instead of industrial tribunal.
Encourages people to work together by running workshops and seminars on things like basic employment issues and developments in legislation.
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9. Employers Associations
Business forming an association to look after the interests of all businesses in that industry.
Allows them to have a single voice to lobby politicians, trade unions and dealing with the press and media.
Put pressure and influence government to provide research, areas such as taxation, consumer and employment law.
Market research can be done as a group so that smaller businesses may benefit where they might not be able to afford it (Farmers – BSE crises etc).
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10. Confederation of British Industry
Represents employers from all the UK’s industries.
Stronger voice in dealing with Government, trade unions and press.
E.g. voiced strong opinions about Britain joining the Euro – although the CBI are split about what is right.
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11. Trade Union Congress Known as the TUC
Represents all Trade Unions in the same way as the CBI.
Provides information and advice to members.
Involved in research into employment and employment rights
Membership has recently increased after years of decline.
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12. Trade Unions
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13. Purpose To protect employees from rogue employers.
Provide a political voice for working people. (The labour party was established by a trade union).
Represent workers in dealing with employers to protect right and improve pay and conditions.
Campaign for introduction of new laws to protect and benefit employees.
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14. To be more influential, unions have merged to form super-unions.
More interested in working with employers and government rather than confrontation and industrial actions which will damage members jobs.
To be more influential, unions have merged to form super-unions.
Unison represents workers in the public, voluntary and private businesses after being formed by a merger of smaller unions.
- Organised locally and nationally, offering members a wide variety of benefits, including discounts on purchases, insurance, free advice and support
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15. Professional Associations
These represent diverse ‘professional’ occupations such as doctors, police, footballers.
The perform similar functions and represent their members in bargaining for pay and improved terms and conditions
Involved in setting and maintaining standards and qualifications required to be part of that profession eg British Medical Association insist on certain qualifications before admitting doctors.
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16. Internet Task
Find and make a list of the unions which would represent the following professions.
Shop Worker
Teachers
Bankers
Fire Brigade
Nurses
Police
Miners
Librarians
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17. Employee Relations Processes
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18. Negotiation Purpose is to come to an agreement.
Employers and employees meet to discuss issues that affect both parties.
Method for achieving change in the workplace and ensuring the employees co-operation.
Success of the business should benefit not only the employers but the employees.
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19. Consultation with employees
Enforced by employment law if changes are to take place in the workplace.
Simply means to tell employees of any changes.
Not necessary to take account employees views of changes as long as the company ‘tells’ them.
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20. Arbitration
Used when no agreement can be reached between employees and employers.
Independent arbitrators will be asked to join if a dispute looks likely to try to solve the problem.
Arbitrators are unbiased and neutral – they will listen to both sides, gather evidence and offer a solution.
Both parties will then try to negotiate round the suggested solution.
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21. Binding Arbitration
Where both parties agree in advance to abide by the decision of the arbitrators.
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22. Collective Bargaining
Where trade unions negotiate on behalf of employees regarding new pay and conditions in the workplace.
Bargaining as a group is stronger than bargaining as 1000 individuals.
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23. Process of Collective Bargaining
Employers propose changes
Trade Union will then go to the employees with changes and ask if this is acceptable.
If not, Employees make a counter claim for different changes.
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24. Negotiation will take place between T.U. and employer.
New suggestions brought to employees and discussed.
Continues until agreement has been reached.
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25. Advantages of Collective Bargaining
Representing a large number improves the negotiating position and chance of success for members.
Agreements reached can be on a national level.
Reduces the number of individual meetings required to resolve an issue.
Without collective bargaining the employees could be taken for granted and deliberately left out of discussions, consultations or told very little by the organisation.
Negotiators are experienced.
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26. Industrial Action by Employees
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27. Go Slow Exactly as it says
Workers take their time doing tasks and duties to slow down production
May result in failure to meet customers’ orders
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28. Overtime Ban
Workers themselves decide not to work over and above their regular hours.
Could result in lost production and company may lose customer contracts if orders are not met on time
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29. Work To Rule
Employees work strictly to their terms and conditions of employment.
Withdraw their flexibility which will reduce efficiency and output.
May put in place an overtime ban where workers will refuse to work overtime. Effective in organisations where Overtime is essential to the running of the organisation. (e.g Police Service)
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30. Boycott
Used when employers introduce new machinery or duties that the employees disagree with.
Simply refuse to carry out the duties or use the machinery.
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31. Sit In Usually when a factory is in danger of closing.
Workers will occupy the building and refuse to work
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32. Strike
Where all or most of the workers stop working by withdrawing labour.
Last resort as it will result in a loss of sales which will put their own job in danger.
Procedures that are legally binding must be went through before a union can call a strike.
Includes balloting all members in a secret poll.
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33. Extreme Cases Employers may sack striking workers
May close the factory or move production elsewhere but this may result in a ‘sit-in’ by workers to stop them closing.
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34. Industrial Action by Employers
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35. Overtime Withdrawal Employers refuse to offer any overtime
The extra work and pay that this brings for employees is lost
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36. Lock-Out Employees are barred entry from their workplace
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37. Closure
Employers can shut down the workplace meaning employees can’t provide their labour even if they want to
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38. Effects of Industrial Action
NEGATIVE EFFECT
Loss in production will lead to possible shortages in stock.
Loss in sales revenue may lead to liquidation.
Long term loss of customers who now shop at competitors.
Image of organisation is tarnished.
Damage to long term reputation of organisation.
Share price can fall.
May result in redundancies.
POSITIVE EFFECT
Improves working practices.
Facilitates (helps) change.
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39. Managing Employee Relations
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40. Responsibility Human Resource department.
Important that communication and inclusion of the employees in the decision process is maintained to achieve good employee relations.
Need to build up a level of trust to ensure that all employees are behind the organisation.
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41. Works Councils
Group of representatives from the workforce who have the legal right to access info from management and have joint-decision making powers on most matters.
Set up by the European Works Councils legislation (2000) which states that any organisation with over 1000 employees have the right to set up a Special Negotiating Body (SNB) to represent the workforce.
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42. Works Councils
Can enforce fines (£75,000) and have a SNB forced onto it.
Allows the employees to understand what is happening and become involved in the decision making process.
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43. Single Union Agreements
Where one union represents all workers in a work place.
Where only one union will be allowed to negotiate on behalf of the workers.
Reduces complex negotiations (instead of needing 2 or 3 unions to agree)
Saves time and money.
Reduces conflict.
Workers have a stronger voice and will bring a better chance of success.
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