Transcript Employer / Employee Relations

Employer / Employee Relations
Content
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Employee / Employer relations
Different approaches to employee relations:
Collective bargaining
Individual bargaining
Employee participation and industrial democracy
Role of trade unions and ACAS
Principals of employment law
What is Employee Relations?
• Employee and Employer Relations describes the
relationship between workers and employers in
business
Why is it important?
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Motivation
Reputation : Potential customers, investor and staff
Output
Efficiency
Profit levels
Collective v Individual Bargaining
• In the nineteenth century workers used to negotiate their
own pay and conditions with their employers- INDIVIDUAL
BARGAINIG
• Collective bargaining occurs when workers allow the union
to negotiate on their behalf. Negotiations can be with an
individual employer or an employers' association.
Different Approaches To Employee
Relations
• The workforce is becoming increasingly flexible with
an increased emphasis on part-time and temporary
workers and against full-time permanent workers
• A flexible work force is cheaper for firms, allows
them to meet changes in demand, reduces training
and allows for specialisation
• However there is less security, communication may
be problematic and turnover is higher
Salaries Vs Wages
• Full time salaried workers tend to have more “rights”
and job security than part time temporary workers
Employee participation and Industrial
democracy
• Employee participation – workers being involved in
business decision making
• Industrial democracy – the methods which workers
can influence business decisions
Works councils
• These are forums where workers and management
meet to discuss issues concerning work e.g.
working conditions, pay, training
• Usually members are elected
• Often used where there are no trade unions
Employee shareholders
• Where workers can gain shares in the company
• There are tax benefits
• Idea is by owning shares performance and
motivation of the workforce increase
Autonomous work groups
• This is where teams of workers have a high degree
of control
• Authority has been delegated from senior
management
• Basis of groups is that motivation and productivity
should be increased
Team working
• Teams are responsible for a specific part of the
production process
• This can help increase motivation
• Team working is compatible with democratic
leadership
Quality Circles
• This is when groups of workers meet to talk about
ways to improve quality of products
• Usually a group of 3-10 workers who meet for 1-2
hours 2-3 times a month
• These often provide imaginative solutions to
business problems
The Role of Trade Unions
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Craft unions : represent skilled workers from one occupation
General unions representing mainly unskilled workers from many
occupations e.g. TGWU (Transport and General Workers' Union).
Industrial unions representing mainly workers in one industry.E.g.
NUM (miners' union)
Professional or white-collar unions representing skilled workers in
mainly service industries.E.g. NUT (teachers' union).
The Aims of Trade Unions
• Improve the pay of workers.
• Improve working conditions and secure longer
holidays.
• Protect members' jobs.
• Provide local, social and welfare facilities.
• Influence government policy
The Trades Union Congress
• Made up of over 90 unions representing more than 9 million
members
• An annual conference decides overall union policy and
elects the General Council
• The General Secretary of the TUC is the trades union
spokesman in any negotiations with the government or
employers' organisations.
Disputes & Restrictive Practices
• Disputes can arise over pay, working conditions,
redundancies etc
• Restrictive Practices may then follow such as:
• A closed shop - union insists all workers are T.U
members.
• Demarcation when a union insists that only their
members do certain jobs
Industrial Action
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If negotiations break down Unions can:
Work to rule :do the bare minimum
Impose an overtime ban
Strike and refuse to work altogether
Picketing: ask other members not to enter
‘Blacking’: Refusing to deal with certain employees or
suppliers because they have refused to participate in I.A
• Employers can operate a lockout and refuse workers
entry or they can dismiss striking workers for breach of
contract
ACAS
• Arbitration is when employers agree to an independent
referee to try to find common ground
• Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) has
been available to help solve disputes
• In the 1980s and 1990s there have been an increasing
number of single-union agreements where employers
negotiate with only one union
Employment Law – Individual labour law
• Looks at the rights and responsibilities of individuals:
– Equal Pay Act 1970 – both sexes treated equally re: pay
– Sex Discrimination Act, 1974 – cant discriminate on grounds of
sex or marital status
– Race Relations Act, 1976 - cant discriminate in relation to colour,
race, nationality or ethnic origin
– Disability Discrimination Act, 1994 – cant discriminate due to
disability
– Working Time Regulations, 1998 – this sets a limit on the number
of hours worked per week
Collective labour law
• Looks at the operation of trade unions, industrial
relations and collective bargaining:
– Employment Act 1980 – employees aren't obliged to
negotiate with unions
– Trade Union Act 1984
– Employment Act 1982, 1988, 1990
– Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act, 1993
– Minimum Wage Act, 1998
– Employment Relations Act, 2000
Impact of Employment Legislation On
Businesses
• There are positive and negative impacts
• Can act as a motivator to the workforce
• Reduction in power of trade unions has increased
workforce flexibility
• Foreign investment has increased as legislation is
employment friendly
• Increases costs
• Businesses need to employ non productive workers to
manage the policies
• These effects can be more detrimental on smaller firms
Summary
• Employee / Employer relations looks at the relationship between
workers and the business
• Collective bargaining refers to the negotiation between employees
and workforce representatives
• Individual bargaining where a single worker negotiates their working
conditions and pay with management
• Employee participation and industrial democracy – these aim to
increase employee involvement in business decisions and can
include quality circles
• Trade unions act to protect and improve the economic and working
conditions for their members
• Acas looks at resolving disputes
• Employment laws regulate what a business is doing