Employee Relations in the UK - Essay Example

Employee Relations Employee Relations - An Introduction Employee relations are a part of human resources management. It includes all activities associated with the management of employee relationships in an organization. This means implementing steps which give important rights to employees to help them to carry out their responsibilities and obligations effectively. The process of understanding and maintaining employee relations is made simpler by looking into the laws governing the welfare of employees. Information must be obtained by employers on the basic, as well as the complex employment laws which protect the right of employees. It will be useful for management to conduct seminars and training sessions wherein the see the applicability of employee right in real-case scenarios Employee Relations and the Employment Relations Act (1999) In the United Kingdom, the Employment Relations Act (1999) was adopted by the government to provide better working standards for employees. It is intended to improve relations between an organization and its employees by fostering a new climate of co-operation between the worker and the employer. This act lays down the need to implement a statutory procedure for trade unions to be recognized as organizations which speak or put forth the interests of the organization's employees ( Such a procedure needs to be adopted by any organizations where the employees exceeds 20). The Employment Relations Act (1999), states that any independent public body such as the Central Arbitration Committee should be given due recognition in cases where a majority members of the workforce of an organization are union members. This law empowers employees by bringing out provisions that protect their rights and also strengthens their rights to belong to unions. Through this law workers have the right to be accompanied by a trade union official at disciplinary and grievance hearings. As a result of this law, it is not possible for employers to dismiss employees who are taking official, lawfully-organized industrial action. One of the hall-marks of this law is that it promotes ideas for a friendly working atmosphere and reforms tribunal awards for unfair dismissal. After the implementation of this act, it effectiveness was reviewed by government authorities. The review reveals that the act has been well-implemented and has succeeded in its purpose to improve employee relations. Through this act the procedure for recognition of trade unions has been carried out smoothly and efficiently. In the case of any issues of employee grievances, these issues are resolved very quickly, say within less than half the time. After this law came into effect, what was noticed was that inter-union disputes and legal challenges have drastically come down. The Act has encouraged voluntary settlement of recognition claims since its implementation and as a result, there have been about over 1,000 voluntary recognition agreements in the United Kingdom. Speaking on the effect of the implementation of the Employment Act, the Employment Relations Minister, Alan Johnson, said that there was evidence which showed that the law was doing what it proposed to do. As a result of the law, the number of strikes have comes down and the number of people who were employed was increasing. There is a real change in the attitude of employers towards employees and this has fostered an atmosphere wherein employers and employee are not just working together, but working together really well. Employee relations and handling disputes The Employment Act in 2002, made more improvements in the handling of employee relations. It lays down a set of procedures for managing disputes at the workplace. As per the new provisions, all employers must by October 2004, follow a procedure to deal with disputes. This procedure is a three-step process which ensures that disputes are discussed at work. As per this procedure, the dispute or grievance which an employee has against the employer must be set out in writing. All details must be provided to the employer and both parties have to meet to discuss the problem. The reason as to way discussing disputes at work was made important is because disputes at work are expensive affairs. They cause a lot of stress by disrupting regular work patterns for both the employer and employees. If the dispute is handled earlier on, through discussions, it is possible to come at constructive solutions before the employer-employee problems escalate to a great extent and working relationships breakdown. Through this law which requires employers and employees to discuss their disputes, disputes can be resolved before the situation becomes too late to take any action. Disputes at work are expensive, stressful and disruptive for both employers and employees alike, but early, constructive discussion can produce solutions before problems escalate and working relationships breakdown. The main areas which will be affected or rather regulated by this law are employers without procedures and small businesses. Trade Unions - Introduction Trade unions are organizations of workers who have come together for the purpose of protecting the interests of their members(workers) on employment issues such as wages and working conditions by conducting negotiations with employers. Following is a list of the objectives of trade unions: Providing benefits to members: In the early stages, trade unions provided benefits to its members in the form of insurance against unemployment ill-health, old age and funeral expenses. They also provide services such as professional training, legal advice, and representation for members. Collective bargaining: Trade unions negotiate with employers over issues such as wages and working conditions and this is seen particularly in regions where trade unions can operate openly. Industrial action: Trade unions can act against their employers when their interests are not fulfilled by conducting strikes, till their goals are satisfied. Political activity: Trade unions have worked to promote implementation of government laws which favor the interests of workers. They are seen to start pursue campaigns, undertake lobbying, or financially support individual candidates or parties (such as the Labor Party in Britain) for public office, in order to get their preferred legal rights. History of trade unions in U.K. In England, going back to the times of the Victorian era, there were strong trade unions which consisted of skilled workers as seen in the Amalgamated Society of Engineers. It was in the late 1880's that Trade unionism amongst semi-skilled and unskilled workers made progress. Trade unions resulted in the creation of the Labor Representation Committee which has in turn resulted in the formation of the Labor Party. Before the First World War, there was a lot of industrial unrest and this resulted in an enormous increase in trade union membership. This phase continued through the First World War, the Second World War and was also seen through the sixties and seventies. The future of trade unions in U.K Today the political climate has changed. Union membership has come down every year from its peak in the 1980's. The government has cut unions almost entirely out of their political loop. Trade union seems to have had their day. There were at one time very important, but now the age of mass production is over. The present businesses scenario is one which is about individual relationships, and unions have no place in such a scenario. Thus trade unions seem to be groups which have had a glorious past, but no real future. There are many reason attributed to this and these include: A series of legal restrictions on unions has result in these unions having to cut down on their capability to recruit and represent their members effectively. There has been a decrease in industrial action such as strikes by trade unions There have been significant union failures to advance through strike action. People interest is always on macho management and shareholder value is increasingly becoming the sole objective in organizations. These factors coupled with wide restructuring across much of the economy, as been detrimental to trade union membership and influence. There is a reduction in large workplaces as was seen in the mines, the steel works, and the car factories and these were the places were trade union membership were chiefly formed. Male manual labor (both skilled and unskilled) has seen a drastic decline and much of the strength of trade unions came from such workers. Utilities were privatized and this has resulted in the reduction of jobs. Parts of the public sector were contracted out, and many public services run down. This has resulted in a lot of unemployment, and people coming out of these places sought employment in the private sector, where the is no trade union influence. Jobs today are not one which can be held for life. Trade unions held the most of influence in places where job security was paramount These are some of the reason as to why the strength of the trade union has decreased since the 1980's. This does not mean that trade unions should be ruled out because if we look at the basic employer-employee relationship; it is one which is unbalanced. Through trade unions, employees can speak collectively and they can bring together their limited power to achieve some sort of balance in the employment relationship. Trade unions help people to tackle some deep rooted inequalities, which they face in the workplace. Lately, the powers and opportunities given by trade unions to its members is seen mostly in the public sector, where their presence is strong. Three out of every five workers in the public sector are members of unions. If we compare this to the private sector, it is seen that only one in five of private sector employees are in unions. Trade unions in England are very strong in the service sectors that are predominantly public. On the other hand in private service sectors in which exist some of the worst employment conditions, union density is low and this needs to be changed. Trade unions are also seeing a lack of young people in their membership. It seems that young people have different views and are not for supporting the work of trade unions. In this context, the phrase 'Thatcher's children' is often heard. Looking into these matters a little deeper, what is revealed about your people's interest to join trade unions is that there are certain conditions in the places where young people work and as a result they are less inclined to join trade unions. Another worrying aspect for trade unions is that there is a growing proportion of the workforce that has never been a trade union member. The reasons for this are the decline of unionized workplaces - both in their absolute number and in the number of people they employ. Trade unions have also failed to organize themselves in new workplaces. Even in sectors like manufacturing where unionization is common, trade unions are mostly formed in older workplaces and are not formed at newer workplaces. The situation however is not so bleak. The changes in labor laws, has resulted in unions getting fairer chance to voice their opinions. As a result, they are better equipped to tackle hard line employers. The new laws in favor of employee relations has made employers cut deals with their employees. Unions are achieving twice as many recognition deals a year than they were before the year 1999. Between 2002 - 2003, unions used the new recognition rights in order to win for themselves record deals in large companies ( with a staff power of over 90,000) and most of these companies had previously resisted unionization. Recent recognition deals include Madame Tussauds (GMB); Rolls Royce Motor Cars at Goodwood (Amicus); Barnardo's (Unison); City Screen Cinemas (BECTU); Friends of the Earth (TGWU); Avon Cosmetics (USDAW); Royal Pigeon Racing Association (GMB) and BBC Wildlife camera men and women (BECTU). Out of the deal covered about 90% covered issues such as over pay, hours and holidays. 70% of the issues represented were on employee grievances and employer disciplinary matters , while 78% covered issues such as employee training and learning. About (42%) issues concered by the deals were on employee n pensions and more than half of the deals included the right for employees to be informed and consulted over an organization's activities and economic situation. As the labor laws give more rights to trade unions, they are in a better position to provide help and assistance than they were able to do so previously. Today, they are able to empower workers by not just providing them job security but by also giving them the opportunity to genuinely participate in shaping their jobs away from the command and control of the management. The work of trade unions in terms of getting better deals for employee also means benefits or employers. Employers see a better workplace morale and commitment, reduced absenteeism and labor turnover. When they implement the ideas of their employees, they are able to tap into the benefits of innovative ideas. Today, in the U.K, trade unions are not just mechanisms which help employees to fight bad employers and exploitation, they are mechanisms which help employees to work for successful organizations and help the country move towards a prosperous and productive economy. Unions will always play their traditional role of standing ready to help when things go wrong, but they are taking on new roles, wherein they that help people to get on at work, as well as get even. Conclusion In the United Kingdom, trade unions need to improve by breaking into the modern service sector economy. It is in these places where most of the employment opportunities exists and therefore really requires attentions from trade unions. This is going to a challenge for trade unions that have been predominantly strong in the public sector arena. Unions draw great strength from democratic and voluntary roots, but they have to find their place in a modern service economy. In this context they must change they way they operate so that the experience of members when they deal with their unions is one which is fast, efficient and effective, in order words the trade union must function as efficiently as the organizations and companies with which their members deal with. This is a real challenge for trade unions because trade union consists of members who are trying to combine union work with a busy job and all the other pressures of modern life. Another key factor to helping trade unions is that they must develop better political relationships, not just with the government but with the other parties as well. In many European countries it is possible for unions to have relaxed relationships across the political spectrum. In the U.K. trade unions must strive to do this as such social partnerships have much to offer.. Finally trade unions must make sure that they campaign on a broad agenda that touches the lives of all their members. The high profile political issues do make the news, but trade unions must concentrate on small issue which affects worker's lives in the workplace. In the U.K trade unions have a long way to go against low pay. Almost a fifth of fulltime workers earn 250 a week or less. They must also look into issues such as pensions, stress, work-life balance, bullying, discrimination as well as the chance to learn new skills, making jobs more rewarding and interesting, and productive. The work of trade unions will be strengthened by the process of employer and employee consulting and informing, as this will lead to a cultural change at the workplace. Such a cultural change will encourage partnerships and make both employees and employers see the sense of involving trade unions in the process. This will in turn lead to more high performance workplaces and more satisfying working lives for workers. References Bacon, N. and Storey, J. (2000) 'New employee relations strategies in Britain: towards individualism or partnership', British Journal of Industrial Relations, 38(3) pp.407-427 Beaumont, P. and Harris, R. (1990) 'Union recruitment and organising attempts in Britain in the 1980s', Industrial Relations Journal, 21 (4) pp.274-286 Gall, G. and McKay, S. (2001) 'Facing fairness at Work: Union Perception of Employer Opposition and Response to Union Recognition', Industrial Relations Journal, 32 (2), pp.94-113 Guest, D. and Peccei, R. (2001) 'Partnership at work: Mutuality and the Balance of Advantage, British Journal of Industrial Relations, 39 (2) pp.207-236 Union effects on employee relations in Britain Union recognitions stabilize Employment news Read More