Employee Relations

1
Employee Relations

• Lecture 7
• Introducing the Concept, Evaluating Theory and
  Practice

2
Introduction

• Defining Employee Relations Employee relations
  encompasses a set of phenomena, both inside and
  outside the workplace, concerned with determining
  and regulating the employment relationship
  Salaman 2000
• Perspectives on Employee Relations
• 1) Unitary 2) Pluralist 3) Marxist

3
Defining Employee Relations

• Strategic hum resourcing options in
  management-union relations
• 1) Non-Union 2) Single Union 3) Multiple Unions
• Internal Factors
• Size of the Organisation, ownership and location,
• management philosophy
• External Factors
• Union Power and Legislation

4
The Changing Landscape

• 1) Sophisticated Human Relations
• 2) Paternalism
• 3)Traditional
• 4) Sophisticated Consultative
• 5) Modern Paternalism
• 6) Bargained Constitutional

5
Changing Patterns in union membership and
collective bargaining

• Why do people join trade unions?
• Changing Levels of Trade Union Membership
• High Point 1979 453 Unions, 13. 2 million
• members, 50 of working population,
• 57 Trade union Density
• Low Point 1998 238 Unions, 7.85 million
• members, 29 of working population, 27
• Trade union Density

6
The Changing Nature of Employee Relations

• The Changing Nature of Employee Relations
• 1) Input-Output Model
• 2) Industrial Relations System (Dunlop 1958)
• 3) Social Action
• 4) Control of the Labour Process
• 5) Human Resource Management
• 6) Social Partnership

7
Aspects of Employee Relations

• The Rule Making Process Rules for governing
  employment, and the ways in which the rules are
  changed, interpreted and administered
• Levels of Analysis
• Four main levels 1) Workplace 2) Organisation
• 3) Industry or National Level 4) Societal Level
• Industrial Relations issues Two distinct types
  of issues
• 1) Substantive Issues
• 2) Procedural Issues

8
Employee Relations The Complexities in Context

• The links between employee relations and the
  labour market
• Levels and Distribution of Pay, Demand and Supply
  of Labour, Level, Structure and Distribution of
  Employment, Government Regulation/Intervention,
  Economic Cycles, Demographic Factors,
  Technological advances, Expectations

9
The Parties to Employment Relations An Overview

• Management and Employers
• The Traditional Management Function,
  Sophisticated
• Management Function, Human Resource Management
• Management Organisations Employers Associations,
  CBI,
• Employee Organisations, Trade Unions, TUC,
  Professional bodies,
• The State and State Agencies, Employment
  Tribunals, LRA/LRC etc

10
A Brief History of Employee Relations in the UK I

• Nineteenth Century Development Growth of Trade
  Unions, Legalisation of Trade Unions in 1825
• Twentieth Century Development National and
  Industry Level Collective Bargaining, Economic
  Depression, High Unemployment, Decrease in TU
  membership, hostile employers
• Increased pressure on post-war industrial
  relations employee pressures, employer pressures

11
A Brief History of Employee Relations in the UK II

• The Donovan Commision (1968) The Transformation
  of Collective Bargaining, Voluntary Reform
• 1976-1980- Confrontation
• 1980- Government Legislation and Intervention
• 1980s New Realism Changing roles for
  management, Process relationships, collective
  bargaining
• 1990s- New Industrial Relations/Social
  Partnership

12
Summary

• The Importance of Theory and Practice
• Differing Stakeholder Views
• Constant Evolution and Change
• Labour Market Transformation
• New Management Theories
• National and International Systems
• Simplicity and Complexity