Unit 24 Employee Relations

BTEC HND Level 5

Introduction

This report is a preface to the vast realm of employee relation. Employee relation is a complex entity
that involves the use of the Human resource management policies for the smooth handling and
increased productivity of the employees in general and the organisation at large.

The need of a common platform to express opinions in the form of trade union is elaborated, which
highlighted that the only way to establish a cordial employee-employer relationship is by
communicating ones needs, wants with the relation to the rights and duties towards the company,
the report would entail the transition of the trade union to the unionism

Every employee in an organisation is important .i.e. employer, employee, union and the
Government. The role played by each and every individual is crucial in employee relation. Similarly,
communication and negotiation also plays a crucial role. The report would also brief on the different
modes of negotiation, assessment of the various procedures and measures used for conflict
resolution.

LO1 History of employee relation in UK

a.1 Employee Relations

a. Handling a workplace to increase productivity and avoid conflicts is the primary role of the
employers. Employee relation would refer to the Companys efforts to manage relationship
between employer and employees. According to Aylott(2014) the interactions amongst the
board and workforce relating to workplace grievances, differences and issues of group
bargaining.
b. Frames of references is a conceptual device introduced by Alan Fox, which details three
perspectives-Unitary, Pluralism and Radicalism ( Johnstone & Ackers. 2015). Transaction cost
economics and the theory of labour regulations are also considered as important views for
employee relations. Each of these perspectives offers a unique ideology on workplace
relations, actions, behaviours and trade Unions. Unitary perspective refers to the
organisation functioning as a integrated family, where the management and staff share a
common purpose, interest and objectives with one authority managing the entire team.(
Heery, 2016). In this setup conflict is disruptive resulting in communication breakdown. In
the pluralistic perspective, an organisation is perceived as consisting of conflicting divisions,
within its own loyalties and objectives. Radical perspective highlight on the importance of
collective action. According to Kaufman & Taras (2016), a set of rules in a society are the
determiners of transaction costs, which facilitate low transaction cost na d boosts the
economic growth. The 4 factors that are contained in the transaction costs are
measurement, enforcement, ideological attitudes and the size of the market. The theory of
labour regulations also plays an important role in employee relation, UK labour regulates the
working between employees, management and trade Unions.
c. It could be seen in M&S, that the organisation follows the unitary perspective wherein the
staff an management follow the same fundamentals of providing the customers quality with
 value for Money. It was in CMC UK ltd that they bought in the pluralisim approach wherein
the management applied the philosophy of paying bonuses to those who achieved targets(
Hiatt, 2013) Since the economy is witnessing a drastic shift radicalism is playing a major role
in helping employees maintaining a healthy employee relationship. In Axminster tools and
machinery the major move carried out was the bifurcating power between the employer,
employee and trade unions wherein a division of works and accountability was effectively
carried out. Similarly following the principle of Transaction Cost Economics Publicity
overload in UK recruited employee based on retainer ship basis with good pay scales,
however had the option to terminate the contract with due notice if they were not
performing.
1.2 trade Unions in UK
a. A trade union is an entity consisting of employees and union leaders, who are united and
promote their common interests. The uprising in England and in varied countries with the
dawn of the industrial syatrm is responsible for the emergence of trade Unions. According to
Kaufamn & Taras(2016). Trade union is an intended establishment of employees formed to
defend and support their interests.
b. The purposes of a labour union are to discuss wages and working conditions, terms, control
dealings between employees and management, take united action, elevate new claims foe
its associates and resolve their grievances. The stirring work that the trade unions do can
help change laws and gain new rights for workers.
c. Trade unions started during the 17th century. It was the 18 th century that the government
of UK bought in steps for joint action of workers. In 1800 the combination Act was
introduces in which strikes was with 3 months custody or 2 months of rigorous employment
( Webb, 2015). Despite this, the workers pressurised the employers for better pay and
conditions. It was in the 19th century trade unions grew rapidly. It was in 1811 and 1812 that
the combination act was abolished and trade unions became a united political force. In
1834, Grand National Consolidated trades Union was organised. Consequently due to the
agitation in 1834 many workers who formed trade Union were arrested. This confinement
discouraged the workers from resorting to trade unions and then the Grand Consolidated
Trade Union distorted ( Smethurst & carte, 2016. Nevertheless, trade unions grew in
numbers and established itself to a powerful trade union movement by 1874. The trade
union Act of 1871 recognised the legal status of trade unions. The New unionism reached
many unskilled workers in Britain ( Kirton & Healy, 2013). By the 20th century trade Unions
became more influential wherein they developed a close nexus with political parties. The
connection between the labour Party and trade unionism still exists today, which is
reflective in the need for bargaining power and its interrelation to employee relations.

1.3 Key players in Employment Relations

Maintaining a healthy work environment requires a collective effort of all its members,
Employer, Employee, Trade Union, Employer Associations and Government.

Employer- They have the most important task to provide a healthy and effective environment so
that the employees can perform efficiently. It is also important that they tactfully manage the
 criticism that would arise between the workers by encouraging a sportsman spirit and strive
towards a common goal( Teiche et al. 2013). For instance if there are conflicting opinions in the
team it is ideal that the employer understand the issue and resolves it at the earliest by speaking
to the team and removing the root cause issue. It is also important on part of an employer to
prevent any strike or commotion at the workplace.

Employee- Employees have to carry out the work that they have been assigned. They have to comply
with the various rules, regulations and duties by law. (Eldor & Harpaz, 2016). They should also take
part in the activities organised by the company actively as this would help in building a healthy
relationship between the employer and employee. For instance if the employer organises an event
wherein the employee should speak on his interest, it is ideal that the employee participates
actively. Communicating the needs positively is the role of an employee.

Trade unions- There role is to be the voice for collective good rather than individual benefits. They
should bring in the members a sense of subordination, integrity and social criteria. They should also
keep the employee staff appraised on the various protections. It should also assist in legal and
financial advice and sickness benefits.

Employer Associations- They should work towards developing stable industrial relations, encourage
collective bargaining and bring in a unified employer point of view on issues of industrial relations.
They should also promote and safeguard the interest of employers. For instance the Trade unions
set up in a manufacturing unit should compulsorily analyse, understand and advice on labour
policies. They should also be involved in areas like work place safety and improve public relations.

Government They need to develop laws and rules for the betterment of the working class. This
would eventually build a strong relationship and avoid conflicts. ( Valizade et al 2016). It needs to
concentrate on areas like child welfare, labour act wherein the kids of the labourers are not
neglected ad are able to attain basic lifestyle.

LO 2

2.1 The way HNS works

The National Health services or NHS is the public healthcare system of UK, which is subsidised. It
gives free or subsidised medical care to all the residents of UK. Thus there should be no conflict or
wavering issues that will dampen the spirit of NHS. Handling conflict could be with a single
employee, between employees or with a group. As a general principle it is important to understand
unspoken or non written expectations like culture, value or ethical issues too.

The 4 fold paths to be followed are policy, operation, process and implementation.

Policy refers to handling immediate conflicts. Single employee conflict can be reolved by talking to
understand the anxiety( Lewin et al, 2016). For conflict between 2 employees or a group, steps
needed are management meetings, staff meetings and deal with the disputes using organisational
policy.

Procedure- regular committee meetings, needs to be held. In case of a conflict, one person should
be identified who can resolve it and he/ she should be the first point of contact.
Process- It should be formulated to guide the contact person or the committees made to address the
grievances. It should be based on basic principles of justice like early warnings and democratic style
of decision making.

2.2 Employee relation in situation of conflict

At present conflict exists between the Governments, the BMA & NHS which is extreme case of
employee relation management. Of the various conflicts, the government needs to focus on
increment of basic pay and reduction of working hours, which attracts additional money. BMAs
position will change drastically and doctors will have to face pay cuts, longer working hours and
those on maternity leaves will be affected major time. The government will announce the new
contract enforcement if the agreement is not reached amicably.

The key features were

Communication- the workers should put forward their views on proposed changes and how it will
affect the productivity ( Scherpers et al, 2016).If the proposed changes are beneficial to the
employees, it will impact employee relations positively.

Inferred consent- Usually workers do not express themselves and continue to work under the new
changes. In such cases, employer takes this as a consent inferred. In such cases, it is the worker
which protests and reacts when the changes are not beneficial.

Ideological Framework-It is the set of strategies employees deploy to establish a consistent set up in
the organisation. In this case continued protest from BMA & NHS forced government to reframe its
policies.

Conflict & Cooperation- With the changes in the structure and environment of the profession and
opinion of the conflicting parties, the equations changes. Hence handling theses two extremes is
crucial in employee relations (Gennard et al, 2016)

Consultation- every situation can be resolved to an amicable solution with the right advice and
consultation of the ACAS- Advisory, conciliation and Arbitration Services. A detailed study to
understand the disputing ideologies were discussed to understand the needs of Government, BMA
& NHS.

Negotiation- After long talks and mutually accommodating negotiations, a new contract which
benefited junior doctors and the patients was reached. It showed governments commitment
towards both the parties.

2.3 Effectiveness of the resolution

Resolution of conflict is a series of steps followed with great deliberation and calculative strategy.
Aligning conflicts and cooperation and reaping out a beneficial result is the effectiveness of the
resolution. The procedure is well thought out and even which allows the conflicting groups engaged
to communicate and understand the issues of difference. This helps in understanding the issue and
prevents continued conflicts. The process, if followed will not only address the issue but will finally
resolve the conflict. This process creates an atmosphere of harmony in employee and employers
working situations.
It is also necessary that before the process begins, a set of rules should be put in place such as stay
with the existing issue only, keep sitting while talking and take breaks to ponder and also to pa
attention to the others point of view.

The person having issue should be given adequate time to express its situation. The employee
concerned should necessarily concur to the solution of the problem. In a successful conflict
resolution, everyone walks away feeling benefitted and satisfied.

In the current case, by following the procedures of conflict resolution, the government recognised
that junior doctors need breaks to be motivated enough to benefit everyone.

It is also important to view conflict as an opportunity. Every difference or disagreement can lead to
new leanings and growing prospects.

3.1 Collective bargaining

It is a relation method tool and is a facet of negotiations. Collective bargaining is not restricted for
the management but for many, it becomes a trait for both the parties in the process ( Wunnva,
2016) Government bodies interfere when it id necessary and in the interest of those beyond the
parties themselves. It is unanimous to negotiations foe employment and environment of work with a
view of reaching a concurrence.

Collective bargaining is enforceable if the employees involve in bonafide. Otherwise there would be
just the progression of bargaining without an accord. The board and union should keep their in-
charges and staff educated because with the lack od appropriate communication and information
misapprehensions would creep in. This would result in more strikes( Troy, 2016). It is essential to
involve supervisors in decision making to ensure greater acceptance and better implementation.

Negotiations have several advantages in collective bargaining. Firstly negotiation has the benefit of
resolution through discussion and agreement rather than through argument and quarrel. Secondly it
often results in settlement. Thirdly it is a form of involvement where parties participate in deciding
the solution. Fourthly negotiations contributes towards mutual cooperation by establishing a
continual relationshipas once the bond of conviction and thoughtfulness has been established, it
brings an attitude of eliminating the problem rather than each other, The most importantly it has
the effect of improving relations, Continual dialogue improves relations between all parties.

Collective bargain has advantage for the current and the prospect areas. The purpose of collective
bargaining in the case of junior doctors dispute was to assist in finding a solution. The government
and the doctors solved the disagreement in agreeable mode and in general to improve the efficiency
by avoid ding strikes for a favourable environment to offer steady business.

3.2 Negotiation Strategies

In this scenario, it was the need of the hour to get things sorted, as the value of getting the issue
resolved is a safer prospect for the patients. Hence negotiations to that effect were needed which
will be affordable cost effective and desirable in the light of the current situation. Knowing the
disputing partys welfare and plans is essential for negotiation. Identifying a strategy that suits their
interests will help accomplish the best result.
The four strategies that used in the current dispute are yielding, compromising competing and
problem solving (Brett, 2014). In the yielding strategy which is not negotiation, A person who
surrenders accepts the offer the reason to yield is to avoid inner uneasiness from feeling of taking
gain of the other or the apprehension of violating society rules. The strategy of protest was partly
used in the present case as the government, BMA & NHS realised that patients are more important
than their conflict. In this compromising strategy a balance for all the parties was achieved. The
approach used was to identify the differences and analyse everyones needs. The principle followed
was to seek fair play. It helped in finding the solution for the conflict.

The other strategy would be competing which is a more aggressive approach where the parties use
negotiation as a goal and gain maximum. The pre dominant issue is this strategy is that the party
considers himself to be superior and asserts on his demands being fulfilled including deceptive
modes. This strategy cannot be used here as the medical fraternity cannot be subjected to the
whims & fancies of dictators.

The last strategy of problem solving is closer to compromising. In this case ACAS was the problem
solver which understood every oness situation, the current issues and then suggested a solution
diplomatically. They were good listeners and discussed amicably to reach solution

LO 3

4.1 EU on industrial democracy and Brexit effect

The arrangement which entails the employees in the decision process with sharing responsibility and
power in the workplace is termed as Industrial democracy. It has been in operations in some
European countries, however, the ideology of industrial democracy does not match in aggressive
affiliation that is between the managers and trade unions in British organisations. EU legislations
promotes prominent role for the employees in a companys decision making. The enterprise for the
discussion is M& S wherein trade was partially affected due to BREXIT. The EU influence makes it
necessary in the British organisation, for the Union and the management to work towards a common
goal termed as the new partner based relationship ( Doede, 2013) Unions are considered to educate
and manage employee benefits. It makes decision making process functional and began positively
impacting the workers performance and increases the worker efficiency which directly contributes
to the success of the organisation. The management at M&S was influenced to create a council
which would examine and consider long term purpose of the business. This emphasis placed focus
on workers and their well being.

With BREXIT, it is likely that there would be changes to the workplace rights which is dependent on
the political and economical relationship that UK will have with EU. Nevertheless trade
arrangements would allow UKs continual admittance to its distinct market. It is also noted that UK
has a very liberal approach to employment laws and in general the degree of flexibility has enabled
UK to maintain a regulated labour market in OECD in terms of legislation for employment pretection.

4.2 Employee participation & decision making process

The organisation that involved in this case is Aldi north UK. It was evident that in order to create a
positive working environment the employee relations should be based on trust, customer service,
Cooperation and problem solving skills. Employee involvement is one of the tools to bring out
productivity and efficiency in the employee. Employee involvement refers to valuing each person in
the employment and valuing as well as soliciting their opinions. Employment participation is equally
important where the employee takes part in all the activities.

According to the Rudani(2013), the various methods of employee involvement are

Financial- where employees are part of profit sharing or share holding, giving them a sense of
ownership

Job Security- the job of the employees are secured , this provided complete dedication towards the
organisation. Other methods include participation at board levels, partnership through ownership
and collective participation through different schemes, job enrichment quality circles.

4.3 Impact of HRM

HRM affects the employees productivity and efficiency. If employee involvement in decision making
is not considered, it will affect team performance majorly. HRM can be divided in soft and Hard
version Proper HRM provides job satisfaction, motivation, brings great working attitude resulting in
increased efficiency and improved employee performance. Its impact on employee relations could
be assessed using the Harvard Model, Michigan model and the Guest comparative model.

The Harvard model is a planned map that directs all the administrators in their relations with
employees and focuses soft aspect of HRM. It endeavours at employee commitment and the need
that employees need to be harmonious capable and cost effective. In HRM the rewrad system was
structured to draw and inspire the employees. The job based tasks are defined tis focusing on high
employee commitment for better job performance. The selection of employees was based on
proficiency which embraced appropriateness and flexibility.

In Michigan model, the focus was on hard HRM which embraces employee to be controlled like
resources and are attained on low cost used scarcely but utilised to the maximum( Jockenh. 2013).
This model gears organisational performance on selection appraisal, development and rewards. The
need of competitive environment is uncared for as they are based on the notion of strategic choices.
The benefit in this model is its market performance and organisational growth.

The guest comparative model works on the integrated HRM practices which lead to organisational
performance. It uses strategies like segregation, modernism, quality and cost reduction will guide to
training assessment, selection, rewards etc.

Conclusion

With various aspects of employee relations, HRM, trade unionism & industrial revolution are
important for the organisational growth. The junior doctor dispute and the EU impact on industrial
revolution with the BREXIT effect details emphasises the importance of strong employer- employee
relationships.