http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3 http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-3-2.xsd
The practice of consultation between senior managers and employee representatives has a long history in British employment relations yet has often been overshadowed by discussions on collective bargaining. In the last few decades, the importance of consultation has been elevated by two main trends: the decline in trade union membership and the retreat from collective bargaining in the private sector on the one hand, with the result that consultation may be the only form of collective employee voice available; and the programme of legislative support for consultation by the European Union since the 1970s on the other. The book charts the meaning and development of consultation in the twentieth century and explores the justifications for the practice. It shows how EU intervention to promote consultation evolved and changed, paying particular attention to the adoption of the Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations, which became fully operational in enterprises with 50 or more employees in 2008. Analysing the half-hearted response to EU consultation initiatives by the social partners in Britain, it provides a critical assessment of successive UK governments' handling of the issue. Drawing on the authors' empirical research in twenty-five organizations, the book closely examines the take-up and impact of consultation regulations, and explores the processes involved in effective consultation. Consultation at Work looks at the dynamics of consultation and draws a contrast between 'active' consultation of the type envisaged by the EU, and more limited consultation used as a means of communication. Discussing the UK experience in comparative perspectives, it asks what has to happen for the take-up of consultation to improve and suggests the changes that should be made to the EU Directive and UK ICE Regulations.
Cover; Contents; List of Tables; List of Boxes; Preface and Acknowledgements; List of Abbreviations and Acronyms; 1. Consultation at Work: Competing Agendas, Differing Expectations; What is consultation?; Lessons from history; Early examples of management style and union substitution; Consultation in times of war: expansion and controversy; The post-war retreat and possible resurgence of consultation; Consultation in a period of union decline; Conclusion; 2. Justifications for Consultation; The language of consultation, participation, and involvement
The pursuit of efficiency through consultationAccess to top management; Improving the quality of decisions; Contribution to the management of change; Inculcation of participative management style; Providing an effective means for handling grievances and complaints; Improving employee engagement and commitment; Consultation as power-sharing; Consultation as an employee right; Conclusion; 3. Legislating for Employee Consultation: The Significance of EU-Level Regulation; The evolution of EU intervention; Rationales for regulation; Different sources of regulation, different outcomes
New approaches to EU regulationRevised collective redundancies directive; European Works Councils directive; European Company Statute and linked employee involvement directive; The road to the information and consultation directive; Regulation by the social partners?; Commission proposal; Views of the social partners; Position of the UK government; Legislative process; Subsequent EU measures; Conclusion; 4. Half-Hearted Regulation in the United Kingdom; The legacy of the Bullock debate; Key stages in the evolution of UK consultation legislation; Issue-specific consultation
Workforce-wide consultation rights versus single channelUK implementation of the information and consultation directive; Assessment of the ICE regulations; Conclusion; 5. The Take-up and Impact of Statutory Consultation; The WERS 2004 benchmark; Implications of legislative design; Reflexive implementation; Experience and lessons of directly applicable consultation rights; Impact of the ICE regulations-legislatively prompted voluntarism?; Quantitative impact; Patterns of employer, employee, and union engagement with the regulations; Enforcement and case law; Case study evidence; Conclusion
6. The Practice of ConsultationThe component characteristics of effective consultation; Degree of involvement; Scope of decisions; Level of consultation; The form of consultation and involvement; The organizing capacity of employee representatives; A culture of cooperation; Conclusion; 7. The Dynamics of Consultation; Case histories in active consultation; Case history-From union avoidance to highly developed consultation with agreed outcomes: mobile phone company; Case history-Active consultation over redundancies and restructuring: diversified technology
Includes bibliographical references (pages 186-199) and index.