New guide urges employers to seize opportunity offered by new
Information and Consultation Regulations
4 March 2005 -
Employers that embrace the principle behind new regulations
giving workers new rights to be informed and consulted about
employment issues can reap real rewards in terms of employee
motivation and commitment. However organisations that ignore
the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations,
risk being forced to adopt rigid arrangements for informing and
consulting staff that don't suit their business.
These are the views of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development (CIPD), which has published guidance to help
employers meet the challenges presented by the regulations
that come into force for organisations with 150 or more staff on
the 6 April.
CIPD have published a guide, Information and consultation,
which is available free from the CIPD website and highlights
evidence showing that organisations that involve and engage
their workforce benefit from a positive impact on performance,
and greater input of ideas and problem solving solutions from
the workforce.
Ben Willmott, CIPD adviser on employee relations, said: "These
new regulations are now just around the corner. For organisations
that embrace them willingly, they could improve employee
motivation and business performance. But employers that sit
back and wait to be challenged risk losing the goodwill of their
employees and having arrangements that do not fit with their
business needs imposed upon them by the new legislation.
"Employees who are informed and consulted about matters that
affect their employment experience are more likely to feel that
they and their opinions matter and that they have a stake in the
organisation they work for. A substantial body of research shows
that in workplaces where this 'employee voice' exists workers are
likely to be more motivated and committed to their employer.
"This 'employee voice' can be provided either collectively through
employee representatives sitting in staff associations or
information and consultation forums or directly between
managers and employees.
"Our practical guide to the regulations highlights examples of a
range of companies that have established or are establishing
arrangements to inform and consult with employees. Their
experiences show how the regulations can bring positive benefits
to the workplace."
The guide considers the different benefits to be derived from
direct and collective methods of informing and consulting
employees, and concludes that, particularly in larger
organisations, a combination of direct and representative
arrangement can be most effective.
The guide also:
- Considers what consultation means in practice
- Examines the challenges presented by informing and
consulting both union and non-union members of staff
- Considers how best to ensure buy-in from staff and senior
managers
- Asks how best to create arrangements that are durable and
remain effective under pressure, while improving the quality of
management decision-making
- Explores how to maintain interest and momentum when
arrangements for informing and consulting staff are up and
running
Case studies included in the Guide include care services
provider Leonard Cheshire, South West Trains, ITV, as well as
two manufacturing companies and an NHS Trust.
CIPD have also produced a book, Making Consultation Work:
the importance of process, which is due to be published later
this month. It takes a more comprehensive look at how
organisations can make consultation work.
The book identifies a number of issues that will affect the
consultation process and need to be considered in order to
make the process work. These include the following:
- Trust is needed between all parties involved
- It is important to have representatives in place who are able
to lead rather than delegate
- The organisations employee relations history will influence the
consultation process
- The perceptions of employers and managers will also influence
the consultation process
The Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations
2004 come into force in April 2005 for organisations employing
150 or more staff, with companies employing 100 or more staff
or 50 or more staff covered by the regulations from April 2007
and April 2008 respectively. For more information see the CIPD
guide at
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