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Information and Consultation: Changing
the Face of British Collective Labour Law
Pascale Lorber
University of Leicester
www.le.ac.uk
Historically…
Absence of
state
regulations
Interest
from
social
partners?
voluntary
consultative
committees
‘European social model’
Information and Consultation of
Employees Regulations 2004
• Procedural obligation to engage workers’
representatives on strategic decisions
• Additional voice for workers and unions – not
conditional on union recognition
• Wider spectrum of topics for engagement
• Potential for ‘power sharing’
• Improvement of collective rights? ‘Impact of legal
changes on actual behaviour’ ?
Numerical impact
• Some activity prompted by ICER and increase in
number of arrangements (mainly Pre-Existing
Agreements)
• WERS 2011 (initial findings)
The proportion of all workplaces covered by
consultative committees fell from 35% in 2004 to
25% in 2011
Qualitative impact
• Employer led activity: risk assessment approach and
little regard for legal requirements
• Some (limited) evidence that ICER used to try to
avoid trade unions and replace collective bargaining
BUT union members also used ICER to join JCC
• Rare exceptions of constructive dialogue and
influence of management
‘Structural’ causes
Weak legal
framework
Limited case
law
Attitudes of
stakeholders
Limitations
Optional nature
of obligation
Hurdles of
trigger and
thresholds
Role of trade
unions
Nature of
sanctions and
enforcement
mechanisms
Case-law
Applications to the CAC
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Total
Applications
4
4
8
5
10
6
3
4
2
46
Decisions
2
1
4
2
7
5
2
3
1?
27
Withdrawn
2
3
4
3
3
1
1
1
1
19
Source – CAC website http://www.cac.gov.uk/
Body of evidence
Issues of
contention
Actors
Application of
standard
information and
consultation
Majority of
complainants
are individuals
Validity of preexisting
agreements
Cases pursued
by unions:
Amicus and
Unite
Trade Unions
Openly positive
but ambivalent
in practice
Exceptions
Employers
- Direct
communication
and
involvement
- Risk
assessment
approach
State
Not committed
to promotion of
consultation
Changing the face of collective labour law?
• ‘evidence that information and consultation rights
have provided workers with any real influence over
management decisions appears to be rather slight’
(B Simpson)
• ‘Will consultation limp as a neglected feature of
British employment relations with island of good
practice in a sea of ambivalence, or can and should,
consultative practice be adopted more widely …?’
(Hall and Purcell 2012)
Worth rescuing and promoting
• Decline of trade union and collective voice
• Amending the legal framework?
• Using current legal framework and relevant
institutions
• Involving unions
• To avoid a collective voice remaining in ‘a state of
flux’ (B Simpson)