Supporting Good Practice in Managing Employment Relations

SUPPORTING GOOD PRACTICE IN MANAGING EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS

1. Describe 4 factors, 2 internal and 2 external, which impact on the employment relationship.

Employment Relations is defined by David Farnham as “that part of managing people that enables competent managers to balance, within acceptable limits, the interests of employers and those of employees in the labour market and workplace”.
The employment relationship is affected by:
External Factors:
Economy
The level of economy affects the attitude of the employers towards the employees. For instance, with the current economic and financial crises, the budget of businesses has shrunk, affecting staff remuneration and other related expenditures. Consequently, there have been salary-cuts, redundancies, reduction or nonpayment of special allowances, reduction or suspension of various human resource development programs, reduction or stoppage in recruitment of new employees and the overstretching of existing labour both in time and task. In this situation the bargaining power of the employees is weakened and the conditions of are less favourable for them.

Government Policies
Employment Laws affect employee relations in various way imposing rules on:
Working time, national minimum wage, trade union recognition, parental leave, unfair dismissal, equality of employees. For instance Labour party’s policies are more employees oriented, aiming to improve job security, conditions, and pay for workers. They introduced the national minimum wage and support the fairness of working conditions. The Labour Party included a commitment to an Equality Bill in its 2005 election manifesto, which brought to life the Equality Act 2010 aimed at putting together all the previous pieces of Equality Legislation. The Conservative Party is more focused on supporting business growth.

Internal Factors:

Working Contracts:
The type of working contract also affects the relationship between the employer and the employees. Employment contracts are set in place to outline the employee and employer’s terms, conditions and rights with regards to the employment. The employee has statutory rights enforced by law and employment contracts must include them and they are set in place to protect the employee. Additionally there are contractual rights which are not statutory but are agreed between the employer and the employee.
Organisational Culture:
Organisational culture is defined as the associated norms of an organisation, while employee behaviour is seen as the outward expression of an employee's perception of organisational culture, then organisational culture precedes employee behaviour. Leaders have the ability to influence and manage organisational culture. When this is done effectively, employees will express those values positively through their behaviour. Leaders can influence organisational culture and hence employee behaviour

2. Define the following types of work contract: permanent, temporary, fixed term, and explain the main applications of each.

The contract of employment regulates the terms and conditions of employment between the employer and the employee. An employer is a person or an entity who hires the services of another person paying a wage or a salary. The employee is conversely the person who is hired to provide services in exchange for compensation.
The contract of employment stipulates what the employer will provide and it specifies what the employee is entitled to receive in terms of company policy, company benefits, and labour legislation. It also regulates the behaviour of the employee in the workplace. Employees are under a duty to obey instructions, provided these are lawful, reasonable and within the scope of the contract agreed.

There are various types of employment contract such as:

The contract of permanent employment
Permanent contract of employment is a written agreement between the employer and employee which does not stipulate an ending date. Permanent workers are employees with paid leave entitlements in jobs or work contracts of unlimited duration. Some terms and conditions of employment are subject to statutory requirements, e.g. rates of pay, working hours,holidays and notice of termination of employment. The Fixed Term Contract of Employment
The fixed term contract of employment is almost identical to the contract of permanent employment with the only difference that it states an ending date. In the fixed term contract the employer will stipulate where the benefits such as pension, medical aid, provident fund, any group life assurance facility, etc is applicable or not applicable to the fixed term contract. Staff employed on fixed term contracts perform the full duties of the post. Employers must give the same terms and conditions of employment, such as holiday entitlement and pensions, to fixed term employees as to permanent employees, unless any difference in treatment can be objectively justified.

Temporary contract:

A temporary worker is a person who is hired to fill a role or position within a workplace for a short period of time. Temporary employment is obtained as the sum of the following categories: 'Fixed term contract', 'Paid by employment agency' and 'Seasonal workers'. Paid by employment agency covers all employees who were paid by an employment agency/labour hire firm. Fixed term contract covers all employees working on a fixed term contract and excludes employees paid by an employment agency/labour hire firm. Seasonal workers cover all employees whose expected duration of main job was less than one year with Seasonal/temporary/fixed contract supplied as the reason. Temporary casual employment can be paid at an hourly rate of pay on production. The employment relationship is daily. In monitoring for temporary positions the justification of the temporary reason for employment must be provided. For agency workers, terms and conditions of employment are set by the Agency.

3. Give examples of legislation that impact on: employee holidays, rest periods, working hours and night working and explain why these are important for both employee and organisation

Employers want controlled labour costs, good performance or high productivity per head, an adaptable, ‘loyal’ workforce and to avoid disruptive workplace conflict. Employees want fair terms and conditions, job security, managers that are sympathetic to their employment needs, and interesting work.
The Working Time Directive 2003/88/EC is a European Union Directive, which creates the right for EU workers to a minimum number of holidays each year, paid breaks, and rest of at least 11 hours in any 24 hours; restricts excessive night work; and makes a default right to work no more than 48 hours per week. It was issued as an update on earlier versions from 22 June 2000 and 23 November 1993. Excessive working time being a major cause of stress, depression and illness, the purpose of the Directive is to protect people's health and safety. As a consequence of the directive every employer has to put together and maintain records accurately and properly and this implies an extra administration task to deal with at an extra cost for the organisation. The WTD is aimed to increasing the work-life balance reducing the level of stress for the employee.
The WTD challenge the growth in excessive working hours and ensure employers become responsible for unhealthy working practices. They clearly establish that working time is a health and safety issue.

4. Identity and describe 5 ways in which the legal system supports working parents: including maternity leave, paternity leave, adoption leave and dependants leave.
The government’s goal is to develop working places with “a high performance, flexible, family-friendly work culture that positively impacts people's lives”.
The Work and Families Bill is the product of a desire to help parents and carers to combine their caring responsibilities with paid work. The aim is to enable such people to achieve proper work-life balance.
Another aim is to ensure that skilled workers do not leave the labour market due to personal responsibilities as this creates a ‘skills gap’ which impacts negatively on the UK’s economy.
Paternity Leave To qualify for Ordinary Paternity Leave, the employee must have been with his employer for at least 26 weeks by either: * the end of the 15th week before the start of the week when the baby is due * the end of the week when they are notified or are matched with their child

Fathers are entitled to take up to 2 weeks’ paid leave to care for their new baby and support the mother.

Maternity Leave: regardless the length of service there are the following three categories:

Compulsory Leave
Refers to the 2 week period immediately after giving birth during which a woman is not permitted to work. This forms part of the Ordinary Maternity Leave period.
Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML)
Refers to the 26 weeks’ Maternity Leave allowed to all women. Terms and conditions (excluding salary) will be maintained and the employee will have the right to return to her current job after OML.
Additional Maternity Leave (AML)
Refers to the 26 weeks leave beginning at the end of the OML. All women entitled after 1 April 2007.

Adoption Rights: to qualify the employee needs to have worked continuously for his current employer for at least 26 weeks before the beginning of the week when he is matched with a child.
The following people are entitled to adoption rights:
• Individuals who adopt; or
• One member of a couple where a couple adopt jointly (the couple may choose which partner takes adoption leave).
. The partner (including same sex partner) of an individual who adopts, or the other member of a couple who are adopting jointly, may be entitled to maternity or paternity leave and pay.
Parental Leave To qualify the person must be an employee and have at least one year's continuous service at work.
Parental leave is a right to take unpaid time off work to look after a child up to the child’s fifth birthday (or 18th birthday for disabled children) or make arrangements for the child’s welfare. The right applies to mothers and fathers and to a person who has obtained formal parental responsibility for a child.
Time Off For Dependants
All staff (regardless of length of service) are entitled to take a reasonable period of unpaid time off work to deal with an unexpected or sudden problem concerning a dependant and to make any necessary longer term arrangements to deal with an unexpected disruption or breakdown in care arrangements for a dependant; to deal with an unexpected incident involving their child during school hours; to take care of a dependant who falls ill or has been involved in an accident or assaulted.

One of the effects of this family friendly legislation is that birth rates have previously been falling in the UK as more women seek to put their careers first and feel torn between a family life and their jobs. However, changes to regulations have resulted in more women feeling confident to balance both children and a career. It has been claimed that moves to make maternity leave laws more family-friendly have resulted in an increase in the birth rate in Scotland.

5. GIVE TWO REASONS WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO TREAT EMPLOYEES FAIRLY IN RELATION TO PAY.

1. Increase Staff motivation: interesting work and good pay are key to higher employee motivation. With regards to Motivation Theories, Adams' theory states that employees strive for equity between themselves and other workers. Equity is achieved when the ratio of employee outcomes over inputs is equal to other employee outcomes over inputs (Adams, 1965). If inequity exists, then the employee might perceive that their work is not being appreciated and may work less or undervalue the work of other employees. Increased motivation produces: Less turnover, which translates into lower training costs, and better job performance, leading to more profit in the long run.

2. Statutory Rights: The right to equal pay between men and women for work of equal value is set out in Article 141 of the EU Treaty. In the UK, it is found in the Equal Pay Act 1970. The employee is entitled to equality of pay and other terms and conditions with someone of the opposite sex, in a comparable job.

6. SUMMARISE 4 AREAS OF POTENTIAL DISCRIMINATION AND THE MAIN EQUALITY LEGISLATION WHICH RELATES TO EACH AREAS
Under the rules in Britain everyone should have equal access to employment and be not discriminated against in their terms of employment.
The Equality Act 2010 consolidates nine separate pieces of anti-discrimination legislation into a single Act. It protects 9 characteristics (Age , Disability, Gender reassignment, Marriage and civil partnership, Pregnancy and maternity, Race, Religion or belief , Sex, Sexual orientation) for 7 different types of discrimination (Direct discrimination, Associative discrimination, Discrimination by perception, Indirect discrimination, Harassment , Harassment by a third party, Victimisation). If discrimination against the above characteristics is proved, employers can face Employment Tribunals and unlimited compensation claims if found guilty.
Examples of 4 areas of potential discrimination:
Race
Discriminating against someone on the basis of their race was first outlawed in the 1970s and since then the rules have been continually tightened up. Employees should never be treated differently because of their ethnicity.
Gender
These laws protect people from being discriminated on the grounds of sex. Men and women must have equal access to employment, training and promotion.
Sexual Orientation
The law protects heterosexuals, homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexual men and women.
Disability
People with a disability must not be discriminated against as part of their employment, after the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) provided a number of new safeguards. The DDA also requires employers to make reasonable adjustments to the workplace to accommodate disabled workers or applicants.

7. EXPLAIN THE CONCEPTS: DIRECT DISCRIMINATION, INDIRECT DISCRIMINATION, HARASSMENT AND VICTIMISATION.

Direct discrimination
Direct discrimination is when an employee is treated less favourably than another employee because of a protected characteristic. Direct discrimination is generally unlawful. The one exception is Age, for which different treatment can be justified if it is a proportionate means of meeting a legitimate aim.

Indirect discrimination
Occurs when the discrimination is not obvious and therefore it is more difficult to prove it. It happens when a provision is applied to all employees but it puts a particular characteristic at a disadvantage and it cannot be shown that the provision, criteria or practice is justified as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. For example, school or staff uniform dress codes may breach equality law if they offend religious or customary mores of particular racial groups even if those codes were not intended as an act of discrimination.

Harassment
Harassment is a repetitive behavior of offensive nature. It is an effect of discrimination that targets employees because of who they are.
There are three types of harassment which are unlawful under the Equality Act: 1 a. Harassment related to a protected characteristic.

b. Sexual harassment.

c. Less favourable treatment of a student/employee because they submit to or reject harassment related to sex.

Victimisation
Treating someone badly because they have carried out a ‘protected act’. It is an effect of discrimination that targets employees on the basis of something they have done. A ‘protected act’ is an action that is aimed at exposing discrimination. It happens when employees are: making a claim or complaint of discrimination (under the Equality Act); helping someone else to make a claim by giving evidence or information; making an allegation that someone has breached the Act.

8. EXPLAIN WHAT IS MEANT BY “THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT” AND GIVE EXAMPLES OF POLICIES AND PROCEDURES THAT MIGHT UNDERPIN THIS.
Psychological contract refers to the expectations between an employee and the organisation which employs them. The employer will offer (for example) pay, training, and a good working environment; in return, he will expect certain outputs: reliability, flexibility and so on. The employee will also have offers and expectations. The offers could be skills, time, commitment; the expectations pay, security, fairness. The psychological contract is rarely explicitly discussed. But it's a powerful motivating force behind our behaviour at work.
It is good management practice to provide a positive psychological contract based on trust and fairness tied into an organisational culture that delivers positive outcomes linked to performance. Key elements of good practice include job design, skills development, and a climate of regular, consistent consultation and involvement.
Organisations might seek to seek employees’ engagement through: fostering leadership and innovation; stressing teamwork as a firm value; providing continuous learning opportunities and access to knowledge; listening and responding to people’s ideas and concerns; developing lifelong relationships with people; ensuring the organisation is an enjoyable place to work.
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9. CASE STUDY – Disciplinary for Theft
The Acas’ Code of Practice, introduced in April 2009, sets out standard procedures for dealing with disciplinary issues in the workplace. It has replaced the rigid statutory 3 step process. The following procedure has to be followed during the disciplinary:
Investigation/establish the facts: Formal investigations have to be carried out by the most appropriate manager who is not directly involved with the incident. All the relevant facts have to be gathered promptly as soon as it is practicable after the incident. Statements must be taken from witnesses at the earliest opportunity. Any physical evidence must be preserved. It has to be cleared that something was stolen rather than misplaced.

Preparation of Report which outlines the facts of the case. This has to be submitted to the appropriate senior manager / Director who will decide whether further action is required.

Inform the employee/Investigatory hearing: It is important to present the material to the company’s legal advisor first of all. If they feel there is sufficient evidence to prove there has been misconduct then an investigatory hearing with the employee under investigation will be carried out. A formal letter will be given to the employee stating the claim. A formal meeting will be arranged to discuss the accusations. The employee is allowed to be accompanied to the hearing.
Decide an appropriate action: after the hearing the company can take one of the following actions: * If the employee was not clear that the goods could not be taken, ask the employee to return the goods and no other further actions. * Warning - Penalty * Termination of the worker's employment – if gross misconduct is proven.
Provide employees with an opportunity to appeal: where an employee feels that disciplinary action taken against them is wrong or unjust.

10. EXPLAIN THE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FAIR AND UNFAIR DISMISSAL, GIVING AN EXAMPLE OF EACH
Fair dismissal: is the Termination of the contract of employment of an employee by his or her employer in a correct, fair, and lawful manner. It can be carried out for the following reasons, as stated by the Employment Rights Act 1996: capability or qualifications, conduct, illegality or contravention of a statutory duty, some other substantial reason, redundancy. For example, Fair Dismissal might take place when the employee had previously stated to have a degree and then it is proven that this was a false statement.

Unfair dismissal: happens when there is a breach of the employees’ contract terms or of the statutory rights. It might take place when an employee is fired because he refuses to work overtime, being the maximum working time limit regulated by the Working Time Directive 22003/88/EC.

11. EXPLAIN THE PURPOSE AND BENEFITS OF EXIT INTERVIEWS, FOR BOTH THE ORGANISATION AND THE EMPLOYEES.

An exit interview is a meeting between an employee who is leaving the company and the Human Resources department to find out the reasons for leaving. If a regular pattern of complaints emerges, action can be taken to improve the situation.
Exit Interviews help to: 1. Clear up psychological issues that otherwise might stay unresolved. They are seen by existing employees as a sign of positive culture and they are part of the psychological contract. 2. Provide valuable information as to how to improve recruitment and induction of new employees and staff retention. 3. Might help to retain a valuable employee who would otherwise have left (organisations often accept resignations far too readily without discussion or testing the firmness of feelings). 4. Improve the chances of successfully obtaining and transferring useful knowledge, contacts, insights, tips and experience, from the departing employee to all those needing to know it, especially successors and replacements.

12. SUMMARISE THE KEY STAGES TO BE FOLLOWED IN MAKING REDUNDANCIES

An employee is made redundant when he is dismissed as no longer necessary. Redundancies happen when there is cessation of business, cessation of business in a particular location or cessation or reduction of work. There are financial costs that the organisation has to incur in relations to redundancies, additionally businesses have to deal with the survival syndrome of the remaining employees, trying to boost their morale and keep them motivated.

Pool identification: establish a pool of employees for the selection of those to be made redundant.

Consultation “Collective consultations with recognised trade unions or elected representatives must start at least 90 days beforehand for proposed redundancy dismissals of 100 or more employees and at least 30 days before notification of redundancies for 20–99 employees. Where collective consultation is required it must be completed before notice of dismissal is given to any of the employees concerned” – CIPD webpage

Selection
Selection from the pool must be based on objective criteria and must not be based on a protected characteristic.
Notification
Employees selected for redundancies should be notified and invited for a meeting. If made redundant, they have to be notified in writing and informed about the redundancy payment they will receive.

Bibliography

http://www.cipd.co.uk/

http://www.direct.gov.uk

http://www.hrdictionary.com/

http://www.businessdictionary.com/

http://www.acas.co.uk/

Human Resource Practice, Malcolm Martin, Fiona Whiting and Tricia Jackson, 5th edition, Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development.

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