www.le.ac.uk
Information and Consultation: Changing the Face of British Collective Labour Law
Pascale LorberUniversity of Leicester
Historically…
‘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
Limitations
Case-lawApplications to the CAC
Source – CAC website http://www.cac.gov.uk/
Body of evidence
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)