Information and Consulation: a practical guide to the law is essential reading for all UK employers with more than 50 employees.
Up to 10,000 companies not presently impacted by the Regulations will need to be aware of its provisions from April 2007, when it will be extended to include smaller companies employing 100 or more employees.
The Regulations, which carry penalties of up to £75,000 for non-compliance, previously applied only to firms employing upwards of 150 people. Partnerships, charities, associations, and public bodies will also be affected by the changes.
The Guide provides clear and detailed step-by-step guidance to the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004, effective from April 2005. Eventually, they will affect all businesses employing more than 50 employees in wide-ranging and fundamental ways.
This guide:
- gives advice on how to respond to the new Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations
- sets out a complete model Information and Consultation agreement to conform to the requirements, together with clause-by-clause notes
- advises on the setting up and operation of Information and Consultation Committees, with the aim of helping businesses improve their business performance
Informing and consulting with employees
Employee information and consultation is a cornerstone of modern employee relations. Although the UK has not traditionally regulated workplace representation by law, the need to comply with EU Directives, among other reasons, has led to the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations.
These Regulations are a minefield of ambiguities, reflecting the UK's attempt to come to terms with an EU social model. They are not, however, only an additional requirement for employers - they also provide an opportunity to improve dialogue between employers and employees.
This EEF guide to the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations interprets the complexities of the Regulations and shows how UK businesses, even those for whom the Regulations are not immediately binding, need to act now in order to understand their obligations under the new law and enable them to use it to their own advantage.
Information and consultation: a practical guide to the law is one of a series of EEF Guides to employment law, written especially for employers.