Employee/Employer Relations

Employees and employers need a system which they can use to communicate their views to each other.

This can happen individually or collectively with groups of employees.

On an individual level the employee and employer will be discussing topics that are related to the contract of employment and conditions of work. Sometimes there may be disputes which could be referred to tribunals.

On a collective level other parties are likely to be involved aside from the employee and employer.

Trade Unions

A Trade Union is a group of workers who have joined together as a collective force and its representatives will work with the employer to achieve change in areas such as pay, hours of work and working conditions to the benefit of the employees.

This collective bargaining could see the trade union representatives meeting weekly with the HR team of the employing company to discuss and bargain over day-to-day matters. It can also work at the opposite extreme with the union representatives talking and working with the employer over major issues and disputes. Striking would be considered a last resort by most unions but it would certainly be something they’d organise if they felt that their views weren’t being listened to or acted upon.

Trade unions are represented by the Trade Unions Congress (TUC). They have an annual congress, or meeting, where trade union representatives from various unions come together and discuss general issues relating to trade union policy, employment law, training and conditions of work. Their views will be reported to the Government, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI, see below) and other interested parties.

Confederation of British Industry (CBI)

The CBI represents the interests of employers and presents their views to the trade unions, the Government and the media. They collect and communicate information on a wide range of topical subjects. They also carry out a quarterly industrial trends survey about the state of business and publish articles on the results.

Advisory Conciliation & Arbitration Services (ACAS)

ACAS has played a huge role in reducing the number of major disputes which are now at a minimum in the UK compared to other countries. Their aim is to create happy working relationships between employees and employers. They work to establish codes of practice and training guidelines to avoid disputes arising.

We can sense that employee / employer relationships are strongest where the two work together to find solutions that work for both of them. Increasingly employers and employees are now taking shared responsibility for working practices and conditions.