Contemporary Developments in Employment Relations

This document discusses the indeterminate nature of employee relations, compares and contrasts the unitarist and pluralist approach, and explores the factors affecting employment relations. It also provides insights on the features of the contract of employment.

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Project 5DER. Contemporary
Developments in Employment
Relations.

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Table of Contents
Question 1:.............................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Indeterminate nature of Employee Relations....................................................................................3
1.2 Compare and contrast of unitarist and pluralist approach.................................................................3
1.3 Factors affecting employment relations............................................................................................4
Question 2:..................................................................................................................................................6
2.1 Features of the contract of employment............................................................................................6
2.2 Sources of UK and EU employment relations..................................................................................7
2.3 Main Developments in individual and employment law...................................................................8
Question 3:..................................................................................................................................................8
2.4 Purpose and scope of statutory trade union recognition....................................................................8
Question 4:................................................................................................................................................10
3.1 Employee involvement, participation and partnership....................................................................10
3.2 Compare and contrast union and non-union forms of employee representation..............................10
3.3 Assess link between employee voice and organization performance- Employee voice and
participation..........................................................................................................................................11
Question 5:................................................................................................................................................13
4.1 Difference in misbehavior, conflict and official and unofficial industrial action. ..........................13
4.2 Contemporary trends in types of conflict and industrial sanctions..................................................14
Question 6:................................................................................................................................................15
4.3 Managerial skills for effective grievance and dispute handling......................................................15
4.4 Third party conciliation, mediation and arbitration.........................................................................16

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Question 1:
1.1 Indeterminate nature of Employee Relations.
Employee relatiaons have the element of indeterminacy which links to labor contract
which does not make apparent the effort of reward distribution from employers' end. Hence,
workers are expected to meet goals without expecting any perks. It also includes the unequal
employee links despite work responsibility involved neither workers have enough freedom to
decide work opportunities themselves.
Also, if a worker declines an offer, then it is offered to someone else.
Employment relations is that term which refers to as effort of company in order to
manage relationship between employers and also employees.
• Labour and labour power- It us the capacity for labor in order to understand the aggregate
of capabilities in terms of mental and physical that basically exist in human being.
• Regulatory- Government regulations are defined as term in order to control and direct by
rule, principle, method in order to regulate the expenses.
Labour and labour power
Labour Labour power
Laborer is something which human always
have done in order to produce goods and
services upon which life depends.
Labour power is historically specific and is
often absent in long periods of human history.
The value of commodity is measured by
average number of hours of labour that is
basically required in order to produce that
particular commodity or product.
The value of labour power is constructed in
which surplus value is basically conserved in
transformation from the values of labour to
prices.
Nature of employee relationship
Employment relationship is an agreement between employee and employer. There are
also hard fast rules in order to determine this relationship. They must give whatever is offered to
employee. Employee relations are the effort of a company in order to manage relationship

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between the superior and subordinates of particular organization. Thus, if there is good
relationship than it will lead them in providing fair and consistent treatment to everyone so that it
will assist them in committing to their task or role and also be loyal to their workplace.
Labour and Labour Power, definition: organization strategic recruitment process to attract
human labour to the organization job opportunities, human labour with the right skills, the right
knowledge, eligible, and for the right role which reverses later into a high turnover as result of
hiring the right human labour.
Furthermore, human labour is a worker(s) who bring his/her services/skills to an organization for
sell and he/she will sell their services/skills to the organization when a contract of employment
have been agreed and signed between employer and employee and the capitalist employer owns
the means of production (ex: factory, office, equipment, raw materials, etc) with the help of
skilled human labour which help the organization to increase their turnover. However, if the
organization hire unfit human labour, the new human labour will more than likely cause a
discrepancy in organization high turnover, it can also result in earlier resignation, damage some
of the organization facilities or delete important information, especially if the organization hired
unfit human labour and failed to provide an induction and training the new human labour and
monitor their activities in the organization. It is important to monitor the human labour as it helps
the organization to establish training needs in order to not only keep the employees motivated but
also help the employees to develop within the organization which will result in improving the
organization productivity.
In the same time human labour has the power to hold the organization from going forward
to improve or continue its production by taking legal strikes, take legal actions against the
organization as court proceedings for: breaching the contract, employee(s) rights, employee(s)
accident as result of organization not following health and safety procedures, etc,.
1.2 Compare and contrast of unitarist and pluralist approach.
Unitarist definition: an individual or a group of individuals who work in an organization
with the organization shareholders, managers, leaders, HR towards achieving common goals, all
members (mangers and staff) share the same interest (Alan Fox, 1966).
Pluralist definition: a frame of reference focuses more on incriminating and collective
bargaining agreements identifying different interests within sub-groups can cause conflict, in
most cases between the management and trade union (Alan Fox, 1966). Pluralism acknowledge

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the importance of conflict and negotiation. The power and control that managers possess,
unbalance power between capital and labour. Organizations who use such practice values
negotiation reaching agreements that benefits the employees and employer evenly.
The unitary approach is dependent on a common goal for reaching optimization in
employee relations.
In the unitary approach, the management has the right to exercise an authorised control
even in the domain of irrationality. Whereas, the pluralist approach makes sure that conflict is
handled correctly and that it buffers disruption. It is against a Marxist viewpoint and is consistent
with variable opinions of managers and employers. Both of the unitary and pluralist approaches
abide by the capitalist socio-polity. In the unitary viewpoint, strikes are considered within non-
conformity and are not encouraged those who take part in it.
The issue of trade union membership is considered in the domain of fidelity on the part of
workers that can incite antagonism within the organization. Whereas, the pluralist perspective
relies on collective bargaining while improving worker and management relationship where
protection against the employer is guaranteed.
Moreover, the managerial style under unitary perspective boosts teamwork and leadership
rather than cutthroat power system. It is assumed that the relationship between managerial and
working staff is cordial. Whereas within a pluralist perspective, the working relationship is not
presumed. It is believed that employees have different interests and right to express or differ
(Hoque 2013).
As being a manager of my organization I would have adopted this Unitary approach.
1.3 Factors affecting employment relations.
o Unitary perspective is implicit towards state whereas the state is a central focus
within pluralism.
 When the state role is implicit, it is understood that any external labour laws will be
considered a hindrance within industrial relations. In pluralism, the state is considered a
liaison to strike a balance within work and employee relation, especially for regulation
amelioration. Both approaches but despises the coercive role of the state to suppress
labour roles.
It can be stated that an employment relationship is a working contract in which implied
issues may exist because employers have a greater power of control. It is hence

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incumbent for trade unions to assume a proactive and productive role in maintaining a
healthy working relationship.
The legal support trade unions are under the Employment Relations Act of 1999. The law
realises different forms of employee representation and the propositions of collective
bargaining through greater interests, however, there are problems within legal sanctions.
The statutory relies on ‘voluntary recognition' and ‘partnership at work'. I would reflect
on the starting point of how comparable is this statutes with other authorisation elements
such as citizenship grants or any recognition from a foreign party. However, employers
are different from any polity and the rights to trade unions given can be based only on
their transactions without third parties. I feel that is a problematic matter, especially in
Britain when the value of industrial agreements have lessened. It has been seen that
bargaining has been seen on an individual level, not at the sector or industrial level. Now
the British employees are covered within a small proportion for collective bargaining.
I feel that ‘depth' of the trade union is more important than the ‘scope' of bargaining
which helps trade union negotiation to be permitted slightly. The depth of negotiation
refers to an employer's predisposition to make concessions and other perks offered to
trade unions.
Management style
Management style is termed as overall method of leadership that is been used by
manager.
• Traditional- this system basically focus o goals and objectives that has been targeted by
senior manager of the particular company. The main aim is to focus on partnership with
that of customers in order to produce product or service that meets or exceeds the needs
and their expectations.
• Consultative- in this style manager consult with team members before deciding any kind
of decision. They consult with members regarding that particular decision.
• Persuasive style- this is little uncertainty, clearly defined roles and expectations for
employees and also speed of decision making.
Range of factors that affects employment relations
External factors

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There are number of laws ensuring that US workers receive minimum wage and safe
working environments. Thus, more regulation of labors decreased need of collective bargaining.
Internal factors
They must update HR practices as high employee turnover, low job security,
unsatisfactory or unsafe working environments and also fire managers who are termed as one
creating such problems. They can address motivation of employees that includes training and
development opportunities.
• Management style- if the management style allows matters in order to percolate until
there is an occurrence of crisis, then it will be seen a lot more burnout. Thus, these
employees in M&S may often disappears rather than confronting to that problem. This is
specially done when management style combines abrasive and blame shifting instead of
brainstorming technique.
• Employee voice- employee voice is that means by which people tries to connect or share
their opinions or views to their employer of M&S. This is the most important way
through which employees can influence such matters that may affect them at work. This
leads them in increased level of satisfaction towards job, greater influence and also
increased development opportunities.
Question 2:
2.1 Features of the contract of employment.
Contract of employment definition: a legal agreement between an employer and
employee(s) creating the base of employment relationship, duties and responsibilities of
employee(s) towards employer and vice versa. The contract of employment becomes active as
soon as the employee accept the employer offer within the timeframe provided by employer, if
the employee(s) does not accept the employer offer within the timeframe provided the contract it
becomes invalid.
Some of the key information that a contract contains: employer and employee
address, timeframe of contract offer acceptance or decline, duties and responsibilities of
employee towards employer and vice versa, Laws and Regulations, organization Rules and
Policies, period of contract, holidays, payment per hour and hours of work or annually salary,

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pension, changes to contract, terms and conditions, breaching the contract, organization rights,
using information, etc. (ACAS, 2018).
- A contract of employment helps employer and employee to understand each other, and it is
good to spell out each feature in detail to avoid any conflicts in future. It is important first to
define the position to an employee in which he or she has a clear understanding of job
descriptive duties in a concise and simple language. However, this is what employee does expect
before applying to the job. Then the length of the agreement is another essential key feature
along with stipulation of conditions that are necessary to know in case of reduction or
termination in future. This feature also includes a probationary period (Bolan et al., 2017).
- An employment contract also carries review on performance. It is important for the contract to
enlist the specific aspects that are required in gauging performance so that employee can also
expect a bonus or a fringe benefit. For example, a sale based position should let know that what
target of sales achieves can reap a bonus for the potential employee.
- Moreover, there is a feature of compensation that what let know payment modes on the basis of
monthly, hourly, weekly or even commission based remuneration options. It is essential for the
company to list the incentive program along with objectives clearly. If this is present, then the
employer must make sure that handling of expenses account is also mentioned. Especially,
overtime schedules should also be taken into account.
- Along with this, the benefits' package needs to be described. The contract must include health,
dental or vision packages along with premium detail that is levied upon the employee due to
licenses or formal memberships. Often contractual agreements skip the part of vacations, stock
options and other rewarding programs that employee may take advantage. Other contractual
elements involve covenants such as non-disclosure of a company's confidential information, any
non-solicitation time spans and laws (Nyberg & Anthony, 2014).
- Moreover, although not being an attractive part of the contract but it is essential to mention
termination policy so either party can hedge against any unpleasant effect. It is important to
explain that what would occur if an employee is gone either with or without reason.
Contents of a contract of employment
• Holiday entitlement- this is the most important content of contract of employment. As all
workers have from first day of employment the right to pay till 5 to 6 weeks paid holiday
per year.

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• Hours of work- this is also to be mentioned about hours of work employees perform for a
business. Minimum 8 hours are mentioned. The time exceeding must be given with extra
pay.
2.2 Sources of UK and EU employment relations.
The sources from which the UK Employment law has been extracted leads to Acts of
Parliament. The law of EU became a source after the year of 1973 as when the UK decided to
join the European Economic Community which then is the current European Union.
- The effect that UK membership had put on EU within employment laws rose far ahead in the
era of late '90s when then Social Chapter of Maastricht Treaty started. The primary sources of
law have been the statutes that relate to employment in terms of tribunals (Flamholtz & Eric,
2012).
- There are laws revolving around trust, contract and tort that helps in rules of employment.
These matters are often taken to County Court of Employment Appeals Tribunal. If the matter
relates to European Law, then it is taken to the European Court of Justice.
• ACAS- it is non departmental public body. Its main purpose is to improve organizations
and working life through promotion and also by facilitating strong relation practice in
terms of industries.
• Employment tribunal law- this is that public body which has statutory jurisdiction in
order to hear many kinds of disputes between employers and employees.
• GDPR law- This is General data protection regulation that came into existence in 2018.
This was basically designed to protect personal information of individuals and gives
maximum control over information.
• Equality act- This act legally protects people from discrimination that takes place in
workplace and also in society. This leads in giving equal rights to every individual.
• Employment rights- this right debates in having to do with that of negotiating workers
pay, benefits and also safe working condition.
• Statutory law- it is that act which is passed by United states and is originate with national,
state legislatures or local municipalities.
• Employment tribunals- This are tribunal policy bodies which have statutory jurisdiction
in order to hear many kinds of disputes between employees and employers. The UK

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government shows new statistics and analyses that total employment tribunals in 2016
came till 16,870. Thus, there was an overall increase of 40.53%.
• European court of justice- It is officially just the court of justice and is the supreme court
of European Union in matters of European Union Law. It is termed as judicial institution
of European Union. This basically means that it helps in dealing with various kinds of
disputes that may occur between parties. They also play very significant role of ensuring
that European law is analyzed and applied in same way as each and every member state.
• European directives- directive is termed as legal act of European union which acquires
member states so that they can achieve particular result without dictation of means to
achieve those results. There are two main objectives which has been aimed. They firstly
aim in order to explain correct and timely compliance as a function of member states and
attributes to specific EU policy requirements. The second one is to account for missing
link between national implementation and EU decision making.
2.3 Main Developments in individual and employment law.
The recent main developments in individual and employment law have changed
significantly, and as for UK Corporate Governance Code 2018, there has been a focus on worker
engagement, diversity in reporting skills, greater reliance on social and ethnic diversity and extra
executive remuneration. It has been researched that there had been an increase of 170 per cent in
the number of tribunal claims. There also has been an increase in 345% within many claims.
Moreover, legal privilege has been sorted under Court of Appeal says that there has to be an
internal investigation for any corporate wrongdoings keeping the facts case sensitive.
• Maternity leave- in this, there is a right to a unpaid period of absence from employment
granted to new mothers before or after birth of a child. Maternity leave run the gamut.
Some are as short as six weeks and some are as generous as one year. Under law of UK,
parents are entitled with twelve weeks often leave a combination of paid and unpaid. The
rules of this leave is that according to family and medical leave act, it has been stated that
if someone works for at least one year in present company than they are entitled by this
law that they can take upto 12 weeks unpaid maternity leave. It is also extended from 6 to
8 weeks even if that particular woman has two or more children.
• Paternity leave- it provides paternity leave of 2 weeks. It is granted to a father after or
before birth of his child. They are entitled to either one or two weeks of paternity leave.

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Thus, to be eligible, they must have contract of employment and also have been working
for same employer for 26 weeks. The central government are entitled towards paternity
leave. thuas, if there is a male civil servant those who have less than two children that are
surviving, will be entitled to such leave for 15 days before and upto 6 months from
delivery of child date.
• Statutory sick pay- this is to all employees those who normally pay NIC that is often
referred to as earning at above the lower limits. Thus, weekly rate for statutory sick pay is
$92 for 28 weeks. Thus, to get qualified for this pay, the workers of cited organization
M&S has a contract related to employment. In that contract, it has been stated that they
have done some work under their contract and have been sick for 4 or more days in a
particular row which is known as period of incapacity for that work.
• Adoption statutory- it is that pay which is paid at 90% of average weekly earnings if its
less. Thus, employees are eligible to take upto 52 weeks leave. In order to be entitled for
such leave there are some rules related to this. If person directly applies to court for an
order that is related to adoption than that particular person may not be eligible for such
type of leave. thus, if there are parents who had child through surrogacy process than they
are eligible for parental order and also foster parents who are prospective adopters than
they are basically entitled for such kind of leave.
Question 3:
2.4 Purpose and scope of statutory trade union recognition.
Trade Union definition: an organization employees who work towards maintaining legal
compliance and ensure that issues between employer and employee and vice versa are dealt in
compliance with relevant Laws and Regulations and according to contract of employment
following steps and procedures, (Gov.UK, 2018, Trade Union).
Some of the activities of trade union members:
- represent an employee in regards to dismissal, employment contract, breach of contract, etc
- discussing and ensuring that employers follow the procedure of fair dismissal.
- raising employees’ concerns with the employer, health and safety, working conditions, etc
- attend meetings with employers in order to discuss changes and procedure, disciplinary and
grievance.

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- HMRC has regulated national minimum wage liability with an effect of July 2018 in which
laws can be enforced against the transferee worker. If the organisation hires personnel under
TUPE Law, then it can be cross-checked if the correct national minimum wage has been paid or
not.
- Furthermore, the laws related to migrant workers have been revised in which pilot scheme
helps to entertain 2500 workers from outside EU to come and live in the UK to opt for seasonal
working within six months on farming projects so that labour shortages can be filled within peak
vacation hours.
- This scheme is planned to work for two years to assess results (Ulrich, 2005).
- In the case of Brexit updates, the government says that there will be least changes in UK
legislation that is taken from EU to support employment rights.
Voluntary recognition
It is a board designated form that is jointly filed by both employer and labor organization
in order to certify labor organization as one of the exclusive bargaining representative without
holding election.
Statutory recognition
if an employer does not recognize it voluntarily, a trade union may apply for legal right
that is to be recognized by an employer for collective bargaining over pay.
Recognising and derecognising a trade union
Workers may use statutory procedure to seek to derecognise a trade union that is non
dependent and that which employer has recognized voluntarily. The main reason of occurring
derecognition includes majority of workers in the bargaining unit in which recognition unit is not
supported.
People join union because it gives strength in numbers and they are benefited from
unions because standards are set in terms of pay and also in terms of protection at worrkplace.
Question 4:
3.1 Employee involvement, participation and partnership.
Employee involvement refers to a worker as a unique human being that can increase
intrinsic value in an organisation in terms of team help, communication, problem solving and

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skillsets. The McGregor's Theory of Y managers reflects on a participative management style
that Japanese have also opted to increase integration of people.
Employee Participation comes under the scrutiny of Salamon’s Forms (1998) that
reflects on industrial democracy and support engagement. The Ramsey Types reflect on task
involvement, team briefing mechanisms and consultative arrangements (Baum & Tom, 2016). It
has been posited by Ramsey that cycles help to have enough employee participation whereas
Marchington (1992) posits that the participation in waves helps to sustain participation within
ebbs and flows at major and minor levels in the organization (Mone et al., 2018). Furthermore,
employee voice is strengthened within a trade union rather than a singular person without a
union because collective interest can be bargained with the trade unions' head to safeguard
everyone's interest.
Employee partnership- Partnership between employees take many forms and always
requires openness, transparency and also two way communication. It is an effective positive tool
for positive industrial relations, minimizing conflict and also resistance to change. For example
for sainsbury, working in partnership helps them in terms of improvement in soil, plant and
animal health and welfare. It also leads in improvement in efficiencies and also cost
effectiveness.
The difference between Employee involvement and participation is that it helps to
promote job enrichment which is the expansion of job content to aid managerial decision
making. The participative style is also gathered through quality circles in which 5 to 10 people
work together in solving complexities.
The major difference is that in partnership they have to participate in activities. And in
participation, decision depends on employee whether they want to involve or not in selected
activities.

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3.2 Compare and contrast union and non-union forms of employee representation.
Within the new procedural recognition of Employment Relations Act of 1999, the
negotiations related to ‘pay, hours or vacations’ (Schneider & Susan, 2015). It is reflected upon
that the scope of negotiation is over and above the ‘statutory’ recognition as the relationship
between employer and trade union will always remain significant. It is seen that union is barred
from having a claim against any statutory recognition.
- A trade union can also not make use of statutory processes to challenge an opponent or
incumbent union. If there is any resistance in collective bargaining from the employers’ side once
Central Arbitration Committee has made an action against it, then it is important to refer within
‘Fairness at Work-White Paper' (Bercusson, 2001).
- It is to be noted that unions which have partial recognition of trade unions do le statutory
procedure to flow. Those unions that have informal consultation are not considered in a place to
trigger any new laws to gather support.
In non- union workplace
In this workplace, the employer are the one those who makes rules, sets rates of wages
and also makes all types of decisions on things that includes discipline, promotions and also the
work hours that the employees will work. Thus, the worker has nothing to say and do not raise
any kind of voice.

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In Union workplace
In this type of workplace, the union basically bargains for a contract and later has to make
sure about the contract that has to be carried out. Thus, contracts are termed as one of the legal
documents that is done between the employer and employee. They are the one those spell out
wages, benefits and rules in terms of employment.
In non union workplace, employees are the one who set all rukles amd makes wage rates
and also makes all the decisions on various things including discipline, promotions and working
hours. here the worker has no voice. While there is actually opposite in union workplace. Here
the member has the voice and can set accordingly.
3.3 Assess link between employee voice and organization performance- Employee voice and
participation.
If unions show big support concerning specific protest, then these are unwelcome within
formal judicial intervention because there are acute problems even in ‘bargaining with good
faith’. In an amorphous or informal place within British industrial relations, it can be sceptical to
understand if courts can really allow trade unions to perform.
Hence, I believe that a more reflexive law can help indirect boosting of self-regulatory
practices. Following rulings of the European Court of Justice in the early 1990s (Cases C-382/92
and C-383/92 Commission v. the UK [1994] IRLR 412), it can be said that employers did have a
chance to bargain within unions' representatives, however the present government had its law
changed to build up for an exclusive channel (Cases C-382/92 and C-383/92 Commission v. the
UK [1994], 1994).
- I can conclude that the Employment Relations Act is not supportive of trade unions.
Employee voice definition: it is the ability to influence the employer in terms of
improved communication and higher staff retention through fairness and justice. If the voice is
not raised, it can lead to low continuous commitment levels along with greater job dissatisfaction
levels leading to complete worker alienation. Employee voice has resulted in joint consultative
committees in which the management and employee representatives meet for discussion.
- The other resulted in upward problem-solving. The upward problem solving involves attitude
surveys and project team suggestions. Employee voice and organisation performance have an
integral link. It has been seen that employee voice plays an important role in minimising turnover
rates as employees are given voice platforms to ask for greater remuneration packages. It is

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researched that employees in trade unions can have greater salary packages as compared to non-
unionized workers. Employee voice results in proactive behaviour within trade unions to have
their arbitration and grievances solved (Morrison & Elizabeth, 2014).
- Hence, it boosts employee contributions that are important for organisation performances in the
long run. It is important to note that the most valuable intangible asset to any organisation is the
corporate image and skill set of workers. If workers are prohibited from intervening in decision
making, then it can be hard to showcase their unique sale points within persona. Organisations
must encourage their workers to participate essentially in decision making whether under a
democratic leader or through laissez-faire leadership essentially so as to reach optimum
organizational performance levels.
If employee voice along with participation lacks within an organisation, then it may be
that the company misses out on social capital, not just individualistic psychological capital. It
helps people to identify ‘pro-personal' requirements which help relationships to strengthen. If the
voice is raised for rights, then it should include perceived profitable benefits, time-linked hearing
and considered employee preference also other financial concerns not rendered under control
management. Employee voice also tends to change organisational culture over time to influence
change.
If employees do make ‘some noise', then it might indicate the need for innovation, the
momentum of execution and agile process adoption. Hence, employees may indicate and pass on
essential information ahead. If the voice is not suppressed, then it will also help negative
commentary to settle down as well that helps an organization sustain its' goodwill (Hornstein &
Henry, 2015).
If employee voice is extensively positive, there are some detrimental factors attached
also. Employee voice is not a singular factor but dependent on many external employment
relationship factors.
There is always an issue of bench marking to test any before and after comparisons. For
instance, should the date of negotiation related to employee voice be kept earlier or later? Also,
as to what extent can advise recognize opportunity costs of siding with employees foregoing the
vested interest of employers as a whole. Secondly, it is not possible to completely ignore
management practice in terms of gauging employee turnover with precision or rating individuals'
performances (Anitha, 2014).

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The direct participation of staff helps in organizing mission and also in fulfilling
objectives with help of applying own ideas, expertise and also efforts in order to solve problems
and also making decisions.
Question 5:
4.1 Difference in misbehavior, conflict and official and unofficial industrial action.
Misbehavior definition: is referred to as an intentional move by workers that violate
organizational norms. This can be in the form of sabotaging workers, harassing workers, stealing,
robbing, damaging property or to ruin organizational governance's.
Types of misconduct:
• Type- S refers to the move in which there is an advantage for the self like robbing.
• Type-O behavior refers to a move which is advantageous to the organisation like
defaulting on the governmental law if the firm is a private one.
• Type-D is in which the move is to cause massive damage as in sabotaging organizational
processes (Hislop et al., 2018). So, misbehavior comes under the domain of self -
centeredness whereas conflict is a natural phenomenon.
• A conflict occurs within workplace, o groupings as long as different people from different
backgrounds come together. It leads to an increase in frequency when goals are not met
adequately.
• Conflict can be interpreted as embargoes, fights and outbursts that can negatively impact
business.
• Conflicts are the disagreements that can often arise from personality clashes to such as
non-abiding to managerial decisions.
 Whenever the conflicts take place between the employee and the employer, there is
justification for efforts made to resolve the problem till an industrial action is taken place,
primarily within unionized working environments (Oladapo & Victor, 2014).
 Workers can be in conflict with their employers in terms of unfulfilled oaths, unfair
treatment or unmet negotiations. If no solution is sought, then it can lead to strikes, bans,
going slow and other aspects of non-conformation.

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Conflict and misbehavior
Thus, conflict is some form of friction that arises within a particular group when beliefs
and actions of more than one member is either resisted or unaccepted by other. While
misbehavior means action that is purposeful and that moves the work environment away from
that of norms of company and also damages company and its culture in order to achieve desired
goals.
Official and unofficial industrial action
Official industrial action is that type of action which is authorized and endorsed by the
union. Thus, those who are easily able in order to authorize or endorse industrial action in terms
of person that is empowered by rules of union to do, executive committee etc. which are not
employed by union then it is repudiated the action. This type of action becomes unofficial.
Examples
• Inappropriate email- email is an integral part of workplace that can lead to escalation of a
problem if objected by recipients to any. Messages cannot convey emotions so it becomes
difficult to analyse the way other is transfering their views.
• Internet- as everyone are very much connected to internet- such connections may seem to
be coming at cost of our physical relationships.
4.2 Contemporary trends in types of conflict and industrial sanctions.
The current trends highlight increasing levels of union making in which many workers
are independently joining unions to safeguard employee interests.
- When these conflicts are resolved the unions help to find solution leading to industrial action.
The action can be termed as official if it has the support of trade union which indicates a breach
in contractual agreements.
Hence, right legal procedures should be followed after it to buffer against any dismissal cause or
lack of payment terms. Employees can risk being in trade union set up by not showing
resentment or anger and can opt subtle practices like going-slow (Wang et al., 2014).
The best way to counteract such problems is actually tackling responsive and proactive managers
that can be a cushion to any negative impact or escalating problems due to the violation of any
sort.

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For example- Example of strike: Southern Rail Dispute: suspected unofficial industrial
action, and how to deal with it. Southern Railway not long ago had a dispute with its recognized
trade union where CEO of Southern Railway wanted to take the responsibility of conductors to
control the trains’ doors and pass the responsibility to train drivers and the trade union decided to
carry out a series of strikes claiming that the CEO of Southern Railway intention it puts safety art
risk.
As a result of trade union decision to take a few strikes Southern Railway has noticed a
significant rise in sickness absence which merged the impact on train cancellation and
overcrowded leading the CEO of Southern Railway to claim in “The Telegraph” that conductors
have taken unofficial industrial action. While strike action normally leads to a deduction in pay,
employee(s) sickness absence does not lead to a deduction in pay, employers and employees in
this circumstances go through difficult choices leading to complex disputes of facts and
principles. Employer is in a position of investigating if its trade union is following a formal or
informal strike, employees who are absent of work as they are sick they will have to prove
sickness after 7 days of sickness and under 7 days of sickness employees are not obliged by the
law to prove their sickness to their employer which creates a difficult situation for the employer.
Sanctions: UK law states that an industrial action is unlawful but the UK law provides immunity
from sanction if certain prescriptive rules are followed. An industrial action can take a shape of a
strike more or less as overtime ban, withdrawal of goodwill and in most of the times it involves
employees breaching their contract of employment as result of their actions taken. If the law
would not protect organization employee(s) who breach their contract of employment as result of
their actions taken, such breaches would lead to fair dismissal of the employee(s) and employer
claiming against trade union for damages that occurred.
Question 6:
4.3 Managerial skills for effective grievance and dispute handling.
It is important to rely on HR managers for tackling disputes for formal proceedings.
Reliance on HR managers is counterproductive as it helps to settle the dispute to the point of
formal grievance lodged. It is important to solve the issue before it becomes confrontation
vicariously. Hence, along with HR managers, the line managers are the ones to confide.

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Hence, managers must intervene as quickly as possible to hold bickering on initial hurtful stage
(Mukkelli & Vijetha, 2015).
• The manager should inform those to encourage interaction and to sustain mutual respect
values.
Taking action for the conflict is the next step that helps to curb escalation. There are
sources of conflict and disputes that is excessive use of personal internet, poor
attendance, harassment, discriminatory behavior or drug issues.
• The action ordination of a manager can help to intervene quickly and deal with conflict
by protecting employees by removing disruptive system along with conflict resolution. It
is essential to communicate procedures of each policy to an employee to have all
procedures to avail to settle down any violation.
• The manager is negligent then he might avoid confrontation and not address any bullying
within conflict and might let a disruptive member come into the organisation. Manager if
not attentive might use red tape.
• Furthermore, a manager needs to have a participative approach to act as a mediator in a
situation and bring both sides together to discuss ideas and not show any biases. The
manager should be well are of any tension before picking up any squabble that might lead
to massive conflict. It is expected that the manager will act as a role model and treat with
integrity.
Managers have to identify the situation and guide members accordingly. They must adopt
flexibility as and when need arises. They must provide with particular task to everyone so that it
may reduce conflict.
In order to ensure effective grievance procedure and handle a dispute lawfully managers can
access training from the organization Human Resource department who are specialized in human
resource management, upskilling and training the managers. Managers can also follow courses
as: human resource management, management and leadership development, etc.
In my organization human resource department provides one
week leadership and communication training to managers in order to develop their leadership
skills as: the ability to influence and motivate employees to accomplish common goals, and in
order to develop their communication skills in order to ensure organization efficiency and

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effectiveness that will return on low absenteeism rate, high turnover and avoid court proceedings
against the organization by handling unlawful grievance.
Examples of training and skills:
- Planning: training managers on who is best practice to plan and have the ability to organize
activities in line with organization set guidelines of procedures and policies, and in compliance
with the law of the land, rules and regulations.
Communication: training managers on who is best practice to ensure an efficient
communication between employees and employer as: managers to inform verbally in the day of
induction and training sessions and in writhing-to place on the organization walls where the
employees can easily come in contact with, a written sheet with how to raise a concern, problem
or complaint to your manager and based on the outcome if the employee(s) is not happy to know
and have how to raise the concern to next hierarchical person within the organization before
seeking for legal advice outside the organization.
ACAS provides help for both employee and employer on how to best and lawfully deal with
grievance through ACAS Code of Practice which sets out standards of fairness and a certain
behavior that both the employee and employer are expected to follow in most of the cases when
dealing with a dispute. ACAS Code of Practice provides information on steps to follow for both
employee and employer as: contacting ACAS helpline, contacting local citizens advice,
contacting trade unions, and if needed contact employment tribunal service. Furthermore, both
the employee(s) and employer can also seek advice from other organizations such as: Citizens
Advice or hire a solicitor.
Steps for preparing for grievance interview
• Do be prepared
• do take notes
• do remain calm
• do answer questions honestly
• do take a companion if possible
• don't try to enter into settlement negotiations during grievances.
• Don't lose temper

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• don't record meeting secretly.
Managers of M&S must provide skills training to all employees that are involved with
them in order to enhance and build their skills. This type of training is very much essential as it
helps in achieving long term success and company may reach the boost.
4.4 Third party conciliation, mediation and arbitration.
Mediation definition: is a way of alternative dispute resolution in which one
independent and one impartial party is referred too called the mediator that aid the parties in
reaching an agreement.
- There are different types of mediation like evaluative mediation, online mediation, facilitative
mediation and transformative mediation. It is a systematic procedure that boosts discussion to
make an agreement with dispute settling.
- Conciliation definition: is described as a way for the parties to settle a dispute whereby the
parties out of easy consent appoint a neutral party that helps persuasion via mutual dialogue.
- The reconciliation is basically a voluntary will of parties to conciliate a disagreement. The basic
tenant is confidentiality in which the parties and conciliator are hindered to disclose any to the
external party.
- Hence, the conciliator assumed an advisory position to advise for remedies to a problem.
- The critical differences between mediation and conciliation are: mediation is under the Code of
Civil Procedure Act of 1908 whereas the Arbitration and Conciliation Act of 1906 works with
regulating reconciliation methods (Gupta et al., 2014).
- In mediation, confidentiality is dependent on trust whereas in conciliation it is dependent on
law.
- In mediation, the third party role is of a facilitator within parties, and in conciliation, it is
beyond the works of a facilitator. Moreover, the mediation process completes within a specific
agreement within the concern of parties, and the conciliation is marked end with settlement
within parties (Mukanzi & Maliesto, 2015).
- The contract that is subject to mediation is enforceable by law, and on the other hand, the
conciliation is within the settlement of any arbitral reward. However, in arbitration, it is a
substitute for public trial and does not require going into the court as the third party will make a
decision that is binding on others. - It is adversarial in nature where mediation and conciliation
are collaborative in nature. The process is formal and evidentiary hearings are followed whereas

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mediation and conciliation are within concerned parties and counsels (Al-Emadi & Qayed,
2015).
- Arbitration is very different from mediation and conciliation because it implies a process in
which third parties refer to the dispute in detail and gets relevant information to pass a decision
too.
- Hence, this process is exactly like a courtroom meeting in which a private trial is set within
outside court in which parties would give testimony, and a decision is thus imposed.
- It is to be noted that mediation ensures any confidentiality but will not guarantee any outcome
result. It is hence important to identify requirements and suitability along with decision worth as
to which option to opt to settle disputes.
Attribution is an alternative dispute resolution process. In this, dispute is been taken to attributer
who is therefore appointed as parties. The proceedings are not private or confidential.
Conciliation is an informal process that involves building of relationship in positive way between
parties of dispute.
Mediation is settlement that is made by parties themselves rather than any other party and is not
binding in any kind of legal form on parties.

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References:
Question 1:
1.1, 1.3:
Hoque, K., 2013. Human Resource Management in the hotel industry: Strategy, innovation and
performance. Routledge, 2(1), pp. 30-43.
1.2:
- Alan Fox, 1966. Managerial Ideology and Labour Relations. British Journal of Industrial
Relations, 4(1-3), pp. 366-378.
Question 2:
2.1:
- ACAS, 2018, Access: Wed 5th Dec, 2018 at: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1577
- Bolan, Lee & Terrence, E. D., 2017. Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice and leadership.
John Wiley and Sons, 2(2), pp. 92-100.
- Nyberg & Anthony, J., 2014. Resource-based perspectives on unit level human capital: A
review and integration. Journal of Management, 1(3), pp. 21-32.
2.2, 2.3:
Flamholtz & Eric, G., 2012. Human Resource Accounting: Advances in concepts, methods and
applications. Springer Science and Media, 3(1), pp. 42-51.
Question 3:
2.4:
- Gov.UK, 2018, access: Wed 5th Nov 2018 at: https://www.gov.uk/join-trade-union
- Ulrich, 2005. Human Resource Competencies: An Empirical Assessment. Human Resource
Management, 2(1), pp. 473-495.
Question 4:
3.1:
- Baum & Tom, 2016. Human Resource issues in international tourism. Elsevier, 2(1), pp. 91-
100.
- Mone, Edward & London, M., 2018. Employee Engagement through effective Performance
Management. Routledge, 2(1), pp. 76-90.

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3.2:
- Schneider & Susan, 2015. National vs Corporate Culture: implications for human resource
management. Human Resource Management, 27(2), pp. 231-246.
- Bercusson, B., 2001. A European Agenda. Employment Rights at Work: Reviewing Employee
Relation Act, 3(4), pp. 10-21.
3.3:
- Cases C-382/92 AND C-383/92 Commission v. UK [1994] (1994) IRLR.
- Morrison, Elizabeth Wolfe, Employee Voice and Silence. Annual Review of Organizational
Psychology & Organizational Behavior, Vol. 1, pp. 173-197, 2014.
- Hornstein & Henry, A., 2015. The integration of Project Management and Organizational
Change Management is now a necessity. Journal of Project Management, 33(2), pp. 291-298.
- Anitha, J., 2014. Determinants of employee engagement and impact on employee performance.
International journal of productivity and performance management, 63(3), pp. 20-31.
Question 5:
4.1:
- Hislop, Donald, Bosua, R. & Helms, R., 2018. Knowledge and Management in organizations: a
critical introduction. 2nd ed. London: Oxford University Press.
- Oladapo & Victor, 2014. The impact of Talent Management on Retention. Journal of Business
Studies Quarterly, 1(19), pp. 10-21.
4.2:
- Wang, Sheng & Noe, R. A., 2014. Motivation Knowledge sharing in knowledge management
systems: A quasi field experiment. Journal of Management, 40(4), pp. 978-1009.
Question 6:
4.3:
- Mukkelli & Vijetha, 2015. The changing of Human Resource Management in 21st century
challenges and opportunities. International Journal of Management Research, 3(1), pp. 170-172.
4.4:
- Gupta, Nina & Shaw, J. D., 2014. Employee Compensation: Neglected area of HRM research.
Human Resource Management Review, 24(1), pp. 1-4.
- Mukanzi & Maliesto, C., 2015. The influence of Human Resource Management Practices on
firm performance. International Journal of Management, 2(11), pp. 20-21.

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- Al-Emadi & Qayed, A.A., 2015. The vital role of employee retention in human resource
management: A literature review. IUP Journal of Organizational Behavior, 14(3), pp. 7-10.