Employee Relations: Understanding the Relationship and Conflict Resolution

This report discusses the importance of maintaining a good relationship between employers and employees in an organization. It explores the different perspectives of employee relations, such as unitarist and pluralistic, and the implications of each. The role of trade unions in representing employee interests and the management of conflicts are also discussed. The report emphasizes the process of collective bargaining and negotiation in resolving conflicts. Case studies and examples are provided to illustrate the concepts.

EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

Table of Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................6
Task 1.....................................................................................................................................................6
1.1......................................................................................................................................................6
1.2......................................................................................................................................................8
1.3......................................................................................................................................................8
Task 2...................................................................................................................................................10
2.1....................................................................................................................................................10
2.2....................................................................................................................................................12
2.3....................................................................................................................................................12
Task 3...................................................................................................................................................13
3.1....................................................................................................................................................13
3.2....................................................................................................................................................14
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................................15
References...........................................................................................................................................16

Introduction
For any kind of business, it is very important to keep the employees happy and satisfied
which can help in maintaining a good relationship in between the employer and the employee
of an organization. This can eventually help in the achievement of the business objectives
because of the fact that when the employees have a good relationship with the organization,
they will always try to give their best in the work for achieving the goals (Blyton and
Turnbull, 2014). In this report, the understanding of the employee relationship against a
changing background will be developed along with that of the nature of the conflicts that
usually happen in the industries and its respective solutions. Additionally, an extensive
discussion on the process of collective bargaining and negotiation will also be emphasized in
this report.
Task 1
1.1
The employer and the employee relationship in an organization is not constant and it is
varying. The relationship cannot be properly understood from any one perspective and thus
for the interpretation of this relationship, the perspectives that are considered are the unitarist,
pluralist or radical perspectives(Matlay, 2012). Nevertheless, in spite of these perspectives, it is
necessary to understand the fact and develop the own concept and have a personal view and
value realisation in this regard. The unitarist and the pluralistic reference frames will be
discussed in details below along with the understanding of the implications of them:
Unitary frame of reference: In this case, the whole of the organization has only one
aim of success and common objective fulfilment having a paternalistic approach
demanding loyalty from each and every employee. This perspective views that the
interest of both the employer and the employees are same for the organization helping
in the enhancement of employee honesty and thus manage a proper relationship with
all the employees. The necessity of trade union is not felt in case of harmonious
working and if the employees are dishonest and ineffective in their work, then that
can give rise to conflicts. Thus, conflicts are considered in a negative view since it can
lead to the breaking down of harmony and increase power inequalities in the

organization. The integration of the workers sentiments are not proper because this
frame is normative in nature and it does not explain the identification and sharing of
common goals throughout the organizations.
Pluralistic frame of reference: It is unlike to that of the unitarist approach and
considers the concept of diverse workforce having different attitudes, beliefs, values
of the employees and the employer in the organization. The interests of them are not
same and thus conflict within the organization is bound to occur. The leadership and
the organizational attachment also have opposing sources. In this frame of reference,
the trade unions play its roles in being the employee representatives since the
employees are helped positively for focusing on the decision making capability of all
the employees(Wilkinson, 2009). The collective bargaining process can be very
helpful in bringing about stability in the relationship with the employees by going
through a set of negotiation and concession in between the employer and the
employees. Proper HR decisions can be very helpful in pluralistic approach which can
solve many conflicts. The employees can be consulted by the employers in case of
any conflict and thereby it can be resolved. Since, the occurrence of conflict is
obvious, it is not overlooked and such situations are treated efficiently with the help
of cooperation from all the associated stakeholders of the organization. There can be
some rules which can help in determining the ways to solve such conflicts but since
these rules cannot be implemented in diverse conditions of workplace, it is not
beneficial.

1.2
The role of trade unions is to represent the employees set of interests and in knowing the
employee rights in the organizations so that they can collectively bargain and negotiate with
the employers in conforming mutual advantages of them. The trade unions were very strong
from the beginning of the 1900s. Tracing back to 1920 when there was a fall down in the coal
mine sector, the employers decreased the amount of wages from the employees and moreover
the decision regarding the increase in the working hours also gave rise to the occurrence of
labour unrest and strike. Many of the workers also died in the strike and from that time
onwards the trade union became very powerful and this eventually brought about a serious
change in the employee relations. It is evident from different reports and studies that trade
unions have definitely brought about changes in the employee relations and with the regular
and huge industrial growth and globalization, the demands related to the employee trade
unions were gradually increasing which can definitely have effects on the employer and the
employee relationship. It can be seen that the problem of increasing unemployment among
the employees along with the employee lay - offs etc. all these contribute to the fact that the
trade unions collectively bargain and negotiate with the employers and the negotiations are
increasing day by day. The needs and wants of the employees are increasing gradually with
every changing day and thus trade unions of the employees have to focus on getting the needs
fulfilled by thinking about other alternatives so that they can perform the business
activities(Brown, 2011).At the very beginning when the trade union came into its form, the
relationship between the employer and the employees was not proper but with the
strengthening of the power of trade union, the relationship between them improved to an
extent.
1.3
The relationship of the employers with the employees must be effectively managed with
respect to decision making, solving of problems, managing the grievances of the employees
etc. In the employee relations situation, the main players like the workers, the managers, the
organizations, the governmental agencies perform in different roles having both direct and
indirect effect in the relationship (Deery et al, 2009). The individual roles and responsibilities
of each of the main players of an employee relations situation can be discussed as follows:
Roles of workers: The workers are the most important players and are considered as a
vital driving force with regard to the employee relationship management. They

effectively and directly are seen to take part and contribute their opinions in the
decision making process and thus their role is considered to be very significant in the
field of resolving different organizational issues. Thus, it can be asserted that the
workers have a direct effect on all the organizational actions and decisions that are
taken.
Roles of government: The major role that the government and the associated
authorities play is that it is mainly responsible in setting up of the rules and
regulations as per the laws with respect to the employee relationship management and
also it is very helpful in providing proper guidance about the maintenance of
employee relation within the organizations.
Roles of managers: Like that of the workers, the managers are also an inevitable
player in the employee relationship situation. The major power of the managers are in
taking the necessary decisions about the organizations and it can either e their own
decision or it can also be taken with the help of the opinions of other employees. If the
decisions are not taken keeping in mind the opinions of the employees, the employees
can definitely protest but unlike the managers, they do not have the power to take
decisions directly.
Roles of organization: Organization also plays a major role in this regard. The
relationship between the employer and the employees is largely dependent on the
organizational structure and pattern and also its size. Generally, in profit
organizations, the power of the trade unions in collective bargaining for the
employees is immense. On the other hand, in non – profit organizations, the trade
union cannot collectively bargain with the organizations so effectively like that of the
profit organizations.
Thus, from the above discussion it can be understood that the different major players in case
of employee relations have different roles and each and every roles played by them is
considered to be very important in this regard.

Task 2
2.1
In an organization, the management of relationship between the employer and the employees
is considered to be an important aspect and it is also to be kept in mind that conflict
occurrence is an inevitable part of the employee relation. The conflict may occur because of a
number of reasons and also between the employer and the employee, between several
employees and also with a group of employees. The organizations need to follow so that they
can effectively deal with the conflict situation. In the given case of conflict between the
British Medical Association, NHS Employers and the government over the junior doctor’s
contract, NHS employer should follow the steps which are mentioned below which can help
them in resolving the issue and the strikes:
In case of dealing with the conflicts within the organization, it can follow two important
processes which are the formal and the informal process.
Formal process: This is basically regarded as an ‘arbitration’ process which includes
the involvement of a third party which is not originally a part of the organization.
Thus, in this case, whatever decision that would be taken by the third party will be
regarded to be the final decision and both the employees and the employers have to
agree to that decision which would be taken. The implementation of procedures,
policies and operations help in dealing with the conflict situations effectively. Thus, in
this case, the NHS employers can take help from the government whose decision will
be regarded as the final and so for the conflict situation between the employer and the
group of employees of NHS, this process can be very suitable for solving the conflict.
Informal process:The informal process does not require the involvement of any third
party for solving the conflict. In this process, the conflicts are resolved by the
representatives of the employers and the employees. The working participation
committee is mainly responsible for the mitigation of conflicts and the conflict
solution is not at all based on any operation, policies or procedures like that of formal
process(Bouchez, 2011). Thus, the conflict between the NHS employers and its single
or group of employees can be effectively solved with the participation of the
representatives of them respectively. In case of conflict between employees of NHS,
the participation committee can play important role in mitigating the same.

The different steps which are needed to be followed for the conflict mitigation between the
employer and the employees of NHS or even between the employees are:
Understanding the problem pattern: In order to solve the problem for which there is a
situation of conflict, it is very necessary to at first understand the nature of the
problem because without the understanding of the same, it would not be possible at all
to go on to the next step for the problem mitigation.
Identifying the issue for conflict: It is the duty of the NHS Employers to identify and
realize that the problem has actually taken place so that the next step of problem
source identification can be carried out.
Finding out the source from which the problem started: The source of the problem
needs to be recognized because of the fact that it is important to solve the problem
from the root level and so that the conflict which occurred as a result of the problem
can be solved.
Devising plans and strategies in conflict solving: Thus, after the problem pattern, the
actual problem and its source have been properly identified by the NHS employer,
they should plan and develop necessary strategies so that the problem and the conflict
can be resolved and all the associated employees and the employers can be highly
satisfied with their interests being fulfilled thereby leading to the overall benefit of the
organization.
The role of ACAS which is the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service is very
important and in such conflict situations it can provide free and unbiased advice to both the
employees and the employers in relation to the employment law. Conciliation is also
provided so that these kinds of workplace problems can be effectively solved.
Thus, these steps can be followed by NHS employers so that the conflict situation that
occurred between them regarding the new junior doctors’ contract can be resolved.

2.2
UK government is mainly responsible for the protection and control of the employees needs
and wants as well as their rights towards their working in the public as well as private
sector(Hubbard and Mannell, 2011). As per the given case, in the conflict situation between
the BMA and the government of UK, the different features of employee relations can be
identified from the case. The ideological framework of this conflict situation is basically
considered to be a pluralistic framework because of the diverse workforce as that of the NHS
employers, the government and the BMA and so in this case when the junior doctor group
went against to that of the introduction of contract by the three authorities, the decision of Mr
Justice Green was against the junior doctors and this decision was regarded to be final. Thus,
it followed the formal process of resolution and even if many more strikes were planned in
this regard, they were suspended. The employees working within the organization have same
interests and so no discriminating features can be observed among them. In the case where
there was a conflict between the government, BMA and junior doctors’ group, negotiation
between them helped in addressing the conflict situation. The negotiations in the month of
May resulted in agreement between the BMA, NHS and the government for the junior
doctors’ contract. Moreover, collective bargaining for the contract after the occurrence of a
number of strikes enabled them in agreeing over a new contract on the 18th of May. Thus
from the cooperation of these organizations and with negotiation and collective bargaining,
this conflict situation was resolved.
2.3

In the given conflict situation over the introduction of new contract of junior doctors, the
procedure that was used by the conflicting organizations like the BMA, the government and
the NHS was negotiation. It includes the identification of the source of the issue as well as the
conflict costs with respect to the organizations as well as the employees. The unified steps
that are taken in this regard for solving the conflict situation may not be able to meet the
overall situation of conflict satisfying all the parties and thus it was seen that BMA held many
strikes even after negotiation procedures was followed. According to Elkouri et al (2015) the
process of arbitration in this case which includes the involvement of the third party when the
decisions of the disputants are unsatisfactory to some respects, then it can be very helpful.
According to this case, the arbitration was done by the legal bodies whose decision was
regarded as the final decision in conflict situation and thus even if further strikes were
arranged by BMA, the legal authorities serving as the arbitrary force did not support them
and thus the strikes had to be suspended. Even if the doctors committee decided to be against
the contract introduction, the law decided that it would be introduced irrespective of the
needs of the different organizations or associations thereby resolving the issue of conflict
situation. Thus, it can be rightly said that conflict management can be very easy with these
procedures like negotiation, collective bargaining and arbitrations.
Task 3

3.1
The overall process that includes negotiation in between the employers and the respective
employee group with respect to the agreements or contracts introduced for the regulation of
different employment conditions is known as collective bargaining. As per the given case
study, the negotiation plays an important role in collective bargaining process and thus it can
help in finding a better outcome for all the parties and they can be equally benefitted from the
negotiation process. The negotiations was followed between the BMA, NHS Employers and
the government in 2013 but in spite of that fact, BMA decided to strike because they had a
disagreement issue with that of the government. It was followed so that the parties can
ultimately come to a collective agreement which will necessarily govern the employment
relationship (Bouchez, 2011). It is possible that the negotiation would not be favourable for
all the parties and it is the duty of Unison which is a unified establishment including several
UK union groups to control the conflict situations occurring among different unions and the
different organizational employers with the help of negotiating procedure. The judicial
review helped in the resolution of conflict in this situation and the parties have to conform to
the decisions that were taken by the judicial body although it was not in the favour of the
junior doctors committee. Thus, from the study of this case it can definitely be asserted that
the negotiation process in the collective bargaining plays an immensely important role in
view of mitigating the conflict situation and taking the final decision which would be the
ultimate solution to the conflicting condition.
3.2

The negotiating process can have both positive and negative effects on the parties involved in
a conflicting situation. The decision taken in the process of negotiation may not be as per the
demand and need of all the parties in the conflict. But regardless of this fact, the negotiation
strategy can effectively help in solving the conflicting situations between different unions of
the organizations. According to Hopmann, (2012) the negotiation strategy can help in
protecting the rights of the employees by bringing about a proper solution with respect to the
conflict situation. The negotiation process that was done in between the BMA, NHS and
government also helped in the absolute cooperation from all the parties so that they can come
to an ultimate solution to the conflict over the introduction of junior doctors’ contract. Thus,
this strategy can also help in bringing about increased productivity in the performance of the
employees and so eventually the condition of working available for the employees will also
be proper (Stevens, 2008). It is devised in such a way so that there can be a win – win
situation and thus, all the parties can be benefitted to some extent from the negotiating
decision. The decision that was taken by the justice board towards the introduction of the
contract of new junior doctors was that in spite of the protests from junior doctor group, it
was felt by the justice board that the introduction of the contract was very necessary and so
the strikes that were arranged against the issue had to be suspended. The point of differences
between the parties can be solved with the help of other negotiating strategies like that of
distributive negotiation and integrative negotiation. In case of distributive negotiation, the
gain of one party will be the loss of the other party thereby representing a win – lose situation
and all the parties will try to get the maximum value from the negotiating process. On the
other hand, in case of the integrative negotiation, there is win – win strategy to the dispute
situation where the agreement to be ultimately developed can be mutually beneficial for the
parties. In this case, the distributive negotiation strategy was followed where the decision of
the judicial body was regarded to be the final decision in response to the dispute condition.

Conclusion
From the discussions it can be inferred that the management of conflict situation is very
important in order to maintain the employee relationships. The employee relations are bound
to change with the change in the policies or working backgrounds and the UK trade unions
play an important role in maintaining ad protecting the overall rights of the employees
(Brown, 2011). In case of any industries, it is obvious that there would be conflict situations
and the resolving of conflicting situations between the parties can be done by negotiation,
collective bargaining and arbitration.
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