Employee Relations: UK Employee Relations, Conflict & EU Impact

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of employee relations in the UK, covering various perspectives on handling employment relationships, including unitary, pluralist, and Marxist approaches. It examines the impact of changes in trade unionism on employee relations, highlighting the roles of key players such as employers, employees, trade unions, employer associations, and the government. The report delves into conflict resolution procedures, using the NHS junior doctors contract dispute as a case study, exploring negotiation strategies and features of employee relations in conflict situations. Furthermore, it assesses the impact of the EU on industrial democracy in the UK and different methods for promoting employee participation, concluding with the influence of human resource management approaches on employee relations. The report provides valuable insights into managing and resolving conflicts in the workplace and the evolving landscape of employee relations.

Employee relations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
PART 1............................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Implication of different perceptive as a means for handling employment relation..............1
1.2 Impact of changes in trade unionism on employee relation in UK.......................................2
1.3 Role of main players in employment relations.....................................................................3
PART 2............................................................................................................................................4
2.1 Procedure followed by organisations at the time of dealing with conflict situation.............4
2.2 Main features of employees relations in the context of conflict situation............................5
2.3 Evaluation of effectiveness of the procedure which is used for conflict resolution.............6
3.1 Role of negotiation in collective bargaining.........................................................................7
3.2 Identification of different negotiation strategies and assessment of their impact.................8
PART 3............................................................................................................................................9
4.1 Impact of EU on industrial democracy in UK......................................................................9
4.2 Different methods for promoting employee participation in decision making process........9
4.3 Affect of human resource management approach on employee relations..........................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Employees are considered as most important resource of an organisation in present
business era. Their was a time when they were not getting deserving significance but now they
are key asset of an enterprise. The efforts which are made by employer for managing relationship
with employees is known as employee relation (Yoo and Arnold, 2016). Earlier, employee
relations was known by the name of industrial relations. But with time, company understand that
it is about all the personnels not only factory workers. This assignment is consist of three parts,
first one is related to UK employee relationship. Trade unions, government etc. are some main
players of employee relation and their role will be explained in the project. Second part basically
focus on a case study which is related to junior doctors contract dispute. Complete negotiation
strategy and its affect on case study will be included in this assignment. Few features of
employee relation in the context of conflict situation will also become part of this file. Last part
is about European Union and its connection with UK organisations.
PART 1
1.1 Implication of different perceptive as a means for handling employment relation
The ways of managing human resource vary because of difference in thinking and
business environment. Nature of every human being differ so a big corporation cannot adopt
different approach for every worker. But, there are few popular perspective of handling
relationship with employees which can be adopted by an organisation. They are mentioned
below:
Unitary perspective – This approach assume that employee, employer or government get
benefits when all of them focus on attaining common interest. Shared goals, team work are
crucial part of this perspective (Mittal and Dhar, 2015). The thinking behind this approach is that
if conflict is happening in organisation then it is because of improper management or
mismanagement of employees. According to supporters of this perspective, employee do
cooperate with employers if both are on same page. The concept of trade union is not supported
by thinkers of this approach. They argue that if employer and employee have common goals and
both of them are working as a team then conflicts in the organisation cannot take place.
Pluralist perspective – The basic assumption of this approach is that employees interest is
always in against of employer's. Pluralist perspective says that there are different groups in an
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organisation who chose their own leader and have own goals and interest. Salary and taxation are
considered as key reason behind conflicts in an enterprise. Employers do not like to give more
remuneration to workers because they feel that they are owners & risk takers and they deserve
more part of profit (Avery, Smillie and Fife-Schaw, 2015). Employee, on the other hand, feel
that they deserve more part in profit because they think that they can earn more at other place.
Trade unions are considered as biggest support in this approach. They are known for
representing the side of employee.
Marxist perspective – It is also known by the name of radical perspective because it is
very different from above two approach. Marxist perspective talks about economy and society.
According to it, the dispute between employer and employee happen because of class interest,
income distribution and economic disparity. Karl Marx was against capitalist economy and he
argued that this form of economy will increase the different in income level of rich and poor
people. Other thinkers also supporter his views and they suggested that workers should also be
included in decision making process.
1.2 Impact of changes in trade unionism on employee relation in UK
Trade unions were very powerful in 19th century because judiciary system of UK came
into their support. Government understand that these unions raise voice of employees and if they
will not get power from the side of law then they will have no important in-front of their
employer (Lee and Kim, 2016). When trade unions got more power then they started using it in a
negative way. United Kingdom saw many cases where trade unions blackmailed employer by
misusing regulations. This was a time when employee relations were not in a good condition
because government made law for equally distributing power but it backfired by increasing more
number of protests from the side of workers.
The concept of trade unionism was evolved so that relationship between employees and
employer get better. The relationship between trade unions and employers were never perfect but
they were in very bad condition in the early years of 1900. Trade unions were going through
many changes in this period and with time, employees relation were getting more and more
weak. When government made a law for registering trade unions then it was seen as a positive
change but misuse of power projected their wrong image and their important started going down
from 1970-80s. Success of human resource department made a huge impact on trade unions.
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After 1950 i.e. post second world war, business organisations started giving more
significance to the employees. This is the prime reason of generation of HR department in all the
major firms. Human resource division is responsible for managing employee relation and this
change reduce importance of trade unions at a big level. Membership of trade unions is going
down and concept of employee relation is getting more popular (Kaliannan and Adjovu, 2015).
Earlier only big firms had HR department but now even SMEs has this division. Decreasing
significance of trade union is indirectly strengthening connection between employer and
employee. They made positive impact on employee relation.
1.3 Role of main players in employment relations
Keeping fine relationship between workers and employer required lots of effort from
various key players. Below is their role in employee relation:
Employer – It is the responsibility of employer to make sure that organisation follow all
the regulation specially relating to employment. If they will comply with the norms then chances
of conflict with workers will go down and a healthy working environment will automatically get
develop. Employers are responsible for welfare of employees. Organisations have to listen to the
demands of personnels so they can provide them essential facilities and ensure that they do not
have any problem at the time of working in enterprise.
Employee – Strong employment relation is not possible in a firm until workers
understand their responsibility (Chen, Leung and Evans, 2016). Connections between two sides
can only remain fine until both of them cooperate with each other. Employees are responsible for
meeting the expectation of employer. If organisation seek major improvement in their
performance then it is their accountability to do not disappoint management. Beside this, they
have to be loyal towards company and make sure that they never project bad image of the
enterprise.
Trade unions – They are representatives of workers and they are accountable for
focusing on finding solution of a problem. Normally they have a image of rebels but they key
responsibility is to work as a bridge between two sides. They do play an important role in raising
the voice of personnels in-front of management but they are also responsible for communicating
the message of employer to the workers.
Employer associations – Key role of employer association is to collect and put the
demand of employers in-front of government (Stachová, Stacho and Bartáková, 2015). Advocacy
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and support to business firms are two prime work of employer association. Beside representing
management of different firms, they are also accountable for giving suggestions to employers
regarding how to resolve conflicts.
Government – If workers and employers fail to get on an agreement relating to some
issues then the last option which is available to them is to take the assistance of law. Government
is responsible for making acts and they are accountable for resolving major issues like decide
working hours, minimum wages to employees etc.
PART 2
2.1 Procedure followed by organisations at the time of dealing with conflict situation
The dispute between NHS employer and Junior doctors is a case which is very
complicated. National heath service employer is an organisation who represent NHS trust. Below
are few procedures of resolving different type of conflicts:
Dispute with single employee – If trouble is with an individual then company have to
first isolate the person and listen his/her concern. Most of the disputes get stretch because of
miscommunication (Laudon and Laudon, 2015). NHS should first try to convince workers that
his/her problem will get resolved but if the individual does not cooperate with management then
they should offer a deal to employee. Fulfilling genuine demand of worker will stop the conflict
and it will save NHS from solving an issue without it reaches in public. Asking individual to sign
an agreement can become a certificate of assurance that same trouble will not arise from same
side.
Conflict between employees – NHS has seen many situations where they two or more
than two workers get involve in a fight. This organisation can follow a three step process for
ending the trouble. First they can call both sides, listen to their views and ask them to cooperate
with each other. If they do not agree and reject the option of cooperation then second option is
negotiation. Both sides have to sacrifice few things in order to ensure that all of their key
demands get meet. If this approach does not work then the only option which is available to NHS
is to get out of the matter and ask disputing parties to resolve the issue outside of the office. They
must give them serious warning that if their fight will impact work of organisation then both
sides have to face its negative consequences (Navimipour and Soltani, 2016).
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Dispute with group of employees – When there is a conflict with a whole team then
management of NHS has to first call the team representative and ask him/her to give all the
details regarding issue. After understanding the matter, they should start bargaining and try to
reach on common grounds. NHS should accept all the genuine demands but if they fail to resolve
any dispute then the only option left with them is to take support of judiciary.
2.2 Main features of employees relations in the context of conflict situation
Employee relation play crucial role in understanding and resolving conflict situation
(Mone and London, 2018). Their are few features of employee relation which can be used for
overcoming the conflict situation:
Ideological framework – Beliefs and value of every person difference. BMA were
arguing that if new contract will get pass in parliament then it will reduce their income. Secretary
of State for health, on the other hand, argued the income will not go down and government will
look in to the matter if sometime happens. Both parties did not believe each other and their ideas
were not matching. Employee relation focuses on effective communication and it reduces
chances of major disputes. If these two parties talk with each other then relationship between
them can improve. This whole issues arises because BMA representatives were not having
meeting with government representatives.
Cooperation – If two sides cooperate with each other then majority of the issues can get
resolved at the point of their generation. BMA were not understanding the argument which was
given from the side of government. Secretary of State for health asked to junior doctors that if
their remuneration will go down by bring new arrangements then they will take appropriate
measures (Supanti, Butcher and Fredline, 2015). But, BMA did not have faith in government and
they rejected their offer. Secretary of State was also failing to prove that why income of junior
doctors will not go down and he too wasn't cooperative. Trust is important part of employee
relation and it was present in this case then issue would not have get so major.
Consultation – It can be considered as one of the most effective approach because here,
one side does not need to win or loss something. They just have to other party understand that
why they are doing it and what can be done in future. In case of junior doctors, NHS could
clearly state their condition to the Junior doctors. NHS employers was not in a position to go
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with one side and they should have given advice to Junior doctors that not re-entering in
negotiation process is not a solution.
Negotiation – It is a zero sum game where both sides successfully get what they want but
at the same time, they have to lose few things which are not too important for them (Popli and
Rizvi, 2015). Government wanted doctors to spend more time in hospital and reduce ''unsociable
hours''. Junior doctors were concerned about their earning which will go down if ''unsociable
hours'' will decrease. Money was their key priority. Secretary of States could increase basic pay
by more than 13.5% as a part of negotiation. BMA could also agree to this condition because
appropriate basic pay will reduce the need of extra income which doctors earn from outside of
their shift.
(Source: How To Negotiate A Better Deal. 2017)
2.3 Evaluation of effectiveness of the procedure which is used for conflict resolution
Negotiation is a process which was used in the case of Junior doctor dispute case. When
the differences between BMA and Secretary of State for health was at their peak then at that
time, both sides starts negotiation. Junior doctors does not actively took part in negotiation
procedure, it ultimately result in failing to reach an agreement. This approach was not effective
because it does not resolve dispute. The major mistakes which were involved in the process were
unwillingness to find a solution and rigidity in the thinking (Hur, Moon and Jung, 2015). Junior
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Illustration 1: How To Negotiate A Better Deal.

doctors did not attend meeting with government representative by having a mindset where they
were suppose to solve conflict. They showed aggression and denied all the claims which is made
by Secretary of State of health. Trust is important part of negotiation and it was missing in this
case.
In zero sum game, both sides has to lose few things in order to assure that their key
demands get met. In this case, Junior doctors and government representatives, both were not
ready to compromise and trust each other. Adapting things according to situation is essential
element of negotiation. Both parties were rigid in this case and they were not ready to
compromise on few ground. Their is no doubt that negotiation was not an effective approach in
Junior doctors dispute case because both sides were not taking any interest in discussion their
key issues. Consultation was another unsuccessful approach which was adopted by both sides but
lack of trust and industrial action (strikes) reduces its effectiveness (Bal, Kooij and Rousseau,
2015). Court was the last option which was used at the end.
3.1 Role of negotiation in collective bargaining
Negotiation is a discussion which is aimed to reach on an agreement. It is an effective
method of resolving dispute which focuses on mutual benefits. Collective bargaining is a
negotiation process between employers and representatives of employees. It is generally related
to remuneration & working conditions and it is often used by people companies for resolution
major conflicts (Maurer and Chapman, 2013). When government analysed the need of better
healthcare service then they decide to make amendment in present regulations. The need of
negotiation arises because of BMA, Government and NHS employers were having a dispute
regarding remuneration of Junior doctors. Some additional reason, which were raise by BMA,
were equal opportunities to women. According to Junior doctors, their were many
disadvantages to female workers and contract was not fair for them. The deals like increasing
basic pay or reducing extra hours, through which doctors earn additional income, played crucial
role in coming on same ground but they did not work as problem solver. Negotiation was
important part of collective bargaining and started communication between two sides. It allowed
BMA, NHS employer and Government to put their view point on the table and listen to the
issues of others. This issue got big with time because negotiation involve regular meetings but
BMA rejected to attend any conversation which is started from the of government. They took
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part in first meeting but once both sides lose trust on each other then it was informal end of
collective bargaining. This matter went to court because negotiation process did not last for long
time. Its role could be more important if bargaining happened on regular basis.
3.2 Identification of different negotiation strategies and assessment of their impact
An organisation can adopt different methods like negotiation, consultation etc. for
resolving a dispute. Bargaining is a process which can construct three kind of situations, Win-
Win, Win-Lose and Lose-Lose. Below are few popular strategies:
Make multiple offer – If one party will get stick to one offer then there is a high
probability that they will fail get what they want (Frone and Trinidad, 2012). When there are
more than one option of the table then saying no everyone is not easy. Negotiator can ask other
sides to pick one from the available options and make them feel that it is a win-win situation. In
junior doctor dispute case, Secretary of State for health did not have much offers for Junior
doctors and they were stick to reducing ''Unsociable hours''. Junior doctors were also focusing
on their extra income and they were not interested in other plan which was projected by Minister
i.e. increase basic pay. If this strategy was implemented in proper way then BMA would not
have voted against it. Both sides did not have much proposals and hardly two or three options
were available for them. The impact of this strategy could be positive and court might not get
involve if ''Make multiple offer'' is used by any of the three sides.
Go for contingent agreement – Contingent agreement is a contract which is related to do
or do not, of happening or not happening of some event. The key dispute between Government
and Junior doctors is related to whether income of doctors will remain neutral or it will go down
(Fernet, Austin and Vallerand, 2012). Sectary of State for health was claiming that it will not
decrease but he was failing to support his comment will strong evidence. Junior doctors could
have asked for contingent contract where, if income will not be neutral in next three months then
Government have to go with proposal of doctors and pay them for three months monetary loss.
Contingent contract could be very effective in this situation because all the fake claims which is
given by both sides would get out of the discussion table and they will try to reach on an
agreement which can sustain for a long period of time.
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PART 3
4.1 Impact of EU on industrial democracy in UK
European union is actively working for assuring that relationship between organisations
and their employees get improve. ''Partner based relationships'' is one of the most popular
programme which is started by EU for educating both, employer and employee. UK do have
regulations relating to employment but they are not modified in regular interval of time so they
are not effective as of EU laws. The programme which was started by European Union
concentrate on setting organisational goals by involving employees in decision making
procedure (Hogh, Hoel and Carneiro, 2011). If business enterprises want to have fine
relationship with their workers then they cannot set individual and company's target without
consulting them because employees are the one who will executive the plans for attaining set
objectives.
UK do have rules relating to employee relation but their significance is low compared to
EU. They do not think of programmes like ''partner based relationship''. Post-Brexit, the tension
between business organisations and workers may start arising because few treaty provision
relating to equality, employment protection and health & safety, are going to change. In present
situation, employees has various rights which is given by EU and workers in UK are part of
employees relation programmes which is run European Union. All these things will come to and
end post-Brexit and government have to new rules for industrial relationship.
4.2 Different methods for promoting employee participation in decision making process
Participation of employees in decision making is important for an organisation because
workers have ground knowledge and they are the most important asset that is available to a
company. Below are few methods of increasing employee's participation:
Give Autonomy – Every person go to job for money but there are many people who want
to make a difference and use their potential for doing something extraordinary. It is found that
employees who are empowered by organisation i.e. involved in the process of decision making,
are more satisfied with their job compared to those who are not involved (Ouimet and Zarutskie,
2014). Virgin Group is an organisation who allow their managers to manage things in own way
and it ultimately result in gaining employee participation. Micromanaging should be avoided in
order to give complete autonomy to employees. If they have power, then they will automatically
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get serious about their responsibilities and start participating in making medium and long term
strategies.
Reward Success – If workers know that reward of success will be shared with them then
they start actively taking part in decision making procedure and they get more involved with
their managers. Virgin Group provide all the essential resources to their workers and develop an
attractive incentive scheme for them. In this scheme, if an employee is giving better results then
he/she will earn more money and get quick promotion. If profit is not shared with workers then
they will show no interest in increasing own productivity and company's profitability.
Keep them updated – Giving information about company's future policy and strategy,
communicating financial position of organisation etc. are few things which may sound simple
but they have ability to increase employee participation. Virgin Group keep their workers
updated about enterprise strategies and ask them to provide their suggestions so they can make
necessary amendments in it (Schumacher and et. al ., 2016). This method is easy to execute and
it is very effective for big corporations like Virgin group.
4.3 Affect of human resource management approach on employee relations
HRM has two popular models, first is Harvard and second is Michigan. Both concepts
provide different information and their viewpoint regarding human resource management also
differ. Employee relation is affected by both HRM approach in following ways:
Harvard model – This concept emphasize on soft side i.e. do not treat human beings like
machine or any other asset. It argues that employees has ability to influence organisational
outcomes and they are equally important like of other stakeholders. If personnels are performing
well then they should be rewarded for it. When company support their employees then, in return,
they want better outcome from other side (Dau-Schmidt, Finkin and Covington, 2016). HR seek
commitment, congruence, competence from workforce and instead of considering workers as
cost, company consider them crucial asset.
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