Employee Relations and Stakeholder Behavior: A Tesco Case Study Report

This report delves into the realm of employee relations within Tesco, a prominent multinational retailer. It commences by elucidating the significance of employee relations and their impact on organizational success, emphasizing productivity, conflict reduction, employee motivation, loyalty, retention, and goal achievement. The report then explores the fundamentals of employment law applicable to Tesco, encompassing aspects such as minimum wage, employee rights, and the Equality Act of 2010. A detailed examination of the rights, duties, and obligations of both employers and employees is provided, alongside practical advice for managing the employment relationship. Furthermore, the report conducts a stakeholder analysis, identifying key stakeholders and evaluating the influence of positive and negative employee relations on these groups. This comprehensive analysis underscores the critical role of effective employee relations in shaping organizational behavior and achieving business objectives.

Employee Relations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................3
P1 Value and importance of employee relations in Tesco.....................................................3
P2 Fundamentals of employment law that apply to Tesco.....................................................5
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................6
P3 Different types of rights, duties and obligations of an employer and employee within the
workplace...............................................................................................................................6
P4 Determine appropriate advice relating to rights, duties and obligations of the employment
relationship.............................................................................................................................7
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................8
P5 Stakeholder analysis for Tesco..........................................................................................8
LO 4...............................................................................................................................................10
P6 Impact of positive and negative employee relations on different stakeholders..............10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Employee relations can be defined as the relationship that is shared by the employees
within an organisation (Al Mehrzi and Singh, 2016). For an organisation to have a healthy
environment, the employees must be comfortable working with each other. The managers and
leaders in the company should encourage a healthy atmosphere within the company premises. An
organisation having good employee relations treats its employees fairly in order to ensure that
they are committed to their jobs and loyal to the organisation. Tesco is a British multinational
company that sells groceries and other general merchandise and is headquartered in England,
United Kingdom. The company is the third largest grocery retailer having outlets across Asia,
Europe and USA. The report explains the value and importance of employee relations in an
organisation and the fundamentals of employment law that are relevant for the same. The report
also describes the various rights and duties possessed by an employer and an employee at his
workplace and explains the power and interest of the company's stakeholders through a
stakeholder analysis. It also analyses the positive and negative impact of employee relations on
various stakeholders of the organisation.
MAIN BODY
LO 1
P1 Value and importance of employee relations in Tesco
Strong and healthy employee relations are an important component for the success of any
organisation and help it achieve its goals and objectives (Baddon and et. al., 2017). The
managers and leaders at Tesco ensure that a healthy environment prevails in the company, all the
employees are comfortable in working with each other and conflicts among them can be
minimised. This leads to an increase in the overall performance as well as productivity of the
staff. The value and importance of employee relations in context of Tesco is explained below -
 Productivity – Strong and healthy employee relations help in creating an atmosphere that
is pleasant and the employees like to work in. This helps in increasing the motivation of

the employees and also their morale. Tesco invests into various programs to develop
healthy and positive employee relations which in turn benefit the organisation with
enhanced productivity of the employees leading to a rise in the profits of the company.
Also, when the employees of the company are productive, it automatically leads to an
increase in the overall productivity of the organisation.
 Reduction in conflicts – An efficient and healthy work environment reduces the extent
of employees having conflicts with each other (Barry and Wilkinson, 2016). Thus, Tesco
has a sound and efficient work environment with efficient employer-employee relations
that has resulted in the organisation's success and reduced staff turnover.
 Motivation of employees – Employees can simply be motivated and encouraged through
recognition of their work and efforts that they put in getting tasks done. Tesco
understands this completely and thus makes various efforts throughout the various
departments that the employees are committed and happy while doing their work which
leads to an increase in their productivity.
 Increased Employee Loyalty and Morale – Healthy and positive employee relations in
Tesco have led to the creation of a pleasant and productive work environment that has
drastically impacted the loyalty of the employees towards the brand. Thus, the company
has been able to cut costs on recruiting, hiring and training new candidates. Also, the
employees feel confident and secure regarding their jobs and therefore deliver their best
output.
 Retention of employees – Organisations today, face the major problem of a high staff
turnover with the existing employees switching their jobs due to several reasons (Chen,
Leung and Evans, 2016). Therefore, Tesco makes sure the communication within the
company is healthy and that all the major decisions are communicated to the staff so that
they get a sense of being considered and involved by the company. As a result, the
company has a low turnover and has been able to retain its employees for a long period of
time.
 Concrete goals – The senior management in Tesco ensures proper formulation of goals
so that they can be achieved easily. Once concrete goals and objectives are presented to
the employees, they feel confident and urge to work more efficiently as parts of various
teams in order to achieve the same. This not only motivates them but also makes them

learn how to work as a part of various groups and thus build relations with the other
employees of the company and understand their point of view of working towards a
certain goal and achieving the same.
P2 Fundamentals of employment law that apply to Tesco
Employment law can be defined as a group of rules and laws that control the
relationships between employer as well as the employees (Swailes and Blackburn, 2016). The
laws relate to various aspects like the amount of salary that should be paid to the employees,
laws pertaining to the working conditions in the organisation etc. Tesco follows various
fundamentals of the employment law and its terms such as the employees possess certain legal
rights. Also, the company follows the policy of national minimum wage for different workers of
different age groups. The workers in the company are qualified for various holidays each year
and weekly or daily rest periods. According to the employment law, an individual is considered
an employee if the employer has a control over his/her work, there is an obligation on the
employer to offer job and on the employee to perform and complete the work that is assigned to
him/her. Also, as an essential part of the UK labour law, discrimination of a person against age,
gender, religion or belief, marriage etc. is considered as unlawful. The Equality Act, 2010 is a
law which protects the employees from getting discriminated at their workplaces.
Employment and labour law 2019: This type of law always have different types of rules
and rights for employer as well as employee. In reference with Tesco they always used several
laws and this law also in order to satisfy their employer and employees as well. With the help of
this law they can remove such kind of factor those are not related with firm. Therefore, this law
helps them to achieve targeted goals through making unique decisions.
Equality law: According to this employee and employer can get fair and equal treatment
within the firm. It also operate different types of practices in relation with culture, gender,
discrimination and so on (Wheatley, 2017) . By having this type of act in this firm workers as
well as employees can work accordingly and able to achieve organisational goals in a proper
way. Therefore Tesco always follow this act for their employees and give them satisfaction
towards equality.
Health-and-safety-at-work legislation: It is mainly based upon several kinds of duties
which is held in the entire environment. This regulation act always focus on worker's so that they
can achieve their goals and objectives in an effective manner. Herein, Tesco is able to follow

these sorts of regulations and laws in order to take care of their employees and employer as well
so that they can easily handle several machines while manufacturing goods and services.
LO 2
P3 Different types of rights, duties and obligations of an employer and employee within the
workplace
Both the employers as well as employees have certain rights, duties and obligations
within their workplace and they look out for the maintenance of their rights (Conway and et. al.,
2016). Knowing about their basic rights as well as duties is necessary and helpful for them as
well as their families. Thus, they should be aware of their rights, duties and obligations that can
be claimed anytime when the need arises. The various duties, rights and obligations of the
employers as well as the employees of Tesco are explained below -
Employer
Rights -
 The right to ask for hard work : The employers of the company have the right to demand
hard work from the employees they hire. They pay salary to the ones they hire and
deserve a quality work for their investment in them. In many cases, the employers also
have the right to demand overtime work from their subordinates during periods of high
workload.
 Loyalty towards the staff : The employers have the right of being loyal to their
workforce. If the employees of the company are found engaged in an unethical
behaviour, they have the right to take the right action depending on the kind of behaviour.
Duties - Safe environment : Employers have the duty of providing their employees with a safe
and healthy work environment. They must ensure that health and safety system and
machineries are installed within the company premises (Gall, 2017).
 Basic necessities : The employers should ensure that basic facilities like clean eating
areas, hygienic toilets, good drinking water etc. are available for the employees.
Obligations -

 To provide work to the employer based the contract of employment.
 To respect the human dignity of the employee.
 To provide public holidays, weekly rest days and leaves to the workers.
 To pay the necessary wages or salaries to the employees for their work.
Employees
Rights - Right to be treated fairly : The employees of the organisation have the right to be treated
in a fair and ethical manner (Guest, 2017). They should not be under any circumstances
discriminated based on their religion, sex, colour, race and cultural background. If any
such case comes up, they can immediately claim their right.
 Right to be paid the fixed payment : Every employee in the organisation has a fixed salary
and allowance if provided. Thus, all employees have the right to get paid in a fair and
correct manner without any discrimination.
Duties - Serve Faithfully : The employees must carry out their jobs in a faithful manner and must
not opt for any unethical ways of doing it. They must also cooperate with their managers
and leaders and just not confine themselves to their own work.
 Uniform and Grooming : There are organisations that have dress codes specific to their
workplaces. Thus, the employees must follow the rules and should come to their
workplace in the dress code specified to them and well groomed.
Obligations -
 To follow the rules and instructions given by the employers based on the contract.
 To handle all the instruments carefully that are provided to him for work.
 To always report at the workplace in fit mental as well as physical conditions.
P4 Determine appropriate advice relating to rights, duties and obligations of the employment
relationship
The employers as well as the employees of an organisation must know their rights, duties
and obligations as they are helpful not only for them but also their families (Jennings, McCarthy
and Undy, 2017). Both employers as well as employees of Tesco should know the rights they
possess and can claim at the time of need. Als9o, they should abide by the various duties and
obligations that they are assigned in order to ensure a smooth flow of tasks and activities in the

company thereby increasing its overall productivity and performance. All of his will also help
the company in gaining a competitive advantage against its competitors and stand out in the
industry. The employees should follow their duties diligently and should be loyal to the work
they are assigned. But when a challenge comes up or they think that they are being treated badly
and discriminated because of their religion or cultural background, they must claim their rights.
Similarly, the employers should also make sure that a healthy and safe environment is
maintained in the company and the employees have a sense of job security. Also, basic
necessities like clean drinking water, hygienic eating places should be provided to the staff. The
employers of Tesco are obligated to provide work to the employees based on the employment
contract and respect the employees human dignity. The company should not force work on the
employees and should provide all the necessary public holidays and rest days to the workers so
that they are able to perform in a better manner and also pay the important wages and salaries to
them. If an organisation has healthy employer-employee relations, then it will be able to function
in a more effective and efficient manner (Kang and Sung, 2017).
Any act of unethical behaviour by the employees should be immediately addressed by the
management of the company. Also, all the employees of the company should be comfortable
working with each other as a part of different teams and should avoid conflicts to as much level
as possible. The employer should not discriminate among the employees and those who put in
their genuine efforts must be recognised for their work and efforts. Respect forms to be one of
the most important component of healthy employee relations in an organisation (26 Employees
and Employers Rights and Responsibilities, 2016). The employers and employees should have
respect for each other and their work. This helps in making the work environment a place where
the workers don't hesitate to come. Encouraging sharing of ideas and suggestions by the
subordinates will lead to inculcating a sense of belongingness among them. As a result, they will
feel motivated and will work with more confidence and enthusiasm to get tasks done in a much
more better and effective way. The management of the company should identify when a conflict
arises among the co-workers and should try to resolve it and avoid similar situations from
coming up in the future as the employees of the company form the basis of its existence.

LO 3
P5 Stakeholder analysis for Tesco
A stakeholder can be defined as a person within a business who has interest in the
organisation and either affect the business or be affected by it. The stakeholders in a company
usually include the board of Directors, customers, investors, employees and suppliers. Whereas,
stakeholder analysis can be defined as the process of identifying an organisation's stakeholders
before the beginning of a project and categorising them on the basis of their participation
influence and power in the same and determining the best ways to involve and communicate
with them during the project. The stakeholders of an organisation can be categorized into two
categories, namely - internal and external stakeholders. Internal stakeholders exist within the
organisation and include the employees as well as the management. Whereas the external
stakeholders are the ones who exist outside the organisation and include government and trade
associations. The stakeholder analysis of Tesco is explained below -
 High Power and High Interest – The owners, board of directors, general managers and
shareholders can be counted as the stakeholders of the company who have high power as
well as high interest in the organisation as they are needed for providing support during
projects (Kim, S. and et. al., 2017). Also, these are people who are the decision makers of
the company and always work for the overall growth and success of the company. Thus,
the expectations and concerns of these stakeholders should be managed closely by the
organisation for it to be successful and more productive.
 High Power and Low Interest – Customers, government and investors/sponsors come
under the category of high power and low interest and all of these stakeholders should be
kept in loop (Xi, Zhao and Xu, 2017). Although they have low interest in the
organisation, they still possess high power. And the organisation must ensure that their
expectations are met and needs and wants are fulfilled. Their feedbacks and suggestions
can affect the functioning of the organisation both positively as well as negatively. People
in this category deserve time and attention and the company should make sure that they
are in loop but don't get tired of constantly hearing from it and receiving unnecessary
details.
 Low Power and High Interest – The employees and the suppliers of the company are
counted among stakeholders that have low power but high interest in the organisation

(Mitchell, 2016). These are the people who put in their time and efforts and work for the
project in order to get it complete, although they are not the decision makers of the same.
These stakeholders should be kept in loop and informed regarding the various decisions
that are taken by the management of the organisation in order to keep them updated and
informed regarding the progress of the project.
 Low Power and Low Interest – Security guards, sweepers, receptionists are the
stakeholders who have low power as well as low interest in the company. Therefore, the
company should not worry much about them (Stakeholder Analysis – How To Analyze
Project Stakeholders?, 2020). The company should not ignore them completely and
should keep an eye on the people that fall in this category, engage them in work when
needed but not let them consume much of its time.
LO 4
P6 Impact of positive and negative employee relations on different stakeholders
Previously known as Industrial relations, Employee relations is the process that primarily
focuses on training and supporting the employees in order to encourage healthy relationships
among them. While doing so, the main goal of an organisation is to ensure that there is a positive
work environment which helps in improving its overall productivity and performance. There are
several stakeholders within a company, both internal as well as external. The impacts of positive
and negative employee relations on various stakeholders of an organisation are explained below-
Employees - Positive Employee Relations : When the employees of the company are happy and
comfortable working with each other, they work more efficiently and in a smarter way
(Noe and et. al., 2017). They are more likely to put in more efforts in their jobs and get
actively involved in various projects of the company which in turn leads to an increase in
the overall productivity and performance of the company. As a result, there will is less
staff turnover and the employees have an extensive knowledge of various practices of the
company and are motivated.
 Negative Employee Relations : On the other had, if the employees don't share good
relations with their co-workers, there are chances of them getting involved in conflicts
which directly impacts their productivity and overall performance. This can also lead to

bad team spirits and a decline in their retention rate. There is a fear of losing job among
the employees and there is instability in their work. Also, there is poor communication
among the employees which makes it crucial for the organisation to run its operations in
an effective and efficient manner.
Customers - Positive Employee Relations : Strong employee relations contribute to the growth of the
organisation and its overall revenues (Poole, 2017). Employees feel motivated and thus
deliver their best work in the roles that they are assigned. This helps in improving the
customers' satisfaction and an increase in the sales of the company. Also, the organisation
is able to attract more potential customers and retain its existing customers.
 Negative Employee Relations : Frequent conflicts among the co-workers and their bad
behaviour can impact the customers negatively as then they might not want to buy the
organisation's products and build a negative brand image of the organisation
(Wiggenhorn, Pissaris and Gleason, 2016). Poor employee relations can lead to a decline
in the goodwill of the company and the customers will then think twice before purchasing
any product of the company.
Investors - Positive Employee Relations : If employees of an organisation are friendly and share a
positive relationship with each other, then the company will have good brand image in
the market and this attracts the attention of more number of investors and therefore they'll
be interested in investing in the company.
 Negative Employee Relations : On the other hand, if there is a poor work environment in
the organisation with frequent conflicts among the employees, the investors will think
that the company is not being able to operate properly and thus not invest in the
company. This leads to a decline in the overall performance of the company as it is not
able to attract different potential investors (Sharma, Sharma and Agarwal, 2016).
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that employee relations forms an important
component within an organisation in order to have a healthy and positive work environment. The
managers as well as team leaders should ensure that all the employees of a company are happy
and comfortable in working with each other. This not only helps the organisation in running its

operations smoothly but also build a positive brand image in the market. Both the employer as
well as the employees possess certain rights, duties and obligations that they should be aware of.
Any employee of the company can claim his/her right when he/she feels the need. Also, the
stakeholders of an organisation can be grouped either under internal or external stakeholder
category and can be impacted by the employee relations.

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