Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

EU law no substitute for real consultation

by Personnel Today 22 May 2001
by Personnel Today 22 May 2001

Is
it a slowdown or a recession – or not quite either? Whatever is going on,
manufacturing in particular is losing jobs. Motorola closed a Scottish factory
with the minimum of consultation. Again, the accusation stands that UK law on
prior consultation is so weak that multinationals close British subsidiaries
first because it is cheaper and quicker to do it here. Social Europe would not
let people be sacked without prior consultation and generous support measures.

This
issue, though, has some interesting themes behind these predictable, if
understandable, concerns. It is not clear that better, "expensive"
consultation saves jobs. It is also not clear whether the Government, if it is
re-elected, will forever resist doing something about bringing UK consultation
rights closer to the European norm.

So
what does this issue tell us about the relationship between national
governments and multinationals? Have corporations become so mighty that all any
government can do is placate them and defer to their every employment policy
wish? This might look the case, but the Government did not hesitate to
introduce union recognition laws, and the inward investors have accepted that
with largely good grace.

The
need for inward investment is vital for Britain, particularly for
manufacturing. Most employees say if they work for inward investors that they
are mightily preferable to no work at all. But they will also reveal that the
terms and conditions – and the atmosphere of successful workplace purpose – is
often in advance of traditional UK management styles. These days, it is not
just prominent inward investors who shock us. Job security at Marks &
Spencer is not what it used to be.

This
current interest in how to get every employer to consult more widely is also
tied up with the red tape frenzy. There would not be calls for legislation on
consultation if more employers involved staff at an earlier stage. But what
does the average UK firm prefer? Is management prepared to open up the company
to scrutiny from below? When the people who do the work illustrate the
shortcomings of the "strategy" and the "vision thing", can
managers take the criticism and improve the company’s performance by improving
their own? Or do they hide from open consultation and refuse to change big
ideas for fear of having to admit to their own fallibility?

Until
the average reaches higher standards, the "red tape" solution appears
to be the only show in town. We would prefer British behaviours to improve, and
we know the law is no substitute for genuine reforming mutuality at work. But
don’t ask the workforce to abandon protective restrictive practices if they can
still be thrown out by people who knew months before that the tumbrels were in
the car park and told no one they had arrived.

By
John Lloyd
National officer, Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union

Avatar
Personnel Today

previous post
Expats get better deal in competitive market
next post
Lloyds invests in scheme to find leaders of future

You may also like

The Search for Talent: Six Major Employer Pitfalls

24 May 2022

Grants scheme set up to support women’s health...

16 May 2022

How music can help to ease anxiety at...

9 May 2022

OH will be key to navigating ‘second pandemic’...

14 Apr 2022

OH urged to be aware of abortion consultations...

8 Apr 2022

How coached eCBT is returning the workplace to...

8 Apr 2022

Why now is the time to plug the...

7 Apr 2022

Two-thirds of shift workers feel health affected by...

18 Mar 2022

TUC warns of April Covid risk assessment ‘confusion’

14 Mar 2022

Consultation on new NHS cancer standards, as waits...

11 Mar 2022
  • Strathclyde Business School expands its Degree Apprenticeship offer in England PROMOTED | The University of Strathclyde is expanding its programmes...Read more
  • The Search for Talent: Six Major Employer Pitfalls PROMOTED | The Great Resignation continues unabated...Read more
  • Navigating the widening “Skills Confidence Gap” in 2022, and beyond PROMOTED | Cornerstone OnDemand conducted a global study...Read more
  • Apprenticeships are the solution to your recruitment problems PROMOTED | Apprenticeships have the pulling power...Read more
  • What it really means to be mentally fit PROMOTED | What is mental fitness...Read more
  • How music can help to ease anxiety at work PROMOTED | A lot has happened since March 2020, hasn’t it?...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+