Labour courts in Great Britain and Sweden: a self-service model v collective regulation

The institutions for adjudicating employment rights in Great Britain and Sweden are superficially similar – in both countries there are labour courts with lay judges and both countries are covered by European Union employment legislation. Beneath this surface, however, there are important differences. In Sweden there is collective regulation as the social partners (that is trade unions and employers organisations) continue to play a significant part in the labour court process. In contrast the social partners no longer play a role in the adjudication of employment rights in Great Britain, which provides an individualistic, self-service model. This article traces these changes in Great Britain, and the lack of them in Sweden, before offering theoretical explanations for the differences

Arbitration in collective disputes: A useful tool in the toolbox

This report outlines the findings from the evaluation of Acas' Arbitration service. The research covers qualitative interviews with 13 users of the service, including Acas arbitrators, conciliators, employers and union representatives. The research showed that the numbers of cases have declined in recent years, but users continue to welcome it as an alternative means of collective dispute resolution

Gender and the labour market in South East England. Volume 2: employers’ policies and practices

This research on gender and the labour market in South East England was funded by the South East of England Development Agency/European Social Fund. In volume 1 we set out the context: theoretical explanations for gender equality, the legal framework and organisational factors. Moreover, using a range of published data, we answered the first of our research questions: how does the labour market position of women in the government region of the South East of England compare with that of both men in the South East and that of women in Great Britain/United Kingdom? In this volume we turn our attention to our other research questions: • What policies and practices do employers in South East England adopt in respect of gender equality? • What barriers do employers and women employees in South East England identify in respect of gender and employment

What's really involved in Acas Collective arbitration?

This case study looks at the experience of a manufacturing company that used Acas arbitration. It considers all aspects of the process and puts forward views from all those involved

British employment tribunals: from the side-lines to centre stage

Employment tribunals, originally called industrial tribunals, were established 50 years ago in Great Britain and this article traces their gradual change. Originally constituted as administrative tribunals in 1964, they morphed to party versus party forums from the 1970s, but this change did not stop there. Over the succeeding years, employment tribunals moved from a marginal role to a central role in British employment relations, as their caseload has risen, their remit has widened, and as legal regulation has replaced collective regulation. Moreover in so doing, employment tribunals have become less accessible to workers, less speedy and more expensive. They have also become more formal, with legal norms and practices and adjudication by lawyers alone replacing industrial relations norms and adjudication by a mix of lawyers and lay people. As a result, employment tribunals have become juridified. The article concludes by critiquing the basis of employment tribunals which is the self-help/complainant after the event approach, as opposed to state enforcement of statutory employment rights

Private sector norms and public service practices: employment relations in the civil service and the national health service

This submission for a PhD by published work looks at employment relations in the Civil Service and the National Health Service( NHS) over the last decade and in particular at management/union relations, pay determination and equal opportunities. The focus of research over this period was the extent to which private sector norms are advocated by the State impacted on public sector practices: a) in the Civil Service compared to the NHS b) in employing bodies within the Civil Service(ie executive agencies and employing bodies within the NHS (ie NHS trusts). The submission is in three parts. First, the distinctions between the private and public sectors are discussed along with the change agenda pursued by successive governments since 1979 to make the public sector more like the private sector. Second, four key debates are rehearsed: whether the state as employer is no longer a 'model' employer, whether there has been trade union renewal; whether the public sector ethos has been undermined; and whether the accession of the Labour government in 1997 was a watershed in respect of public sector employment relations. Third, the author's contributions to these debates are demonstrated

Does it work? evaluating a new pay system

This report focuses on the evaluation of the impact of new pay systems in large, unionised multi-site organisations by the organisations themselves. Evaluation of the effectiveness of a pay system, however, does not take place in a vacuum and relates to the aims and objectives of the pay system concerned. Moreover, evaluation is not an end in itself. It is, therefore, relevant to consider if any further steps were taken as a result of evaluation. Accordingly our research questions were: • What were the aims and objectives of organisations when introducing new pay arrangements? • What data did organisations collect and review to inform their evaluation? • What steps have organisations taken as a result of their evaluation? We re-appraised our data from 10 NHS trusts in England which had introduced some innovations in pay and grading in the 1990s. Additionally, we looked at seven multi-site unionised organisations outside the NHS in both the public and private sectors, which had recently made changes to their reward systems, carrying out interviews and inspecting documents. The main output is a template for the evaluation of Agenda for Change by NHS organisations

British judges and workers' rights

Ce chapitre explique comment, d’une part, les juges britanniques ont renforcé la prérogative de l’employeur en matière de licenciements et n’ont pas utilisé leur pouvoir discrétionnaire pour maintenir le tripartisme dans la juridiction du travail (Employment Tribunals). De plus, ils ont surtout permis aux employeurs d’éviter les grèves. D'autre part, les juges ont empêché le gouvernement d'imposer de lourdes taxes pour accéder à ces Tribunals, facilitant ainsi l'accès à la justice, et ont renforcé les droits de certains travailleurs sous contrat à « zéro heure ». En conséquence, ce chapitre constate que les juges britanniques présentent un bilan mitigé en matière de promotion des droits des travailleurs

Workplace mediation: success in the second-oldest profession

This article focuses on workplace mediation and, in particular, how mediators conceptualise success and whether the disputing parties share their mediator’s view as to whether or not a dispute has been successfully resolved. Based on a case study of mediations by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas), the article finds that success for many mediators is obtaining an agreement, written and/or verbal, that mediators mainly do not seek to find out later what actually transpired, and that disputing parties’ views are less positive than those of their mediator. The article concludes that, in place of absolute measures of success, none of which are problem free, a more nuanced criterion should be adopted: mediators should judge success relative to what they are trying to do, whether to contain/manage the dispute, or to settle the overt conflict, or to resolve the root causes. Moreover, their judgements should be made in the context of the tractability of the dispute, the parties’ commitment to mediation, the commissioner’s objectives, and evaluations by the parties and the commissioner, both immediately after the mediation, and after an elapse of time

Innovations in pay and grading in NHS trusts

This report examines innovations in pay and grading in 10 NHS trusts in England using data collected from March 2000 to January 2001, ie prior to the implementation of Agenda for Change. These 10 trusts, which varied in size, function, and location, were selected primarily to illustrate a variety of different approaches to pay and grading. The research utilised a qualitative methodology, with interviews of managers on a one to one basis, group interviews with lay union representatives, focus groups with staff and the inspection of documents. This study focused on four questions: • Did local pay resolve the problems associated with Whitley? • What were the consequences of local pay? • Were the trusts’ pay systems introduced in line with 'new pay' ideas and current trends in reward management? • What factors were critical to the success of developing and implementing local pay systems in NHS trusts