Leon Gooberman and Marco Hauptmeier explain how Employers' Organisations - an underestimated actor within the world of work - deliver benefits to their members, represent employers in the political process, and play an important role in UK employment relations

Gooberman, Leon

Hauptmeier, Marco

LSE Research Online

Employers’	Organisations:	a	continuing	force	in	theUK?Leon	Gooberman	and	Marco	Hauptmeier	explain	how	Employers’	Organisations–	an	underestimated	actor	within	the	world	of	work	–	deliver	benefits	to	theirmembers,	represent	employers	in	the	political	process,	and	play	an	important	rolein	UK	employment	relations.The	importance	of	unions	within	employment	relations	is	well	recognised,	but	lessis	known	about	Employers’	Organisations	(EOs).	But	this	was	not	always	the	case	as	EOs	once	held	high-profileroles.	They	negotiated	collective	bargaining	agreements	with	unions	to	define	wages	and	working	conditions	formillions	of	workers,	jointly	governed	industrial	training	boards	to	train	much	of	the	workforce,	and	consulted	with	thegovernment	and	unions	on	incomes	policies.	All	this	changed	after	1979	as	EOs	were	buffeted	by	the	end	of	thepost-war	consensus	and	the	decline	of	collective	bargaining.	This	decline	was	often	interpreted	as	implying	that	mostemployer	collective	action	within	employment	relations	had	ceased.As	a	result,	little	was	known	about	whether	such	action	still	existed	and	if	it	did,	the	form	that	it	took.	We	fill	this	gapby	exploring	the	who,	how,	and	what	of	employer	interest	representation:	who	represents	employers?;	how	do	EOsrepresent	member	interests?;	and	what	member	interests	do	EOs	represent?But	what	is	an	EO?	Before	1979	the	answer	was	clear.	Their	defining	role	was	to	conduct	collective	bargaining	withunions.	While	some	EOs	still	do	this,	they	are	not	the	only	collective	bodies	representing	employers’	interests	withinemployment	relations.	Our	definition	of	EOs	is	broader.	It	also	includes	bodies	advising	on	employment	law,arbitration,	health	and	safety	standards,	providing	training,	supporting	recruitment	and,	lobbying	on	these	topics.They	must	have	subscribing	members	who	are	employers,	or	individuals	acting	as	employers.Who	represents	employers	in	the	UK?We	identified	447	EOs	in	the	UK,	comprising	a	small	minority	of	large	cross-industry	EOs	and	a	majority	of	singleindustry,	or	regional,	bodies.	Unlike	more	corporatist	countries	elsewhere	in	Europe,	a	central	employerconfederation	with	the	authority	to	speak	for	the	entire	business	community	does	not	exist	in	the	UK.Data	on	membership	numbers	was	available	for	357	EOs,	with	a	combined	membership	of	750,000	employers.	Themedian	membership	was	170.	Few	EOs	were	cross-industry	but	these	included	three	with	over	100,000	members:the	Federation	of	Small	Business,	the	Confederation	of	British	Industry,	and	the	British	Chamber	of	Commerce.	Thelargest	proportions	of	single	industry	EOs	drawing	membership	from	throughout	the	UK	were	those	in	manufacturing,wholesale	and	retail	trades,	and	construction	(see	graph	below).Figure	1:	Foci	of	UK-wide	single	industry	Employers’	Organisations.British Politics and Policy at LSE: Employers’ Organisations: a continuing force in the UK? Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-04-23Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/employers-organisations-a-continuing-force-in-the-uk/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/Note:	Industries	scoring	less	than	2	per	cent	not	shown.Most	EOs	represented	members	across	the	UK	but	76	had	a	regional	focus,	often	covering	devolved	nations.Twenty-three	EOs	exclusively	served	Scottish	employers,	a	level	of	representation	unique	among	the	UK’s	nationsand	regions.	Finally,	a	new	type	of	specialized	EOs,	employer	forums,	emerged.	These	helped	their	members	toimplement	individual	rights	legislation	and	corporate	social	responsibility	by	raising	workplace	standards.How	do	EOs	represent	member	interests?While	the	primary	function	of	EOs	was	once	collective	bargaining,	only	43	contemporary	organisations	weresignatories	to	collective	agreements	covering	employment	terms	and	conditions.	Instead,	the	most	common	methodof	collective	interest	representation	was	lobbying,	carried	out	by	73%	of	EOs.	Formal	lobbying	focuses	on	parliamentand	government,	whether	responding	to	consultations,	participating	in	all-party	parliamentary	groups	or	acting	ascommittee	witnesses.	For	example,	parliamentary	committees	questioned	representatives	of	140	EOs	over	the	pastdecade,	while	many	also	appeared	before	devolved	parliaments	and	assemblies.Informal	lobbying	is	inevitably	harder	to	quantify,	given	its	opaque	nature	and	invisible	boundaries.	We	identifiedpolicy	areas	where	lobbying	was	successful,	such	as	amending	the	regulations	on	holiday	back	pay,	but	failureswere	common.	As	examples,	EOs	described	the	workplace	pension	as	a	‘bureaucratic	nightmare’;	the	living	wage	asa	‘job	killer’	and	the	apprenticeship	levy	as	an	‘additional	stealth	payroll	tax’,	but	government	pressed	on	regardless.EOs	retained	a	role	within	joint	labour	market	regulation	through	their	governance	role	within	the	Advisory,Conciliation	and	Arbitration	Service	(ACAS),	the	Health	and	Safety	Executive,	the	Low	Wage	Commission	and	theGangmasters	Licensing	Authority.	However,	this	role	has	reduced	in	importance.	While	governing	boards	were	oncecomprised	of	representatives	from	EOs,	unions	and	the	government,	they	now	include	a	greater	number	ofindependent	experts.	Also,	these	bodies,	except	for	ACAS,	are	advisory	bodies	with	limited	discretionary	powerswhen	compared	with	the	tripartite	bodies	of	the	1970s.Finally,	a	small	number	of	employer	forums	engage	in	voluntary	regulation	of	the	labour	market	by	providingemployment	practice	standards.	For	example,	the	Business	Disability	Forum	offered	a	Business	Disability	Standardincluding	surveys	to	measure	the	quality	of	disability	management	within	members’	workplaces.What	member	interests	do	EOs	represent?British Politics and Policy at LSE: Employers’ Organisations: a continuing force in the UK? Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-04-23Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/employers-organisations-a-continuing-force-in-the-uk/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/EOs	represent	a	bewildering	and	overlapping	range	of	interests.	Collective	interests	are	those	that	impact	across	anEO’s	membership,	whether	through	collective	bargaining	or	lobbying	government.	EOs	represented	individualinterests	by	providing	member	services,	such	as	the	EEF	(a	manufacturing	EO)	offering	legal	representation	tomembers	facing	employment	tribunals.	Also,	EOs	represent	a	range	of	particular	and	general	employer	interests.Particular	interests	of	single	industry	EOs	were	shaped	by	the	characteristics	and	requirements	of	their	industry.Many	cases	of	regional	interest	representation	also	existed,	such	as	the	National	Farmers’	Union	Cymru’s	initialopposition	to	the	Welsh	Government’s	creation	of	an	Agricultural	Wages	Board.	There	are	also	general	employerinterests	that	are	widely	shared	across	EOs	such	as	workplace	pensions,	living	wage	and	the	apprenticeship	levy.The	primary	reason	for	employers	to	associate	was	once	to	counter	union	power,	labour	strikes	and	rising	labourcosts.	When	union	power	waned	and	collective	bargaining	declined,	it	was	unclear	if	employers	would	continue	toorganize	collectively	to	influence	employment	relations.	While	some	UK	EOs	closed,	others	developed	new	activitiesand	services	to	maintain	membership	and	attract	new	members.EOs	now	deliver	benefits	to	their	members,	represent	employers	in	the	political	process,	and	continue	to	play	a	rolein	the	governance	of	UK	employment	relations.	They	are	important	yet	underestimated	actors	within	the	world	ofwork.____________Note:	the	above	draws	on	the	authors’	published	article	(with	Edmund	Heery)	in	Work,	Employment	and	Society.	Theresearch	for	this	post	was	funded	by	the	Economic	and	Social	Research	Council	UK	[ES/K008382/1].About	the	AuthorsLeon	Gooberman	is	Lecturer	in	Employment	Relations	at	Cardiff	Business	School.	His	researchinterests	include	employers’	organisations	and	employer	collective	action	in	the	UK,	as	well	as	theprocesses	and	impacts	of	regional	deindustrialisation.	Marco	Hauptmeier	is	Reader	in	Comparative	Employment	Relations	at	CardiffBusiness	School.	He	won	the	Thomas	A.	Kochan	&	Stephen	R.	Sleigh	Best	PhDAward	in	the	United	States,	has	worked	at	the	Max	Planck	Institute	for	the	Studyof	Societies	in	Cologne,	and	was	a	visiting	scholar	at	the	Juan	March	Institute	inMadrid	and	at	Boston	University.		All	articles	posted	on	this	blog	give	the	views	of	the	author(s),	and	not	the	position	of	LSE	British	Politics	and	Policy,nor	of	the	London	School	of	Economics	and	Political	Science.	Featured	image:	Pixabay	(Public	Domain).British Politics and Policy at LSE: Employers’ Organisations: a continuing force in the UK? Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-04-23Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/employers-organisations-a-continuing-force-in-the-uk/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/

Employers' organisations: a continuing force in the UK?

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Employers' organisations: a continuing force in the UK?

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