Working with employee representatives

Information and consultation, works councils, working hours

From 6 April 2005 new legal requirements to inform and consult employees in businesses employing 50 or more people are gradually being implemented, starting with businesses with 150 or more employees. As a result, employees have the right to information and consultation on employment developments and substantial changes to work organisation.

The Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations give a lot of flexibility as to how information and consultation should take place. This may be via a formal representative structure such as a works council, joint consultative committee, or staff council.

In many organisations a combination of direct and indirect methods are used to inform and consult with employees and to generate feedback when making decisions. In smaller organisations it may be more appropriate for management to inform and consult directly with employees.

Read about the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations (ICE) on the DTI website. You can also find out about ICE on the Acas website.

European Works Councils are a particular type of works council used by large companies with sites in more than one country of the European Union. Businesses with at least 1,000 employees within the European Union and with 150 employees in two member states must, at the written request of 100 employees or their representatives, establish a European Works Council, for employees to be consulted at European level. Works councils can be permanent consultative bodies or can negotiate information and consultation procedures with the employer. Read about the European Works Councils on the DTI website.

Working hours

The Working Time Regulations apply to most workers over the age of 16. They set maximum working hours and minimum rest breaks and annual leave.

You can agree by voluntary agreement with your workforce to vary certain aspects of the regulations - eg rights to rest periods and rest breaks.

The agreements can be made by:

• collective agreement, ie between you and the trade union
• workforce agreement, ie between you and elected worker representatives or a majority of your workers

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• The role of employee representatives
• Employee representatives and the law
• Redundancies and transfers
• Health and safety, pensions
• Information and consultation, works councils, working hours
• Representation of individual employees
• Working effectively with employee representatives

 

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