ACAS More Information

 

 

 

Acas aims to improve organisations and working life through better employment relations. We provide up-to-date information, independent advice, high quality training and we work with employers and employees to solve problems and improve performance.

 

Ambition: To improve organisations and working life through better employment relations.

 

Founded: 1975. We have 30 years experience of working with people in businesses of every size and sector.

 

Status: Publicly funded ensuring we are independent, impartial and confidential.

 

Governed: By a council made up of leading figures from business', unions, independent sectors to academics. Acas Council is responsible for determining the strategic direction, policies and priorities of Acas and for ensuring that its statutory duties are carried out effectively.

 

Structure: Acas have a Chairperson and a Chief Executive as well as Regional Directors who are responsible for delivery of Acas services across England, Scotland and Wales. Approximately 900 staff based in 11 main regional centres throughout England, Scotland and Wales with our head office in London.

 

Acas History

1896 - a voluntary conciliation and arbitration service launched by the government. This also gave free advice to employers and unions on industrial relations and personnel problems.

 

1960 - the service became known as the Industrial Relations Service.

 

1972 - the service became known as the Conciliation and Advisory Service.

 

1974 - the Conciliation and Arbitration Service set up as an independent service directed by an independent council.

 

1975 - renamed the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service.

 

1976 - on January 1976 Acas became a statutory body under the terms of the Employment Protection Act 1975.

 

Legislation

 

 

 

In all areas of the activities of the business, but especially it seems within Human Resource Management, the business must ensure that it abides by every piece of legislation, regardless of the stakeholder group which the legislation protects (e.g. employees and customers).

 

The main pieces of legislation affecting the successful operations of the Human Resource Management department are:

 

1. The Employment Relations Bill, 1999 (stating that employees who have been in employment with the same business for a period of one year have the right not to be unfairly dismissed).

 

2. The Employment Rights Act, 1996 (covering unfair dismissal, redundancy and maternity).

 

3. The Public Interest Disclosure Act, 1998 (covering employees who disclose confidential information).

 

4. The Health & Safety at Work Act, 1974 (covering working conditions and the provision of safety equipment and hygiene).

 

5. The National Minimum Wage Act, 1999 (making it illegal for employers to pay less than £3.60 per hour to its full-time staff who are aged over 21). As of 2004 National Minimum Wage is £4.50 for 22 years and over; and £3.80 for 18-21 year olds.

 

6. The Equal Pay Act, 1970 (stating that pay and working conditions must be equal for employees of the opposite sex who are performing the same work).

 

7. The Sex Discrimination Act, 1975 (stating that it is illegal to discriminate against an employee, or an applicant for a job, on the grounds of their sex or their marital status).

8. The Race Relations Act, 1976 (stating that it is illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee, or an applicant for a job, on the grounds of their ethnic background).

 

9. The Disability Discrimination Act, 1995 (stating that it is illegal for a business with 20 or more employees to discriminate against an employee, or an applicant for a job, on the grounds of their disability).

 

Employee Participation

 

 

Employee participation means many things to many people. Essentially it is about involving non-managerial staff in the decision-making process of an organisation. It is, however, the EXTENT of involvement in decision-making that is problematical.

 

Choices in Employee Participation

 

Consultation – Participation occurs when employees are consulted about decisions affecting their working lives.

 

Job Enrichment – The employee is given more discretion to make decisions affecting his own job.

 

Participative Management Style – The initiative for participation rests with open management who employ an 'open' approach to managing people where plant level councils may be set up where managers/employee representatives discuss and jointly decide a wide range of strategic issues.

 

Collective Bargaining – Many people feel that collective bargaining should be extended to include forward planning issues. The adversarial nature of the process may militate against its use as a form of participation.

 

Works' Councils – This idea is based on the West German approach that confers on employee representatives the legal right of access to information from management on a wide range of issues and the right of joint decision-making on all personnel matters.

 

Board Representation – This is participation at 'policy-making level'. Employees can elect worker directors whose power and influence will depend on the number of such directors on the board. In Germany, Supervisory Boards include employee representation but there are no such members of the Management Board (Executive Board). The EC is a firm believer in employee participation at Board level.

 

Quality Circle – This is a work group of 8-10 employees and supervisors who have a shared area of responsibility. They meet regularly – typically, once a week, on company time and on company premises – to discuss their quality problems, investigate causes of the problems, recommend solutions, and take corrective actions. They take over responsibility for solving quality problems, and they generate and evaluate their own feedback. But management typically retains control over the final decision regarding implementation of recommended solutions. Part of the quality circle concept includes teaching participating employees group communication skills, various quality strategies, and measurement and problem analysis techniques.

 

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) – Employee stock ownership plans are company-established benefit plans in which employees acquire stock as part of their benefits. Approximately 20% of Polaroid, for example, is owned by its employees. Research has shown that ESOPs increase employee satisfaction. In addition, they frequently result in higher performance. ESOPs have the potential to increase employee job satisfaction and work motivation.

 

 

Termination of Contracts

 

 

The final role of the H.R.M. department is to make the termination of the employees' contracts of employment as smooth and efficient as possible. There are a number of different ways in which employees can have their contracts of employment terminated, including:

 

1. Redundancy. It will be necessary at certain times (e.g. during a recession, or a decline in the industry) for a business to 'downsize' its workforce (make a certain proportion of them redundant).

 

This process could be done in several ways, voluntary redundancy (where workers opt for a redundancy package), compulsory redundancy, 'last-in-first-out' (where the most recent appointments are the first to be made redundant), or retention by merit (where the least effective employees are made redundant).

 

2. Retirement. At the end of their working-life, employees will wish to retire and stop offering their services to the business. In return, they will often receive a lump-sum payout, as well as both their state pension and their private pension.

 

3. Transfers and Resignation. This occurs when an employee leaves the business and transfers their services to another business (the employee may apply for a more senior job at another business).

 

4. Dismissal. This is where the employee is deemed to have broken their contract of employment, and told that their services are no longer required by the business. Fair dismissal can be on the grounds of sexual harassment, racial harassment, bad timekeeping, sleeping on the job, and destruction of business property.

 

However, if an employee feels that they have been unfairly dismissed (e.g. on the grounds of pregnancy, ethnic background, or union membership), they can apply to have the case heard at an industrial tribunal.

 

This is a small court that deals with claims of unfair dismissal and discrimination from employees against their (former) employers. If the employee is successful in claiming that they have been unfairly dismissed, then they are eligible for re-instatement in their previous job, as well as a financial award (to cover loss of earnings, and pain and suffering).

 

Disputes and Grievance Procedures

 

 

 

a) Collective –            involving issues taken up on behalf of the employees by their trade union representative (substantial or procedural). Usually described as 'disputes'.

 

b) Individual –           involving an individual employee only. These are described as 'grievances'.

 

 

Disputes have a far greater impact on employee relations than grievances and are concerned with disagreements between employees and their own employer and which are wholly or mainly about matter directly affecting their terms and conditions of employment.

 

Grievances are disputes between an individual employees and his/her employer. To handle this kind of issue, organisations will establish grievance procedures as below. Such grievances are initiated by employees.

 

Stages of a Typical Grievance Procedure

	Employees raises grievances with immediate supervisor

 

 

 

 

 

	If matter not settled, it is taken to the next level of management, and the employee may be accompanied by a friend or trade union representative

 

 

 

 

 

 

	If the matter is still not resolved, it is taken to a senior management level, and the employee may take a representative as before
	If the employee is still not satisfied he may appeal to the Managing Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discipline procedures are classed as individual disputes and are designed to provide fair treatment of 'misbehaviour' by employees. Discipline procedures are initiated by management.

ACAS

 

Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (A.C.A.S.)

 

The Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service was set up by the government in 1975 as an independent body that helps to settle industrial disputes and claims of unfair dismissal by employees. As the name suggests, there are three main services that are offered by ACAS, advice, conciliation and arbitration.

 

A.C.A.S. representatives can be invited into a business by the two feuding parties (employers and trade unions) in order to offer their advice to both parties on the industrial unrest and the 'best' way to proceed in order to settle the unrest.

 

Conciliation is an attempt to get the two sides in an industrial dispute to resolve their differences. A conciliator listens to the arguments of both sides, and then tries to encourage the trade union and the employer to negotiate and compromise so that they can reach a solution that is acceptable to both parties.

 

Arbitration is the process of resolving an industrial dispute by using an independent person to decide the appropriate outcome. The arbitrator will look at the arguments put forward by both parties, and then he will arrive at a decision. The decision can be legally binding on both parties if this was agreed prior to the arbitrator's decision.

 

Pendulum arbitration is a type of arbitration in which the arbitrator will decide completely in favour of one party or the other, with no compromise or negotiation being allowed. It is likely, therefore, that both parties (the employers and the trade union) will make their demands more conservative and realistic than if the arbitrator was allowed to choose an outcome which was somewhere between the two.

 

 

 

Pay Bargaining

Trade unions are most closely associated with negotiating with the employers of a business on behalf of their members over the issue of pay. This is known as the 'pay-bargaining process', and it is an example of collective bargaining.

 

The first stage in this process is for each side (the employer and the trade union) to decide on its objectives. As well as deciding the amount of a pay rise, both the trade union and the employer will also need to decide how the money will be distributed amongst the members of the trade union (i.e. will the pay rise be a 'blanket' coverage giving every employee a fixed percentage rise, or will different groups of workers receive different percentage pay rises?). Further to this point, will the pay rise be awarded in a lump sum per employee, or will it be staggered over time?

 

The second stage involves both sides (the trade union and the employer) presenting their arguments at a 'pay-talk' discussion. A trade union will put in a 'pay claim', which will be based on one or more of the following points:

 

1. An increase in the cost of living (i.e. inflation) requires that workers have a pay rise in order to maintain their purchasing power.

 

2. An increase in labour productivity rates will mean more sales revenue and profits for the business, this extra profit should be shared with the workers by giving them higher rates of pay.

 

3. A pay rise is required in order to recruit and retain the 'best' workers that the business can find.

 

4. If workers are using new machinery and working practices, then they need to be compensated for this extra work by being given a pay rise.

 

 

The employer will put forward a 'pay offer', which they believe will reflect the current trends in the labour market (i.e. the rates of pay which are being offered by rival businesses), as well as maintaining the competitiveness of the business (i.e. not increasing their costs by a large percentage).

 

The third and final stage involves a negotiation process between the trade union and the employer. In order for this to be a success, both sides will be required to compromise and be prepared to accept less than their original objectives.

 

It must be remembered that there are many other issues that a trade union will negotiate for its members other than pay rises (e.g. length of the working week, working conditions, and proposed redundancies).

 

Industrial Action

 

 

If the negotiation process collapses (whether it was negotiating for pay or for working conditions), then there are a number of different methods of industrial action which the trade union can propose to its members that they use in order to achieve their demands

1. Non co-operation. Refusing to attend meetings and use new machinery or processes.

 

2. Work to Rule or 'Go Slow'. Refusing to perform any tasks not in the contract of employment and keeping the output of products to a minimum.

 

3. Overtime Ban. Refusing to work any hours over and above the required weekly number of hours.

 

4. Picketing. Standing at the entrance to the workplace and not allowing any person or vehicle to cross the 'picket line' and enter the workplace.

 

5. 'Blacking'. Refusing to deal with certain employees or suppliers because they have refused to participate in the industrial action.

 

6. Strikes. This is often the last resort for a trade union. It involves the employees stopping their work, leaving the workplace and refusing to return.

 

Whichever method of industrial action is implemented, the trade union and the employees are using it in an attempt to reduce output (therefore also reducing sales and profits) and hoping that the employer will give-in to their demands.

 

Industrial Relations

 

 

 

The terms 'labour relations', 'employee relations' and 'industrial relations' refer to the relationship between employers and employees. Employers have historically been in a much stronger position – the 'master and servant' relationship, for example – which led to the growth of organised labour. Employers have realised the value of formal organisation and have responded by establishing their own associations.

 

Trade Unions

 

A trade union is an organisation of workers which has been established to represent their interests.

 

Union rights

 

UK legislation up to 1980 concentrated on protecting unions; since 1980 the emphasis has shifted to protecting the individual union member. Trade unions and their members have rights under several main items of legislation:

 

The Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974 defines a union and a trade dispute.

 

The Employment Acts 1980, 1982, 1988 and 1990

-          require secret ballots to be held to get approval to take strike action, and for elections to union posts;

-          allow a member to prevent the union from strike action if no ballot has been held;

-          protect members from disciplinary action if they refuse to take part in a strike;

-          make 'closed shops' and all forms of secondary action illegal;

-          allow damages to be awarded against union members who are not involved in a dispute but who take secondary action.

 

The Trade Union Act 1984 make a union liable for damages if it has not carried out a secret ballot to get approval from its members for strike  action.

 

The Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1992 makes it unlawful for employers to collect union dues without the written consent of workers.

 

Union aims

 

A trade union seeks to improve the working life of its members.

    To do this it:

 

Advises, represents and protects members:

-          it advises on procedures following industrial accidents, represents employees at industrial tribunals, and gives general legal advice

-          it ensures that members receive sick pay and other benefits to which they are entitled

-          it helps protect against redundancy, unfair dismissal, disciplinary action, discrimination, etc.

 

Negotiates with employers for

-          improved pay and working conditions

-          improved pension and retirement arrangements

-          greater job satisfaction and better job security

 

Seeks to influence others

-          as a pressure group influencing employers and governments on legislation and other matters

-          - regarding improved social objectives, such as full employment and better social security

 

Union benefits

 

Membership of a trade union brings a number of benefits to its members

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many employers recognise the benefits that unions bring, and gain themselves from only having to negotiate with a single body. Some industries had union membership agreements requiring all employees to join a union – a 'closed shop' agreement – but the 1988 Employment Act made it unlawful to dismiss an employee who refuses to join a union. (Employers are now free to also recruit workers who are not union members.)

 

Trade Unions

 

 

 

TYPES OF TRADE UNION

A trade union is a group of workers who join together in order to protect their own interests and to be more powerful when negotiating with their employers.

 

Each employee who wishes to join a trade union must pay an annual fee, which contributes towards the costs and expenses that the trade union incurs when it provides services to its members, and supports industrial action by the workers.

 

Trade unions have a number of aims:

 

1. To improve the pay of its members.

 

2. To improve the working conditions and the working practices of its members.

 

3. To support the training and the professional development of its members.

 

4. To ensure that their members' interests are considered by the employers when any decision is made which will affect the workforce.

 

There are four main types of trade union in the UK:

 

1. General Unions. These are for skilled and unskilled workers performing different jobs in different industries (e.g. cleaners, clerical staff, transport workers).

 

2. Industrial unions. These are for different workers in the same industry (e.g. the National Union of Miners (N.U.M), covering workers at all levels in the hierarchy).

 

3. Craft Unions. These are fairly small unions for skilled workers, performing the same or similar work in different industries (e.g. musicians).

 

4. White-collar Unions. These are for 'white-collar' (or professional) workers who perform the same or similar tasks in different industries (e.g. teachers, scientists).

 

Training And Development

 

 

 

	Learning is not a spectator sport. - D. Blocher

 

 

 

 

Once a new employee has been appointed to a business, it is likely that they will receive induction training in order to help them settle into the new job. This induction training covers the basics of the new employee's job, as well as the background details and the history of the business (e.g. number of employees and the range of products).

 

However, training is not limited to the new employees of a business. Training courses are likely to be targeted at all employees in the business at various stages in their career (e.g. management training courses, training on how to use new machinery and technology).

 

There are many reasons for the extensive use of training across the workforce of a business:

1. Training can improve employee productivity.

 

2. Training can create a multi-skilled, flexible workforce.

 

3. Training can increase the levels of job satisfaction and motivation of the employees.

 

4. Training employees increases the chances of their promotion.

 

Training can be classified as either 'on-the-job' or 'off-the-job'.

 

'On-the-job' training involves the employees receiving their training at the place of work (using such techniques as work-shadowing, apprenticeships, and mentoring).

 

'Off-the job' training involves the employees attending courses away from their workplace (e.g. at local colleges, conference centres and universities).

 

OTHER TYPES OF TRAINING INCLUDE:

 

"Sitting next to Nellie" – task demonstrated then trainee undertakes task

 

Coaching – trainee taken through step by step by trainer

 

Job Rotation – trainee learns tasks in different departments/jobs

 

Self-paced/distance learning – trainee receives resources and works on their own

 

It is also imperative that all training courses that are attended by employees are evaluated in order to determine if the training course provides value for money for the business. This evaluation is often carried out by asking the employees to complete short questionnaires and provide feedback to the H.R.M. department.

Motivation

Having a motivated workforce is vital for most businesses, since it can lead to higher rates of productivity, better quality output, and low rates of absenteeism and labour turnover. The main factors which affect the motivation of workers are pay levels, job security, promotional prospects, being given responsibilities, working conditions, fringe benefits, participation in decision-making and working in a team.

FINANCIAL METHODS

There are many different methods of payment that a business can choose from, each of which can have different effects on the level of motivation of the workforce. The main methods are:

1. Time-rate ('flat rate') schemes.

This payment method involves the employee receiving a basic rate of pay per time period that he works (e.g. £5 per hour, £50 per day, £400 per week). The pay is not related to output or productivity. Any time that the employee works above the agreed number of hours per week may make him eligible for overtime payments, often at 'time and a half' (e.g. £7.50 per hour instead of £5 per hour).

2. Piece-rate schemes.

This payment method involves the employee receiving an amount of money per unit (or per 'piece') that he produces. Therefore his pay is directly linked to his productivity level. However, it is possible that in order to boost his earnings, an employee may reduce the quality and craftsmanship per unit, so that he can produce more output in a given period of time.

3. Commission.

This is a common method of payment for salesmen (e.g. insurance, double-glazing, telesales). The employee receives a very small percentage (say 0.5%) of the value of the goods that he manages to sell in a period of time.

4. Performance-related pay (PRP).

This is a method of giving pay rises on an individual basis, related to the employee achieving a number of targets over the past year. This is common with managerial and professional workers.

5. Profit sharing.

This involves each employee receiving a share of the profit of the business each year, effectively representing an annual pay rise. It aims to increase the levels of effort, motivation and productivity of each employee, since their annual pay-award will be related to the profitability of the business. However, if the business makes low profits (or even a loss) then this is likely to have a detrimental effect on the level of motivation of the employees.

6. Share ownership.

A common form of payment in many PLCs is what is termed 'share options'. This basically involves each employee receiving a part of each month's salary in the form of shares (usually at a discounted price). This forms a profitable savings-plan for the employee, and he can sell them after a given period of time. This should motivate the employees to work harder and increase their efforts, since the share price will rise as the company becomes more profitable, therefore increasing the capital gain on their shares.

Many of these different methods of pay are likely to be supplemented by fringe benefits (or 'perks') such as private health schemes, pension schemes, subsidised meals, discounts on holidays and travel, cheap mortgages and loans, company cars and discounts when buying the company's products. The total package of pay plus fringe benefits is known as the remuneration package.

MASLOW, MOTIVATION AND NEEDS

Most people work to satisfy needs of one kind or another. Abraham Maslow developed his hierarchy of needs based on research about what motivates people to work. He suggested that there were 5 levels of need that influence a person's behaviour.

Basic needs: for food, drink and shelter

Safety needs: protection against danger, threat, deprivation

Social needs: the need for belonging, acceptance, friendship

Self-esteem needs: reputation, status

Self-actualisation: the need for realising one's own potential for continual self-development.

In a hierarchy the things at the top are more important than those at the bottom. Maslow said the lower levels have to be satisfied first. Only when these needs have been satisfied will the individual strive to satisfy the higher needs. For example, hungry, cold people will seek food and shelter first. Once they are well fed and comfortable, they will turn their attention to higher needs, for example the pleasure of being with colleagues.

How can a business provide for these needs?

Basic needs: A fair wage, a meal and rest facilities.

Safety needs: Job security, safe working conditions, pension schemes.

Social needs: Met by introducing team work and perhaps providing social facilities like a club or sports pitch.

Self-esteem needs: This is about how others see us at work and can be provided for by rewarding staff with status symbols like cars, offices and new job titles. Allowing staff to gain qualifications at work can boost self-esteem too.

Self-actualisation: Achieving your full potential. A business must ensure that promotion is possible and that there are opportunities to use initiative.

NON-FINANCIAL METHODS

There is no universal rule for motivating employees, and there are many methods which are used by different managers to achieve the goal of a motivated and satisfied workforce. These include:

Delegation. This occurs when managers pass a degree of authority down the hierarchy to their subordinates.

Empowerment. This involves a manager giving his subordinates a degree of power over their work (i.e. it enables the subordinates to be fairly autonomous and to decide for themselves the best way to approach a problem).

Job enlargement. This involves increasing the number of tasks which are involved in performing a particular job, in order to motivate and multi-skill the employees.

Job enrichment. This is a method of motivating employees by giving them more responsibilities and the opportunity to use their initiative.

Job rotation. This involves the employees performing a number of different tasks in turn, in order to increase the variety of their job and, therefore, lead to higher levels of motivation.

Quality circles. This is a group of workers that meets at regular intervals in order to identify any problems with quality within production, consider alternative solutions to these problems, and then recommend to management the solution that they believe will be the most successful.

Teamworking. This is the opposite production technique to an assembly-line which uses an extreme division of labour. Teamworking involves a number of employees combining to produce a product, with each employee specialising in a few tasks. Cell production is an example of teamworking.

Worker participation. This refers to the participation of workers in the decision-making process, asking them for their ideas and suggestions.

Works council. This is a type of worker participation and it consists of regular discussions between managers and representatives of the workforce over such issues as how the business can improve its processes and procedures (in production or marketing, for example).

Worker-directors. These are workforce representatives who participate in the meetings held by the board of directors. Worker-directors are not very common in the UK, since employers often believe that they can slow down the decision-making process, as well as 'leaking' confidential information to employees.

MOTIVATION PROBLEMS

Symptoms of poor motivation amongst the workforce include high rates of absenteeism and labour turnover, poor timekeeping, high rates of waste, low quality output and an increasing number of disciplinary problems.

When a poor level of motivation exists in a workforce, then the management should:

a) Develop a strong corporate culture and team-spirit.

b) Ensure that pay levels are fair.

c) Design more challenging jobs.

d) Introduce decision-making at lower levels in the organisation.

e) Give praise and recognition to employees for their efforts and achievements.

f) Ensure that communication flows are effective and that the relevant messages get to the relevant personnel.