Employee Relations: An International Journal

John Goodman; Jill Earnshaw; Mick Marchington; Robin Harrison

1998 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425459810247297

Summarises some findings from recent empirical research into the factors influencing the incidence of claims of unfair dismissal to industrial tribunals. Using a paired comparison case study method it focuses, primarily, on small businesses and small establishments, seeking to explore significant variations. These include the presence or absence of written disciplinary procedures, their mode of operation, content and meaning, and management style and consistency. Qualitative insights include the prevalence of informal first approaches to perceived employee shortcomings and the influence of overall employee assessment in selective disciplinary action. Contrary to earlier research in small businesses it finds little principled management opposition or resentment to the introduction of written disciplinary procedures, with managers highlighting the assistance they give to them when taking disciplinary action.

Syd Weston; Miguel Martinez Lucio

1998 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425459810247305

Reviews the competing perspectives given to the developments of European works councils (EWCs). In doing this an evaluation is given regarding the current state of the European labour movement and its ability to condition and influence contemporary practices of multinational corporations in an era of disturbances to existing national industrial relations regimes. In particular, the article addresses the concerns raised by commentators who adopt the position that EWCs may undermine traditional forms of joint regulation and, consequently, reinforce the development of narrow/parochial enterprise‐based unionism. The paper questions this position by offering an alternative interpretation regarding the evolution and influence that EWCs can have on the management of MNCs. It highlights how management information systems, organisational structures and power relations are vulnerable to employee collaborative activities across national boundaries.

Stephen Bach

1998 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425459810247314

Examines the reform of NHS employment practices focusing on managerial attempts to alter pay and working practices within NHS Trusts. It draws on case study evidence to illustrate the difficulties that have confronted managers in making radical changes in employment practices. It is argued that, despite important changes in working practices, the possibilities for a more strategic approach towards the management of staff in the NHS remains heavily constrained by central government intervention which reduces management autonomy at Trust level. After considering the implications for NHS employment practices of the NHS reforms, case study evidence from an acute trust hospital of pay determination and work organisation reform is assessed. Concludes by placing these findings in a wider context, including the prospects for employment practice reform under a Labour government.

Luise Vassie

1998 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425459810247323

Claims there is growing application of continuous improvement strategies across a wide range of operational activities. This paper reports on a case study, set in the UK research division of a multinational chemical company, in which the six key principles of continuous improvement have been applied to health and safety management. The case study builds on the benefits of a proactive team‐based approach and addresses workforce behaviours and practices. The study emphasises, in particular, the importance of the integration of the process into the existing health and safety management system in order to address the long‐term maintenance issues. In order to achieve this, communication of strategic targets, milestones, progress and the involvement of all employees in the continuous improvement process have been identified as of paramount importance.

David Collins

1998 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425459810247332

Presents a case study concerning the attempts of a particular group of managers to implement an “empowered” system of working within their organization. Rejecting managerialist accounts of empowerment as distorted representations of social processes and social action, the paper investigates the “4Cs” of empowerment: context, construction, cascade and contest, within the processes of empowerment in an attempt to encourage a more reflective approach.

Brian Abbott

1998 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425459810247341

States that shop stewards have traditionally been viewed as “pivotal” to employee representation at the place of work. Given the changing composition of the workforce, increasingly part‐time and female, combined with the growth of non‐union firms, stewards are increasingly absent from many new workplaces. Argues that, in this environment, it is not only stewards that employees go to with workplace problems, but the voluntary sector and, in particular, the Citizens’ Advice Bureaux (CABx). The paper will then go on to outline the overlapping nature of the work of CAB advisers and stewards. The final section argues that, rather than replacing the traditional shop steward, CABx provide stewards, and unions generally, with the opportunity to reinforce their presence among sections of the workforce that have traditionally been alienated from the labour movement.