Employee Relations: An International Journal

Ian Cunningham

2001 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450110392616

Presents results from an exploratory study of 143 voluntary organisations. Aims to evaluate management employee relations policies in the voluntary sector in the era of contracting. Reveals evidence of employee relations policies being influenced by the funding priorities of the state. Provides evidence to suggest that these policies may be leading to discontent among the workforce. Concludes with a discussion regarding the implications such policies may have on employee commitment in the sector, and suggests several possible avenues for continued research.

Gillian Kellock Hay; Rona S. Beattie; Ron Livingstone; Pauline Munro

2001 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450110392698

Examines the context of the voluntary sector and its impact on organisational processes. Provides a selective overview of traditional literature on change management and assesses its relevance for the voluntary sector. Investigates alternative models that could facilitate understanding of change processes in the voluntary sector. Discusses the results from an empirical study into the change management experiences of a voluntary sector umbrella body. Concludes with key HRM lessons for the wider voluntary sector at this time of significant change, as well as highlighting the impact of contextual factors on the application of generic models of change.

John Jackson; Ian Cunningham; Alistair Dutton

2001 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450110392670

Since the 1980s, public policy developments have promoted the role of the voluntary sector in a variety of UK settings. In parallel, there has been a growing interest in the impacts of employment relations regulation. This paper combines these themes by exploring the impact of the Employment Relations Act (1999) on the Scottish voluntary sector. Provides evidence, based on data from larger voluntary organisations, that the legislation has potential impacts, particularly regarding unfair dismissals, trade union recognition and parental leave. An underlying issue is the emergence of personnel management capability in conditions of increasingly complex labour market regulation.

Debra Morris

2001 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450110392724

Examines the employment law implications for charities considering merger. Considers the employment law problems that are involved in charity mergers and the different strategies that have been employed in practice to deal with them. Charities merging face particular problems, not only from the natural concerns of staff about their jobs post-merger, but also because the law which protects employees when organisations merge is not clear. The application of the relevant legal principles may be particularly uncertain in the context of mergers between charities due to the variety in the legal forms of the merger, and in the employment practices adopted by charities. Illustrates these concerns with an empirical study of a number of charity mergers.