The management of the relationship between employer and employee — collectively and individually
Good employee relations → lower conflict, higher engagement, better productivity
Poor employee relations → grievances, strikes, high turnover, reputational damage
AQA scope: trade unions, collective bargaining, industrial action, dispute resolution
Role and power of trade unions — what they do and how they do it
Collective bargaining — the negotiation process
Industrial action spectrum — from overtime bans to strikes
Dispute resolution — ACAS, arbitration, mediation
Hard vs soft HRM approaches
An organisation of workers that represents their collective interests to employers
Core functions: negotiate pay and conditions, protect workers from unfair dismissal, provide legal support
Power comes from collective strength — one worker is easy to replace; 50,000 striking workers are not
Craft union — represents workers with a specific skill (e.g. electricians' union)
Industrial union — represents all workers in an industry (e.g. mining union)
General union — represents workers across many industries (e.g. Unite the Union)
White-collar union — represents professional/managerial workers (e.g. NUT for teachers)
UK union membership peaked at 13 million (1979), now ~6.5 million
Reasons: deindustrialisation, gig economy growth, Thatcher-era legislation restricting union power
Unions remain powerful in public sector (NHS, rail, civil service)
Collective bargaining = negotiation between trade union and employer on pay, hours, conditions
Union negotiates on behalf of all members — avoiding thousands of individual negotiations
Outcome: collective agreement — legally or morally binding on both parties
Pay rates and pay increases (often linked to inflation or RPI)
Working hours, overtime rates, shift patterns
Holiday entitlement and sick pay terms
Redundancy terms — notice periods, severance packages
Health & safety standards and working conditions
Grievance and disciplinary procedures
Efficient — one set of negotiations covers all workers
Balances power — individual workers have little leverage; unions level the playing field
Reduces conflict — formal process for resolving disputes before they escalate
Secret ballot required — majority must vote in favour
Two weeks' notice to employer before strike begins
Picket lines must be peaceful and limited to 6 people (at workplace entrance)
Strikes over trade disputes only — not political strikes
Union reps and management attempt to resolve directly — fastest and cheapest route
Advisory, Conciliation & Arbitration Service helps parties communicate and reach their own agreement. ACAS is independent and free.
Neutral third party suggests a solution — but it is NOT binding. Parties can reject it.
Independent arbitrator makes a decision — both parties agree in advance to be BOUND by it. Avoids court.
Legal court for employment disputes — unfair dismissal, discrimination. Formal, time-consuming, adversarial.
Union agrees never to call a strike — disputes go to binding arbitration instead
Employer benefit: certainty of uninterrupted production
Union criticism: surrenders the most powerful lever workers have
Example: some Japanese car manufacturers in the UK secured these as part of inward investment deals
Employer recognises only one union — simpler negotiation; avoids inter-union rivalry
Reduces complexity and cost of industrial relations management
Can mean some worker groups feel less well-represented
Works councils: joint committees where employees have formal voice — common in Germany (co-determination)
Quality circles: employee groups solve production problems — bottom-up process improvement
Employee share ownership: aligns interests — staff become shareholders
Workers seen as a resource — like capital, to be used efficiently
Emphasis on cost control, tight performance management
Minimal investment in training beyond essentials
Short-term contracts, flexible staffing, outsourcing
Suits: cost leadership, commodity markets
Workers seen as assets — investment in people creates value
Emphasis on motivation, development, engagement
Heavy investment in training, career development
Long-term employment, trust, loyalty
Suits: differentiation, knowledge-intensive industries
Neither is universally better — most firms blend both depending on role type
Front-line customer service roles benefit from soft HRM (Ritz-Carlton, John Lewis)
High-volume production roles may justify harder HRM approaches for cost efficiency
Lower absenteeism — engaged workers take fewer sick days
Lower labour turnover — retention reduces recruitment and training costs
Higher productivity — motivated workers exert more discretionary effort
Better customer experience — staff who feel valued treat customers better
Fewer disputes — lower legal and management costs
Strikes cause direct production losses — 1984-5 miners' strike cost the UK economy £2.5bn+
Work-to-rule can reduce output by 30-50% without being legally actionable
Reputational damage — high-profile disputes deter future recruits and investors
Management time diverted from strategy to conflict resolution
Workers at a logistics firm decide to follow their employment contracts exactly — refusing to work beyond their contracted hours or perform any tasks not in their job description. This type of industrial action is known as:
ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) intervenes in an industrial dispute. Which of the following BEST describes ACAS's role in conciliation?
A technology company invests heavily in employee training, offers long-term career development, and treats workers as its most valuable asset. According to Storey's framework, this BEST describes:
AQA often presents a conflict: business wants to cut costs (e.g. reduce workforce); union resists — whose interests should prevail?
Use stakeholder analysis: shareholders want short-term cost savings; employees want job security; customers may care about service quality
Evaluate: are the cost savings real? Will high turnover/industrial action cost more than the savings?
Reference: John Lewis Partnership (employee-owned, soft HRM, consistently strong customer satisfaction scores)
Employment Rights Act 1996 — defines unfair dismissal, notice periods, redundancy rights
Equality Act 2010 — prohibits discrimination on 9 protected characteristics
National Living Wage (1998) — statutory minimum pay floors
Trade Union Act 2016 — increased ballot thresholds for strikes (50%+ turnout + 40% of all members in essential services)