Sources of Employment Law in the UK - Case Study Example

Employment relations Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Introduction There are various sources of employment law in UK. The main sources of the employment relations laws in UK include the common law, the statute and the European law. In the last two decades, the employee relations have changed from the traditional industrial relations to employee relations (Catherine 2009). This is because there are changing demands in the global market which require that appropriate adjustments should be taken to improve the satisfaction of the employees. This essay will therefore discuss the changes that have taken place in UK from industrial relations systems to employee relations. In particular, the essay will discuss the wage levels, work hours, job security and job autonomy. The country selected for this assignment is UK employee relations. In the first place, it is important to understand the main actors in the employee relations who influence the employee strategies which are formulated. The key stakeholders in employee relations include the employers and the employees who are the center of interest. The interests of the employees and the employers are different hence they should be considered in employee relations to strike a balance between their needs and expectations (Wedderburn 2002). The other key players in employee relations include the government, the trade unions and the associations of the government. The first reason why it has been determined that employee relations has changed from industrial relations approach to employee relations is the perspective that is applied in the current employee relations which is unitarist approach. The reason why the unitarist approach is being applied by organizations is that they consider the conflicts that influence the relationship among the employees (Countouris 2009). This means that the management of any organization should take appropriate measures to solve conflicts among the employees. This is because the conflicts arising at workplace affect the employment relationship and in turn influence the performance of an organisation. However, due to job autonomy, the employees are allowed to make their opinions and their opinions are evaluated before they are considered effective for the organisation. Therefore, the employee relations aim at solving the conflicts that can arise between the employees and the employer thus improving the performance of the employees. The employee relations in UK have changed in the last two decades from industrial relations to employee relations systems whereby the wage levels have been established to protect the employees from exploitation. However, in UK the wage levels depend on the age. For the employees aged over 21 years is paid 6.50 pounds per hour while the employees aged below 18 years are paid 3.79 pounds. The aim of stabilizing the wage levels among the employees is to ensure that the employees and the employers are guided well in handling the disputes that can arise during the compensation scheme (Davies & Kilpatrick 2004). This is because the National minimum wage act of 1998 requires that the employees should be compensated effectively so that they can be satisfied with their work. Any employer who pays below the formulated minimum wage levels should face the legal action. These wage levels are standards and should be applied in all employee contexts. As a result, there is no discrimination among the employees hence they are satisfied with their work and this improves their satisfaction. The need for introducing the minimum wage act of 1998 is to ensure that the standards of employee relations which are applied in UK meet the international standards. This is important since globalization has taken place and this means that the outsourcing of the employees is done thus the UK labor market will attract many global employees (Davies & Kilpatrick 2004). The other employee relations which has changed from the industrial relations system is the working hours. In UK there is Working Time regulations 1998 which guides the working hours of the employees. Since the changes from industrial relations approach to employee relations approach in the last two decades, the employees are allowed a minimum of 28 days (Ewing & J Hendy 2010). The aim of approaching the employee relations from the work hour point of view is that the employees will be able to know their rights so that they cannot be oppressed by their employers. Further, the employees enjoy other benefits like the holidays and paid leaves which are clearly stated in the constitution and labor laws. In order to ensure that the employment laws are followed to the latter, the employees are allowed to join trade unions which they wish to join. The trade unions help to ensure collecting barraging for the employees so that they cannot be victimized when they are fighting for their rights (Ewing & J Hendy 2010). Through collecting bargaining, the employees are represented by the representatives from their trade unions and this helps to safeguard the relationship between the employers and the employees. In this effect, the employment relations have changed from industrial relations approach to employee relations aiming to improve the working relationship. In addition, the industrial relations system has changed to employee relations approach due to fair working conditions. Under the employee relations approach, the employees are protected from unfair HR practices. To start with, it is wrong to dismiss the employees unfairly. The employees should be informed the valid reason why they should be dismissed and the employees should not be dismissed unfairly. The dismissal of the employees should not be dismissed on the grounds of race, age or cultural background (Farndale et al 2014). This means that workplace diversity concept should be adapted to avoid unfair human resource practices. The employees should be provided with job security so that they can feel safe with their jobs. This means that the employees should be given long term contracts or should be employed permanently. This is important to the employees since they can be able to access the benefits which are provided by the employers to permanent employees. For instance, the pension and insurance schemes will be provided effectively to the employees since there is job security (Gatrell et al 2014). The job security regulation therefore helps to ensure that the managers do not use their positions to destruct the lives of the employees. As a result, there is good working relationship between the employers and the employees hence influencing the productivity of the employees. The industrial relations approach has also changed to employee relations and the employee are given the priority because of the job autonomy practiced. The rights of the employees are managed effectively. In the first place, the employees have the right to join the trade unions. This is one way in which the rights of the employees are upheld so that they can be satisfied with the management of the organisation (Hesketh & Fleetwood 2006). The trade unions ensure that there is collective bargaining and there is no individuals bargaining as this will lead to rivalry between the employer and the employees. The representatives of the employees bargain with the employer on behalf of the employees collectively and make an agreement that should be implemented. In addition, the workplace participation is another right of the employees which promotes job autonomy. The employees are entitled to participate in the management of the organization through effective delegation of authority and this influences their relationship with the management. For instance, the employees have the right to access the information and consult to ensure effective decisions are made in the organisation (Sparrow & Cooper 2014). The other job autonomy practice is workplace flexibility. This means that the employees are allowed to schedule their work effectively. Flexibility in terms of working hours helps to meet the needs of the customers leading to good working relationship between the employer and the employees. in this effect, it can be agreed that the employee relations in UK has changed from industrial relations approach to employee relations with the aim of improving good working relationship between the employees and the employers (Sparrow & Cooper 2014). Conclusion The employee relations in UK have changed from industrial relations approach to employee relations. The employee relations approach uses the unitarist approach to create good working relationship between the employer and the employees. In achieving this, there are formulated employment laws which influence the working relationship between the employees and the employer include the wage levels which are standard and working hours for the employees. The job security and job autonomy has also been implemented to ensure good employee relations. This means that the employees are provided with the opportunity to exercise their rights and be protected from their unfair practices. References Catherine, B. (2009).'The UK and Posted Workers: The Effect of Commission v Luxembourg on the Territorial Application, British Labour Law, Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 122-132. Countouris, N. (2009). 'The Temporary Agency Work Directive: Another Broken Promise? 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