Contemporary Employment Relations A Critical Introduction

by Williams, Steve; Adam-Smith, Derek

• ISBN13: 9780199272433
• ISBN10: 0199272433
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-01-05
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Contemporary Employment Relations: A Critical Introduction offers an original, accessible, and critical approach to understanding employment relations. Based on up-to-date research studies, it considers recent developments in employment relations, defined as the way in which employment relationships are regulated, experienced and contested. A thematic approach to the subject helps to demonstrate the contemporary relevance of employment relations, enabling student to develop an appropriate level of knowledge and understanding of this key area of economic, social and political life. Among the topics covered by the book are: -The implications of globalization for employment relations; -The role of the European Union; The significance of 'family-friendly' and 'work-life balance' policies; The nature of employment relations in non-union firms; The dynamics of workplace partnership; The impact of minimum wage and working time legislation; The causes and effects of work intensification. Companion Website A companion web site will include PowerPoint slides and answers to end-of-chapter cases and discussion questions for lecturers and annotated weblinks, legislation updates, additional case studies, and a glossary of key terms for students.

Author Biography

Steve Williams is a Senior Lecturer in Employment Relations at the University of Portsmouth Business School. He has researched and written about workplace partnership, vocational qualifications policy, the National Minimum Wage, employment relations in further education colleges, and trade unionism. Derek Adam-Smith is Head of the Department of Human Resource and Marketing Management at the University of Portsmouth Business School. He was formerly a Principal Lecturer in Employment Relations in the same institution. He has researched and published articles about HIV and AIDS at work, the National Minimum Wage, and the effects of the Working Time Regulations.

Table of Contents

List of Tables	x
List of Abbreviations	xi
PART 1 Introducing Employment Relations
Introduction	3	(14)
The employment relationship and employment relations	3	(2)
Regulating the employment relationship	5	(3)
Employment relations as a `field of study'	8	(3)
The approach of this book	11	(6)
The elements of employment relations	17	(34)
Introduction	17	(1)
Managing with trade unions	18	(5)
The development of trade unionism in Britain	23	(7)
The state and employment relations	30	(7)
The nature and development of collective bargaining in Britain	37	(4)
Worker participation and involvement in historical context	41	(10)
Conclusion	45	(1)
Assignment and discussion questions	46	(1)
Chapter case study: managing with unions in the Royal Mail	46	(5)
PART 2 Contemporary Employment Relations in Context
Employment relations in the contemporary economy	51	(32)
Introduction	51	(1)
Employment relations in the `new' economy	52	(9)
Employment relations in a global economy I: multinationals and the management of employment relations	61	(10)
Employment relations in a global economy II: multinationals and the debate on international labour standards	71	(12)
Conclusion	80	(1)
Assignment and discussion questions	80	(1)
Chapter case study: union organization of `atypical' workers	81	(2)
The politics of employment relations	83	(32)
Introduction	83	(1)
State policy and employment relations: a contemporary assessment	84	(7)
Employment relations and the politics of European integration	91	(10)
The politics of trade unionism I: trade unions and the Labour party in Britain	101	(6)
The politics of trade unionism II: union democracy and the internal politics of the unions	107	(8)
Conclusion	112	(1)
Assignment and discussion questions	113	(1)
Chapter case study: trade unions and the Euro	114	(1)
Social divisions and employment relations	115	(32)
Introduction	115	(1)
Workplace inequality and employment relations	116	(4)
Managing equality and diversity at work	120	(7)
Public policy, equality at work, and the work---life balance	127	(8)
Trade unions, collective bargaining, and the pursuit of workplace equality	135	(12)
Conclusion	142	(1)
Assignment and discussion questions	143	(1)
Chapter case study: employer attitudes to employees' work---life balance	144	(3)
PART 3 Key Issues in Contemporary Employment Relations
Managing employment relations	147	(30)
Introduction	147	(1)
Challenging unions	148	(6)
Human resource management and employment relations	154	(8)
Managing employment relations in non-union environments	162	(6)
Conceptualizing the management of employment relations	168	(9)
Conclusion	173	(1)
Assignment and discussion questions	174	(1)
Chapter case study: human resource management and the hotel industry	175	(2)
Representation at work	177	(30)
Introduction	177	(1)
Trade unions, worker representation, and the rise of a `representation gap'	178	(5)
Non-union forms of employee representation	183	(7)
Partnership agreements	190	(6)
Organizing unionism	196	(11)
Conclusion	202	(2)
Assignment and discussion questions	204	(1)
Chapter case study: e-unions	204	(3)
Contemporary developments in pay and working time	207	(30)
Introduction	207	(1)
The changing pattern of pay determination in Britain	208	(11)
Pay inequality, low pay, and the National Minimum Wage	219	(8)
Developments in working time	227	(10)
Conclusion	234	(1)
Assignment and discussion questions	234	(1)
Chapter case study: the National Minimum Wage and the hairdressing industry	235	(2)
Experiencing employment relations	237	(30)
Introduction	237	(1)
Developments in employee involvement and participation	238	(6)
Discipline at work	244	(6)
Redundancy and insecurity	250	(7)
The intensification of work	257	(10)
Conclusion	263	(1)
Assignment and discussion questions	263	(1)
Chapter case study: one service, two types of worker?	264	(3)
Conflict and employment relations	267	(40)
Introduction	267	(1)
Strikes and employment relations	268	(11)
Other forms of industrial conflict	279	(8)
Resolving disputes in employment relations	287	(14)
Conclusion	296	(1)
Assignment and discussion questions	297	(1)
Chapter case study: a British Airways case	297	(4)
PART 4 Conclusion
Employment relations: regulating, experiencing, and contesting the employment relationship	301	(6)
Regulating the employment relationship	301	(3)
Experiencing the employment relationship	304	(1)
Contesting the employment relationship	305	(2)
Bibliography	307	(32)
Index	339