The Information and Consultation Regulations 2004
The Information and Consultation Regulations 2004 (ICE Regs for short) take effect from 6 April 2005. The Regulations themselves are certainly bedtime reading material and I was guilty of falling asleep at least once when I read through them. The aims of the Regulations, however, are extremely laudable and, if they work, should create a “High Performance Work Place”.
The basic aim of this implementation of yet another European directive is to improve employer/employee communication and relations. I am a firm believer in real communication within the workplace. In my experience, it can and does work minor miracles. Employees feel valued and involved, making them more motivated and receptive to change. It also increases staff retention – a big issue for many firms as recent statistics show.
The ICE Regs arose because of genuine concerns about numerous instances where companies were making public announcements about fundamental changes to their business with no prior warning to staff. An example of this was at Rover’s Longbridge factory where workers learned that they were being made redundant whilst listening to the radio news!
The ICE Regs will give employees, where a company has fifty or more employees, rights to be informed and consulted about the business. Typical examples would be redundancies, changes to employment contracts, site relocation and changes to the company’s business plans.
From April 2005, the ICE Regulations apply to those businesses with 150 or more employees; from April 2007 to those with 100 or more employees and from April 2008 to those with fifty or more employees.
It has been decided not to apply to businesses of less than fifty employees because the Government believes that such businesses will see that the ICE Regs are so wonderful that they will be clamouring to change their business practice voluntarily (!) Whilst this may sound rather naïve, I would certainly advise all businesses to put consultation and information into practice. Situations in which employees are left out of business decisions or where they have changes imposed upon them are seen as key factors which cause stress and, ultimately, sickness absences.
In terms of the ICE Regs themselves, and the businesses to which they apply, it is wise to have a “pre-existing agreement” detailing arrangements for consultation and information as the Regulations do not impose any requirements or restrictions on the method, frequency, timing or subject matter of arrangements in this respect. The only requirements are that the agreement must:
- Be in writing
- Cover all employees in the business
- Have been approved by the employee
- Set out how the employer has to give the information to the employees and seek their views
The alternatives are negotiated agreements and, in the worst case scenario, where an employer has failed to initiate or agree such an agreement a “default procedure” comes into effect.
The employer can withhold certain information on confidential business decisions in circumstances where disclosing such information could seriously harm the business.
Do note that the ICE Regs, although applicable, are not actually triggered until at least 10% of employees make a request to negotiate an agreement or to initiate the consultation process. The message for businesses with over fifty employees seems to be clear – have a “voluntary” agreement before you have one imposed on you.
March 2005
Raworths hold bi-annual seminars on employment issues in April and October. If you are interested in attending one of these, please contact either deborah.boylan@raworths.co.uk or sally.togher@raworths.co.uk.
