A Little More Conversation

The Government has recently undertaken a consultation process on the draft Regulations (The Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations) which will implement the EU Information & Consultation Directive and will shortly bring domestic works councils, or "workforce committees" as they are now known, to our shores. The UK is currently the only member state in the EU without some form of legislation requiring formal workforce information and consultation and it has done its best to avoid that legislation. There will soon be nowhere left to hide.

The Directive requires employers to provide information to and consult with a workforce committee in relation to its business and will be implemented in the UK in stages. Employers with over 150 employees are to be covered by the legislation by 2005, those with 100 or more employees by 2007 and all employers with 50 or more employees by 2008. The legislation will not apply to employers with less than 50 employees.