The way employees relate in your organisation can determine your productivity. You need to learn about your employees to avoid human resource losses.

1. Running head: CONTEMPORARY EMPLOYEE RELATIONS 1
Contemporary Employee Relations
Name
University Details

2. CONTEMPORARY EMPLOYEE RELATIONS 2
Introduction
The inception of employee relations dates back to the twentieth century upon the decline
of the existing traditional industries as well as the enormous growth in the number of the
employees. Furthermore, the employee governing the British Union decreased steadily in its
membership by 5 million in the late 1990s (Thompson, 2011). In the event, a new win-win
relationship emerged between the managers and employees as a human relation practice geared
towards establishing new forms of work within any organization. The context of the employee
relations broadened beyond the earlier perspectives of union focus to provide diverse aspects
such as employment relationship, personal contracts, socio-emotional and non-unionized
workplaces (Fairhurst, 2008). This is contrary to the contractual arrangements that were earlier
evident in the union-based relations.
Traditionally, the British union employed voluntarism in establishing industrial relations.
The endorsement of diverse workplace’s individual and collective rights into laws by the Trade
Union Congress in the 1990s contributed significantly to the breach of the freedom of
employees. Furthermore, the 1999 Employment Relations Bill specifically that of union
recognition together with European Union’s policy directives showed the lack of confinement of
the voluntarism on the managing people within a workplace (Thompson, 2011). Consequently,
the need to expand the content of the union for employee relations emerged with a purpose of
encouraging relativism of employees’ freedom and the ability to choose their relationships. For
instance, employee relations focuses on an increase in the number of companies for diverse
employee consultation. Ideally, the inception of employee relations facilitated employer ability
to manage workplace through cooperation and agreement. Most importantly, the inception of
employee relations was to improve business performance.

3. CONTEMPORARY EMPLOYEE RELATIONS 3
Managing trade unions using pluralistic approach
Over time, there has been a revolution in the management of people as workplace
changes emerge. Consequently, personnel management tends to contribute to the evolution of the
human resource management (HRM) to human capital management, or otherwise employee
relations (Fairhurst, 2008). In that sense, the organizations focused on outperforming competitors
in the global economy. In establishing this, many organizations have focused on developing
constructive relationships with employees. Strategically, the relationships focus on drawing full
potential of the employees through organizational change and performance improvement. This is
contrary to the perspectives of HRM that concentrates on ensuring that employees attain their
rights at the workplace without a focus on enabling them to establish such practices on their own.
Precisely, employee relations focuses on individually leveled competitiveness and knowledge
management.
The HRM employs a pluralistic approach which denotes that an orderly way is important
in resolving differences between the management and staff. Pluralism, as Devonian Report
recommended in 1968, emphasizes on collective bargaining through the adversarial unions as the
only way of establishing workplace stability (Thompson, 2011). The approach does not seek
individual ability to engage in resolving a conflict within a workplace. Nevertheless, the efforts
of human resource management contributed to the inception of a unitarist approach that focuses
on improving teamwork and union demographic changes. This ensured a shift from the then
common blue collar to the publicly recognized white collar membership that focuses on
employee relations.
Harmonizing staff’s needs with that of organizations

4. CONTEMPORARY EMPLOYEE RELATIONS 4
Mather and Seifert (2014) depict an employer as a professional manager seeking to
harmonize the staff’s needs with that of the organization. The theme of this approach is to create
a system in which both the organization and an employee benefits from the system. As much as
it focuses on individual employee relation, the system also includes inclusivity. It operates on the
principle that it is impossible for any employer to guarantee an employee for a lifetime.
Therefore, the approach ensures that the rights of the employees and employers are considered in
the event of economic changes. Most importantly, the unitarist approach applies in an
environment where uncertainties such as restructuring and downsizing are inevitable (Mather
and Seifert, 2014). Even though it applies some perspectives of the traditional trade unions, the
approach extensively covers communication process at an individual level rather than the
collective bargaining practiced by the trade unions. However, the level of action arising from the
communication depends on the organization’s size as well as the propensity of change.
Emerging employee relations for competitive advantage
Notably, the emerging employee relations model provide a record of the companies with
a greater likelihood of succeeding in a competitive environment through advanced skills in
creating sustainable advantage (Mather and Seifert, 2014). Subsequently, the employee relations
model establishes employees’ future employment security through managing of their voluntary
cooperation. Therefore, the model enables an effective and mutually agreed performance with
outstanding knowledge and understanding of the aspirations of employees as the organization
pays close attention to employee voice. Establishing an employee voice entails, the ability to
communicate with the concerned management members and receive a feedback at the right
period and through direct routes (Purcell et al., 2009). Furthermore, employee voice also
incorporates involving the employees in decision-making especially those that relates to their

5. CONTEMPORARY EMPLOYEE RELATIONS 5
work systems. However, indirect influence in on broader organization details by joint
consultation committees is also important.
One important aspect of employee relation that is not available in the human resource
management is the promotion of partnership between trade unions, employer, and employee. The
mechanism is considered as an inclusive model whereby the relevance of unions depends on the
organization and employee. Employee relations is viewed as a partnership mechanism that
recognizes a common interest of the of the organization, employee, and the trade unions (Mather
and Seifert, 2014). Ideally, the essence of the establishment of employee relation is to facilitate
quality and efficiency. Nevertheless, the formation of the relation requires the consent of the
employers of these employees as stakeholders with a consideration of the rights and interests of
the employees. Contrary to the human resource management systems, employee relations
focuses on strong national labour government with a strong support for its employees.
Enhancing workplace objectives in judgement
Further understanding of public relations provides a guideline of the welfare state, full
employment, and societal changes. The knowledge of employment relations contributed
significantly to enhancing workplace objectives towards executive judgement and material
awards. Moreover, the understanding of employment relations is important in coping with the
changing workplace practices and developing of productivity (Mather and Seifert, 2014).
Similarly, an understanding of employee relations is important among the management team in
ensuring adequate communication with their employees to remain highly productive. As
compared to HR management, employee relations provide diverse bargaining and agreements as
compared to conservative trade union systems of the 1980s.

6. CONTEMPORARY EMPLOYEE RELATIONS 6
The adoption of the employee relation has expanded management operations.
Specifically, the relation has contributed to open-shop agreements, free tradition, and legal
amenities (Newsome, Thompson and Commander, 2013). Consequently, this has resulted in a
significant improvement of the fair employment practices. This is contrary to the traditional
perspectives of HR management that fettered personality freewill as it facilitates cooperative
bargaining process as the key mechanism in the management of people especially the employees.
Nevertheless, the system did not work well creating the need to establish an employee relation
which gives powers to individual employees to seek information without using the unions as the
intervening powers.
Facilitating wage-work bargain
Understanding the management of employee relations is important in facilitating wage-
work bargain. Importantly, employment relations have played a crucial role in establishing brand
management, tipping practice, and emotional labour. In that sense, it provides a better platform
of securing the compliance of the workers as compared to the HR management systems that uses
a step-wise kind of management in which an employer must pass through various departments
and ranks before reaching the intended person to address his or her concern (Thompson, 2011).
Nevertheless, the management of employee relations entails diverse elements such as securing
consent and applying coercive techniques to obtain the desired objective.
According to Guest (2011), understanding employee relation as a disconnected capitalism
provides a guide to the operations of HR management systems which perceives management as
an agent of capital other than a concern for the wellbeing of the employees. Therefore, employee
relations provide a platform for enabling the people to understand the short-term market
pressures as an avenue to shareholder value and profitability. In short, employee relation focuses

7. CONTEMPORARY EMPLOYEE RELATIONS 7
on financialisation as a model of empowering the employees rather than just addressing the
needs of the employees as in the case of HR management.
Incorporation of social responsibility
It is also important to note that employee relations also incorporate social responsibility
such as equality in the systems of employment (Guest, 2011). Conversely, HR management only
focuses on providing the necessary assistance to the workers when at the workplace without
considering other aspects such as ensuring equality. Therefore, an understanding of employee
relations is important to both the employer and employee in maintaining a closer relationship
enabling the employer to understand the basic workplace need as well as other secondary needs
of the employees that do not relate to workplace responsibilities (Cushen and Thompson, 2012).
That broader coverage helps in addressing other social issues that are likely to affect the
employees resulting in poor performance at the workplace.
In ensuring workplace equality, employee relations focuses on identifying and resolving
diverse issues at the workplace such as practices of discrimination in employment, unlawful and
sexual harassment. Similarly, the relations focuses on representing the employee in the
unemployment hearings that involves an employer. MacLeod and Clarke (2009) further asserts
that employee relations also facilitate workplace investigations in a case that relates to the civil
rights of employees and employment laws. In addition, the relations also establish guides
employees on formal procedures regarding fair employment agencies.
As Kaufman (2010) denotes employee relations links with the state human rights
commissions such as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in ensuring equality
at the workplace. Therefore, understanding employee relations provides a limelight of the right
of equality of employment. Furthermore, the employee relations specialist ensures confidentiality

8. CONTEMPORARY EMPLOYEE RELATIONS 8
of the employees as they represent them on various employment issues. Hutchinson (2012)
outlines that understanding of employee relations provides an understanding of the seriousness of
discriminatory employment practices. Contrary to the HR management, employee relations trains
the employees on employment laws as well as dispute resolution. It has been known that it is
only at the inception of employee relations that employees gained extensive knowledge of
handling employment cases.
Employee engagement through radicalization and feminism
Another important element employee relation worth noting is its radical and feminism
nature. The knowledge of radicalization and feminism is rarely evident in HR management
making employee relations a unique employment practice that shapes the face of many
organizations. According to Marxist critique, employee relations focuses on establishing labour
and capital through innovative initiatives aimed at changing the financial status of the employees
rather than just depending on the salary (Gennard, Judge and Chartered Institute of Personnel
and Development, 2005). Using the capitalism as the backbone of its operation, it establishes an
employment relationship that reduces inevitable workplace conflict. Considerably, HR
management does not incorporate such strategies in their motivation schemes and only train the
employees in a direction that enables them to continue working for that organization in
increasing profitability. HR management is rarely concerned with the development of the
employees outside the normal line or work.
Furthermore, employee relations provide an outline that not consider the gender issues,
but rather gives each employee an equal opportunity to rise in the employment scale. Regardless
of the active participation of employee relations specialist in the management of employees, it
does not tend to change the power balance, but rather work closely with the systems of

9. CONTEMPORARY EMPLOYEE RELATIONS 9
governance of the organization to establish the best practices for the employees
(Hutchinson, 2012). Most importantly, the relation also focuses on other issues related to work
though outside the workplace.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the perception that employee relation is a non-strategic operational entity
is not the case. Employee relations have been pivotal as a collective move in championing for the
voice of employees. It establishes a reputable relationship between an employer, the union, and
employees. Its main emphasis is on attaining the needs of employees in bargaining rather than
the long processes of communicating and discussion. The implication of employee relations is
involving both the unions and employees in resolving employment issues rather than just the
participation of the unions. Besides, it also facilitates direct participation of employees in
standardization to enhance competiveness and quick response to organizational changes. On the
other hand, HRM focuses on establishing a capitalism system of developing employee
management. According to HRM perspectives, ranks and departments play a vital role in
establishing employee management. Therefore, the systems of HRM takes longer compared to
ER.

10. CONTEMPORARY EMPLOYEE RELATIONS 10
References
Cushen, J. and Thompson, P. (2012). ‘Doing the right thing? HRM and the angry knowledge
worker’. New Technology, Work, and Employment, 27(2), 79-92.
Fairhurst, D. (2008). ‘Am I “bovvered?” Driving a performance culture through to the front line’.
Human Resource Management Journal, 18(4), 321-26.
Gennard, J., Judge, G., & Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. (2005).
Employee relations. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Guest, D. (2011). ‘Human resource management and performance: still searching for some
answers’. Human Resource Management Journal, 21(1), 3-13.
Hutchinson, J. (2012). Rethinking Workplace Bullying as an Employment Relations
Problem. Journal of Industrial Relations, 54(5), 637-652.
Kaufman, B. (2010). ‘SHRM theory in the post-Huselid era: why it is fundamentally
misspecified’. Industrial Relations, 49(2), 286-313.
MacLeod, D. and Clarke, N. (2009). Engaging for Success: Enhancing Performance through
Employee Engagement. London: BIS.
Mather, K. and Seifert, R. (2014) ‘The close supervision of further education lecturers: “You
have been weighed, measured and found wanting”’, Work, Employment and Society,
28(1), 95-11.

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Newsome, K., Thompson, P. and Commander, J. (2013) ‘“You monitor performance at every
hour”: labour and the management of performance in the supermarket supply chain’, New
Technology, Work and Employment, 28(1), 1-15.
Purcell, J., Kinnie, N., Swart, J., Rayton, B., and Hutchinson, S. (2009). People Management
and Performance. Abingdon: Routledge.
Thompson, P. (2011). ‘The trouble with HRM’. Human Resource Management Journal, 21(4),
355-67.