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Communication - employee representation

Author: Jim Riley Last updated: Sunday 23 September, 2012

Employee Representation

Employee representation or participation arises when employees are part of a formal structure for involving them in the decision-making process of an organisation.

Of course all businesses communicate with their employees in some way everyday. However, there are some situations when the law requires this communication to take place. The law requires a business to consult with employees on things such as:

Redundancy programmes
When employees are transferred from one employer to another (e.g. the sale of the business)
On changes to pension arrangements
Proposed changes to working time arrangements

In additional to the mandatory requirements for employee representation, there are several strong reasons why a business should have a formal system of employee representation. For example, to:

Make employees' views known to management
Help strengthen both management's and employees' understanding of workplace issues and other matters affecting the business
Help create an atmosphere of mutual trust between employees and management and therefore improve workplace relations

The main benefits and drawbacks of employee representation to a business include the follows:

Advantages	Disadvantages
Increased empowerment and motivation of the workforce	Time-consuming – potentially slows decision-making
Employees become more committed to the objectives and strategy of the business	Conflicts between employer and employee interests may be a block to essential change
Better decision-making because employee experience and insights taken into account	Managers may feel their authority is being undermined
Lower risk of industrial disputes

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Communication - employee representation

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