An examination of contemporary British industrial relations from the early post-war decades (1945-70) to the present. The book looks at the relationship between the law and industrial relations and employer and management strategies in the private sector.

In this third edition the authors have revised and updated their popular textbook to take into account the new government as well as to examine recent changes in government policy, the law, union and management together with their effects upon pay and productivity, the nature and scope of collective bargaining and Britain's strike record. An analysis of developments in the European Union is also included.

Suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students in the areas of industrial and employment relations, personnel and human resource management, this work offers an original, accessible, and critical approach to understanding employment relations.

Drawing on a wide range of up-to-date research, Employment Relations under Coalition Government critically examines developments in UK employment relations during the period of Conservative-Liberal Democrat government between 2010 and 2015, against the background of the 2007-08 financial crisis, subsequent economic recession and in the context of the primacy accorded to neo-liberal austerity. Contributions cover a series of important and relevant topics in a rigorous, yet accessible manner: labour market change and the rise of zero-hours contracts and other forms of precarious employment; policy development relating to young people’s employment; the coalition’s welfare-to-work agenda; its programme of employment law reform and its approach to workplace equality and health and safety; labour migration; the experience of the trade unions under the coalition and their responses; and developments in employment relations in the public services. This book addresses the broader issues relating to the coalition period, such as the implications of political and regulatory change for employment relations, including the greater devolution of powers to Scotland and Wales, and locates UK developments in comparative perspective. The book concludes with an assessment of the prospects for employment relations in the aftermath of the May 2015 Conservatives election victory.

Changes in working patterns and technology over the last decade have revolutionized the way we work. More people than ever work in white-collar jobs and are unlikely to organize collectively. Other issues such as careers, the long-hours culture, the global economy, an ageing workforce, and changes in employment legislation have completely transformed the working landscape. This long-awaited fourth edition of the Handbook of Employment Relations, Law and Practice (originally published as the Handbook of Industrial Relations Practice) has been revised to reflect these changes. In this comprehensive handbook, a host of acknowledged experts have been brought together to consider all aspects of employment relations. Topics include: the influence of the EU employment relations and the information society unfair dismissal health and safety pay working time and other employment rights alternative dispute resolution managing the employment relationship employment relations in smaller firms trade unions pay and performance sickness and absence training and development managing change. The Handbook of Employment Relations, Law and Practice is an invaluable source of guidance and practical advice for resolving day-to-day issues that arise in the workplace. Practitioners, students and managers alike will find it an essential tool that they will refer to again and again.

'Exploring Employee Relations' provides students without previous knowledge of the subject with a good grounding in the theory and practice of employee relations. The practical business element is combined with academic underpinning in a student friendly style, emphasising the real-life nature of the subject matter and using learning features such as: * Objectives * Examples and Case Studies * Review and Discussion Questions * Chapter Summaries Straightforward and accessible, Exploring Employee Relations is aimed at students who are taking the subject for the first time. The structure is clear and logical, leading the newcomer through the topics in a way to maximise comprehension. Key issues are highlighted and supported by a small case or example from business. Chapters are structured to enable progressive learning with a logical development of the content. Each chapter ends with a summary of the key points met in the text and these are further reinforced by review and discussion questions, with answers and feedback on the activities included at the end of the book. The chapters are grouped thematically into parts and longer case studies are included that are suitable for assignment and seminar work. The text is accompanied by a lecturer's handbook.

Comprehensive and clearly focused, this is a must-read text for students of employment relations. The accessible writing style is combined with a wealth of contemporary examples, allowing the reader to fully engage with the key critical debates surrounding each topic.

Hugh Clegg was a founding figure of post-war British Industrial Relations, the forerunner of Employment Relations and Human Resource Management, as taught in most Business Schools today. He defined ‘industrial democracy’ as collective bargaining with trade unions, laid the foundations for the pluralist approach to Industrial Relations, was a key figure in the post-war social sciences and a major public policy player. More widely, he was an important figure in the Cold War social democratic academic left, who broke with his earlier Communism to champion free trade unions in a liberal democratic society. He also produced the major Oxford University Press trade union history. This book aims to understand the politics and industrial relations of the post-war period in Britain (in which trade unions were central) through the life of a key public intellectual. It will help readers understand the political and social science roots of contemporary Employment Relations and Human Resource Management through a deep historical study of Clegg’s life and times, in the context of his post-war social democratic generation. It illustrates how the failures of post-war industrial relations led to Thatcherism. Current Employment Relations academics and public policy can learn much from this history, making it of value to researchers, students, and academics in the fields of Human Resource Management and business and management history.

This set is designed to capture both the complexity of the field of industrial relations globally, as well as bringing out the continuing relevance of competing theoretical approaches to the subject.

This book makes an important contribution to the history and theory of British post-war economics in its presentation of an innovative, historically informed, yet contemporary theory of the British state.