As an employer, there are certain circumstances when you are legally required to consult your workforce. Consultation is necessary to gain employees\u2019 views about certain issues and give them information about workplace procedures. You must know about your obligations to ensure you fulfil them. Hence, this article will explain what you, as an employer, need to know about informing and consulting employees in England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As an employer, there will be times when you need to give your employees information and carry out consultations with your employees<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Information is where you tell your workforce about workplace issues. On the other hand, consultation is where you ask for and consider your employees\u2019 opinions as part of your decision-making process.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n As an employer, you have a legal duty to inform and consult with your employees:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are a large business that employs at least 50 employees, you might also have to consult your employees concerning any proposed changes to your pension scheme. When your staff ask for an information and consultation agreement, you may have to provide other information to them, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n There may be additional occasions when you need to inform and consult your employees. However, you should seek legal advice to clarify when these occasions arise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inform and consulting your employees can take many forms. For example, you can send information via:<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, information and consultation often occur through:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Workplace groups are a great way to inform your staff about workplace issues and gauge their views and concerns. Holding a workplace forum for informing and consulting your employees can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n To maximise the benefits of any workplace group, you should:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Workplace forums can be particularly suitable for the redundancy process or TUPE transfers. You can set up workplace groups or forums with or without your employees’ request.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n One of the instances when you may have to consult with your employees is when they ask for an information and consultation agreement. You are under a legal obligation to negotiate this agreement where:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, you can create an informational consultation agreement without your employees requesting it where you feel it is necessary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You must negotiate an information and consultation agreement within six months from the start of negotiations. However, you may agree to an extended timeframe with your employee’s representative. Regardless, you must involve all your employees in this process and inform their representatives three months after the request.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Once negotiated, the agreement details what areas you will inform and consult your employees about. However, if you cannot agree to these areas, there are still sound reasons you can inform and consult your employees. This includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You should note that you are legally obliged to change your information consultation agreement if at least 40% of your workforce makes a request to change it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n Continue reading this article below the form\n <\/i>\n<\/a>\nHow Does an Employer Inform and Consult Employees?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Workplace Groups<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Information and Consultation Agreements<\/h3>\n\n\n\n