I have had a number of clients seeking advice in the last month or two in relation to the Information and Consultation Regulations. If you have not already realised the threshold for the organisations covered by these Regulations drops this year to those organisations with fifty employees.

As usual however, there appears to be a misunderstanding about the significance of the Regulations. Clearly in an industrial landscape where collective organisation is prevalent the Regulations are significant. On the other hand, in a landscape which is dominated by individualism the collective ideals appear less significant.

The bottom line is that the new Consultation Regulations (new in as much as they apply to employers with fifty or more employees) do not need to be the burden that people are saying they are. The fact is that employers are only under an obligation under these Regulations to set up a Consultation Committee if they are petitioned by 10% of the staff. In the absence of such a petition from 10% of the staff, then there are no obligations placed on the employer.

The best advice for any employer is to ask the question first of all whether or not they are likely to have a workforce that understands its rights under these new Regulations and is organised enough to formulate a petition of 10% of the workforce.

In the event that the answer is yes and that a petition is likely at some stage in the future, then a contingency plan or protocol should be devised setting out how the employer will respond to the 10% petition.

I am not convinced the right thing to do for an employer is to set up such a Consultation Committee if it is not what they want or does not fit in with their particular way of working at this present time.