My Lords, I thank noble Lords for their interventions in this short debate. I will start by clarifying a point about the 10% hurdle. It does not need to be 10% of employees at a single point in time. Cumulative requests over a six-month period totalling 10% would trigger the requirement. It may be helpful for noble Lords to understand that.
I share the view of the noble Lord that employees can make an important contribution to the commercial decision-making process—an issue brought up by the noble Lord, Lord Lea of Crondall. They have a shared interest in the long-term success of the organisation, as well as having experience and knowledge that can increase operational effectiveness. The noble Lord, Lord Young, made a strong case for the inclusion of employees to this extent.
There are many ways in which employees can be consulted by their employer—formally or informally, voluntarily or as a result of statutory requirements. The Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004 are one such formal mechanism. They implement a European directive and were developed through a landmark framework agreement between the CBI and the TUC. If 10% of employees request formal information and consultation arrangements, the employer is required to introduce such arrangements in accordance with the regulations. Employees can make the request direct to the employer, but, if they are concerned about raising their heads above the parapet, they can make the request to the Central Arbitration Committee and their names will be kept confidential from the employer.
It is true that the take-up of the right to formal information and consultation has been low, but I do not believe this means that we should remove the 10% trigger. If there is no demonstrable interest from employees, it is surely unreasonable to require employers to introduce information and consultation machinery. Employees are unlikely to be committed to engagement and discussions risk becoming desultory, wasting the time of all concerned. Nor should it be difficult for a workforce to secure the necessary number of signatures if formal information-sharing and consultation is of genuine value. Unions can play a role by ensuring that employees are aware of their rights and by helping them make the case more widely to colleagues. As the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, the noble Lord, Lord Sainsbury of Turville, said at the time, the regulations,
“balance the rights and responsibilities of employees and employers”.—[Official Report, 21/12/04; col. 1712.]
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I will answer some questions raised by noble Lords in this short debate. The noble Lord, Lord Lea, raised the issue of the involvement of unions. I noted that he
thought that there might be occasions when union leaders were shut out at the door—I think that was his phrase. However, as I explained, the ICE regulations apply whether or not a workplace is unionised. They provide a voluntary mechanism that empowers employees.
The noble Lord, Lord Monks, referred to the role that works councils could play in delivering restraint in directors’ pay. The Government believe that the measures for dealing with directors’ pay that are set out elsewhere in the Bill are the most appropriate way to change the current landscape in this area.
Finally, the noble Lord, Lord Lea, mentioned the findings of the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey. The first findings from 2011 show that there has been growth in methods of communication that focus on the communication of information. Such communication includes meetings, staff surveys and the like. Many of these will be informal mechanisms as opposed to the formal structures provided by ICE, to which I alluded earlier. Clearly, communication is happening and has increased from 2004, when the previous WERS survey reported. Therefore, I ask the noble Lord to withdraw his amendment.