| Statutory Instrument | |
 | |
| Citation | SI 2004/3426 |
|---|---|
| Text of the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
The Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004 (SI 3426/2004) are a United Kingdom statutory instrument. This follows the EU Information and Consultation of Employees Directive 2002/14/EC establishing a general framework for informing and consulting employees.
The ICE Regulations require that employees are informed and consulted on all contract or workplace organisation changes. [1] Consultation means an "obligation to negotiate" with "a view to reaching agreement". [2] The penalty on an employer for failure to consult or follow the Regulations is up to £75,000 for each violation. [3]
Negotiation and consultation may take place under a voluntary agreement with an employer, particularly through a trade union under a collective agreement. If there is no voluntary agreement, formal consultation procedure may be triggered by at least 2% of employees, [4] and then requires election of a body of all staff. This procedure must "enable the information and consultation representatives to meet the employer at the relevant level of management depending on the subject under discussion". [5]
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United Kingdom labour law regulates the relations between workers, employers and trade unions. People at work in the UK have a minimum set of employment rights, from Acts of Parliament, Regulations, common law and equity. This includes the right to a minimum wage of £10.42 for over-23-year-olds from April 2023 under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998. The Working Time Regulations 1998 give the right to 28 days paid holidays, breaks from work, and attempt to limit long working hours. The Employment Rights Act 1996 gives the right to leave for child care, and the right to request flexible working patterns. The Pensions Act 2008 gives the right to be automatically enrolled in a basic occupational pension, whose funds must be protected according to the Pensions Act 1995. Workers must be able to vote for trustees of their occupational pensions under the Pensions Act 2004. In some enterprises, such as universities or NHS foundation trusts, staff can vote for the directors of the organisation. In enterprises with over 50 staff, workers must be negotiated with, with a view to agreement on any contract or workplace organisation changes, major economic developments or difficulties. The UK Corporate Governance Code recommends worker involvement in voting for a listed company's board of directors but does not yet follow international standards in protecting the right to vote in law. Collective bargaining, between democratically organised trade unions and the enterprise's management, has been seen as a "single channel" for individual workers to counteract the employer's abuse of power when it dismisses staff or fix the terms of work. Collective agreements are ultimately backed up by a trade union's right to strike: a fundamental requirement of democratic society in international law. Under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 strike action is protected when it is "in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute".
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