Industrial relations, often called labor-management relations or labor relations, is the human resources discipline most often associated with matters involving union workers. Employee relations is the companion discipline that HR experts typically use when defining the HR responsibilities for a nonunion employee base. Policy development for industrial relations generally is formed by the employer's HR department leader; however, if an HR leader is not on staff, industrial relations policies become the responsibility of the employer's highest-ranking manager, such as the company president.
Human Resources Role
A core policy in industrial relations is to define the role of human resources and its participation in labor-management relations. If the company doesn't have a dedicated HR department or chooses to not hire an HR labor relations specialist, the company can engage the services of legal counsel or a labor relations consultant to advise on matters involving union organizing, concerted activity among workers, union elections and collective bargaining. Regardless of whether the work force is union or nonunion, human resources staff need to be aware of their authority and responsibilities concerning labor-management relations. Therefore, policy setting begins with assessing the employer's in-house expertise and external resources.
Industrial relations workplace policies must include informing workers of their rights under federal and state law and maintaining employer compliance with labor and employment laws. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 contains the fundamental provisions for equal employment and workplace fairness. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces Title VII, which applies to employers with 15 or more workers, union and nonunion. The EEOC requires that employers post notices titled "Equal Employment Opportunity Is the Law." The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 protects the rights of union and nonunion workers by prohibiting employers from interfering with their right to engage -- or not engage -- in concerted activity. There is no employee count threshold for employer compliance with this law. The U.S. National Labor Relations Board enforces the NLRA; as of January 2013, employers are not required to post notices about employees' rights under the NLRA, but that could change.
The negotiation process that labor unions and employers use to achieve a labor union contract is referred to as collective bargaining and the resulting contract is a collective bargaining agreement. During collective bargaining, the employer and labor union make proposals on non-economic issues, such as seniority-based shift bidding and grievance procedures, and economic issues, such as wages, benefits and pension contributions. Negotiation also involves making concessions and counteroffers. An essential industrial relations policy for employers is designating a chief negotiator. Even if the company has a dedicated HR department, that does not always mean that an HR manager or a labor relations specialist is designated as the chief negotiator. In many instances, the company president is the chief negotiator and the HR manager or labor relations specialist is an adviser who provides wage and benefits expense data. The chief negotiator must be someone with authority to enter into binding contracts.
Employee Relations Policies
Unionized workplaces also have nonunion employees, workers who aren't in the bargaining unit. Therefore, developing industrial relations policies is not a substitute for developing employee relations policies. Employee relations policies are equally important for strengthening the employer-employee relationship; however, the concept of employee relations is one used to denote practices for nonunion employees. Employee relations policies include processes to identify and resolve workplace conflict, HR metrics concerning job satisfaction and employee engagement and guidance and support for management on maintaining productive supervisor-employee relationships.
- Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service: A Winning Combination -- Building Labor-Management Relationships
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Equal Employment Opportunity Is the Law
- U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration: What Is Employee Relations?
- U.S. National Labor Relations Board: Rights We Protect
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