Attitudes to employment law and the consequent impact of legislation on employment relations practice
| Published date | 10 August 2012 |
| Pages | 464-480 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01425451211248514 |
| Date | 10 August 2012 |
| Author | Deirdre Curran,Mary Quinn |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
Attitudes to employment law
and the consequent impact
of legislation on employment
relations practice
Deirdre Curran and Mary Quinn
National University of Business and Economics, Galway, Ireland
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore attitudes to employment law and the consequent
impact of legislation on Irish employment relations practice.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a comparative approach using two separate
pieces of employment law governing race equality, and employee information and consultation,
respectively. Semi-structured interviews with key informants are the main data source, augmented
in the case of the information and consultation legislation by focus groups in individual workplaces.
Findings – The empirical evidence presented suggests that legislation is not the primary initiator
of change. In the case of race equality the market was found to be a key determinant of practice
(termed “market-prompted voluntarism”). However,it is argued that regulation can influence change in
organisations, depending on the complex dynamic between a number of contingencies, including the
aspect of employment being regulated, the presence of supportive institutions, and organisation-
specific variables.
Practical implications – The comparative findings in this research allow some important inferences
to be made regarding the use of law to mandate change in employment relations practice. They, in
turn, provide useful lessons for future p olicy makers, managers, trade unionists and workers.
Originality/value – This paper is unique in its comparison of two separate pieces of legislation.
In both cases considered, the legislation was prompted by EU Directives, and the obligation on
member states to transpose these Directives into national law.The findings suggest that readiness for
legislation, based on length of national debate and acceptance of the underlying concept, can influence
its impact. The concept of equality seems to have gained widespread acceptance since the debate
provoked by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, understanding and
acceptance of the concept of employee voice has been much less pronounced in the Anglo-Saxon world.
Keywords Ireland, European Union, Legislation, Labour law, Social policy, Employment law,
Employment relations, Race equality, Information and consultation
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to explore attitudes to regulation and the consequ ent
impact on employment relations practice. The paper draws on detailed analysis of
two pieces of Irish legislation, relating to Oireachtas na hEireann, employment equality
and information and consultation (hereafter I&C), respectively.
The empirical evidence presented suggests that the nature of the issue, in ter ms
of its broader societal acceptance, is important in determining the deg ree of impact of
legislation providing for it. Consistent with previous research, however, employers tend
to resist legislation, even where they support the issue being regulated.
The findings also suggest that legislation is not the primary initiator of c hange
and that the market often takes precedent. However, it is argued that regulation is
not without influence in organisations, depending on the complex dynamic between
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
Employee Relations
Vol. 34 No. 5, 2012
pp. 464-480
rEmeraldGroup PublishingLimited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/01425451211248514
464
ER
34,5
contingencies and the strategic choice reaction to those contingencies by significant
actors. It is further argued that the law can provide a supportive framework for change
initiated from another source or that it may set parameters for change that is already
planned or under way. Institutional structures have a positive impact in terms of
education, support, and enforcement, following the introduction of employment law.
Literature
For most adults, the performance of paid work in the context of an employment
relationship provides some degree of personal fulfilment, opportunities fo r social
interaction, and the facility to earn a living wage (McCallum, 2006). The relative power
of the employer and the employees, sometimes illustrated by a “frontier of control”
(Goodrich, 1920; Hyman, 1975), is well documented in the academic literature. The
state acts as the “third force” in the employment relationship (Poole, 1980). It can
exercise considerable influence, modifying the power of either or both main p arties,
and may choose to do so to varying degrees, depending on its political ideology and
other contextual factors. Legislation is one of the ways the state’s influence is
manifested. While the state undoubtedly has this role, “it woul d be inappropriate to
evaluate its role as that of impartial facilitator” (Wallace et al., 2004, p. 19). The
tendency of any democratic state is to favour the side that offers the most political
influence. Consequently, successive Irish governments “have upheld the established
norms, values and culture of liberal capital ism” (p. 19).
This idea of political influence determining state approach, and the subsequent
impact on the degree of regulation, is illustrated by Salamo n’s (2000) ideal-type
descriptors. The two that bear most resonance for the Irish situation are bargained
corporatism and market individualism.
Bargained corporatism recognises the value of incorporating employers and trade
unions into the political decision-making arena where both gain significant influence
over economic and social policy. In return the state expects industrial relations stability
and negotiated consensus in the national interest. Proposals for statutor y regulation
are among the many issues that can comprise the negotiating agenda of the social
partners. This approach was characteristic of Ireland’s social partnership model from
the late 1980s until the current economic recession. The social partnership processes
are currently suspended and, at the time of writing, Ireland is in a transitional period
in terms of the state approach.
Market individualism, and its modern variant neo-liberalism, has relevance for
Ireland because of the dominance of MNCs operating there, particularly those of US
origin. In 2010 Ireland was the second-largest net recipient of foreign direct investment
from outsidethe EU. Almost 1,000 foreign-owned companies wereoperating in Ireland in
that year employing over 125,000 people (IDA Ireland). Thisideology is characterised by
a “laissez-faire” political ideology coupled with a powerful business lobby and weak
trade union influence. The guiding principle is that market forces should determine the
operation of the labour market. Under a neo-liberal regime, the state takes a central role
in “the construction and defence of the free market” and one of the consequences is
erosion in the scope and impact of employment regulation (Smith, 2009, p. 338).
At the level of the workplace, a fundamental aspect of regulation in the employment
relationship is the contract of employment. The liberal view of law sees both parties
entering into this contract and fixing its terms from an equal position (Fredman, 1997).
Thus, the rules of engagement are established between the parties through the
mechanism of the contract. Proponents of this view fundamentally question the need
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Attitudes to
employment law
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