Spring is here according to our calendars; the weather may suggest otherwise. It is a season of change, growth and increments of light at the beginning and end of the working day. From January, budgets and business plans for 2015 are in place; the challenge in February and March for all is to start the process of implementing them.

Naturally, new budgets and plans may require a business to change how it operates on a day to day basis. Such changes may be voluntary; to work smarter and continue to grow or may be crucial to the survival of the business. Depending on what needs to be done per the business plans, the change required may improve, alter or reduce the terms and conditions of staff members. Allied to this, a business review may also reveal work practices, management strategy and dynamics, while not planned for change, require it.

Indicators of a need for change will vary depending on the size of a business and its workforce. Examples of such indicators may be a decline in fee income, falling sales, high turnover of staff, loss of key clients and poor industrial relations. Any of these factors will require business managers to investigate the cause and to seek to address it so that it no longer poses an obstacle to business growth.

In planning change in the workplace, it is essential to include employment law as one of the key considerations. We work in a country with at least 30 Acts that govern the rights and obligations of employers and employees. Currently, the Government has rolled out its Action Plan for Jobs 2015 and is planning the next round of negotiation on public sector pay. Focus and commentary will be fixed on the area.

Theories of organisational change - The Psychological Contract

The 1960’s provided us with theories on organisational change at a rapid rate. Argyris (1960), Levinson et al. (1962), Blau (1964) and by Schein (1965; 1978); they wrote and spoke about “The Psychological Contract” roughly meaning the power and perception of values held by employers and employees. Levinson saw it as “a series of mutual expectations of which the parties to the relationship may not themselves be dimly aware but which nonetheless govern their relationship to each other”.

Without doubt, the employer and employee relationship has changed significantly since the 1960s; zero hours contracts, subcontracting, agency workers and atypical working may mean that an employee may not be clear on who their contract is with, psychological or real.

The value in revisiting this theory prior to planning change is in realising that there is more to the employment relationship than just what is required to comply with the Minimum Terms and Conditions of Employment Act 1973.

“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Eisenhower may have said this when asking his troops to do battle during World War Two; with any luck, your requests will not be that drastic. However you may be asked to change the culture within a workplace to address a higher number of employee complaints; you may be asked to convince employees to work longer for less salary and benefits; you may be tasked with selecting roles for redundancy, asking people to train and work with new ICT and you will have to manage the consequences of all or any of the above. This may include dealing with legal challenges from employees and/or their representatives.

If you work in a large organisation with a human resources department you will be assisted in the planning stage. If you are a sole trader or small business, you will have to go it alone.

Why change at all?

The National Workplace Surveys 2009 compared the experiences and perspectives of public sector employees and private sector employees with the previous survey results obtained in 2003. The results below show the key reasons for change cited by employees in both sectors. The period from 2003 to 2009 covers a period of radical economic change and recession. Businesses cut overheads, costs, reorganised and reviewed how they might operate to tread water and survive and continue to do so now.

i Authors: Philip J. O’Connell, Helen Russell, Dorothy Watson and Delma Byrne (The Economic and Social Research Institute)

Preparing for Change

The first steps that you need to take are to identify what you want to change, when you want to do it and the timescale that you can allow to implement the change. You also need to consider who will be affected by the change and how they may react; what areas of law will apply. For example, is there a requirement by law to consult with employees under the Transfer of Undertakings Regulations 2003 or the Employees (Provision of information and consultation) Act 2006?

Following on from the reasons for change highlighted in the National Workplace Survey 2009, I will examine how to deal with the following scenarios in the workplace and the legal issues that arise in each:

• Change in ownership of the organisation
• Re-organisation of company
• New Chief Executive
• Reduction in levels of management
• Reduction in overall staff numbers

I will also look at relevant case law to provide insight into how the industrial relations tribunals may deal with legal issues associated with change in the workplace.