National Works Councils: Opening the Door on a Whole New Era in United Kingdom Employment Relations

This paper intends to look at the challenges that the European Directive on national information and consultation will pose to the legal framework in the United Kingdom. In particular the author will consider whether the statement that ‘national works councils would open the door to a new era in the United Kingdom employment relations’ is a true one. This will be done by briefly looking at the aim and the content of the Directive and more particularly at the reaction of the UK government when it comes to transposition in light of the first consultation paper produced by the Department of Trade and Industry on this issue. This paper will therefore focus on the preliminary attitude of the government towards this instrument and whether it bodes well for substantial changes in collective relations.