The role of Government and

Legislation on employee
relations
BCM 351
• Government usually influence the business system, the regulatory
system and institutions in the economy that directly or indirectly
affect industrial or employee relations
• Hall and Soskice (2001) distinguishes between liberal market
economies (LMEs) and coordinated market economies (CMEs)
Attitudes towards the desirability of market or
non-market forms of regulation
• The economic policies pursued, including labour market policies, and the
economic environment deemed to be desirable;
• Approaches towards public versus private ownership;
• Approaches towards the legislative support for or constraint of the
employment relationship and the interactions between the employee
relations actors or social partners;
• Approaches towards whether the actors should be left to resolve their own
differences voluntarily and through the market or whether to provide
dispute resolution facilities and assistance;
• Perceptions of an appropriate distribution of power between them;
• Their willingness to enter into a political exchange with the other actors.
Ideologies and Political Approaches -
Liberalism
• Liberalism is the term given to the ideology or set of beliefs which
perceives the market as the basis for regulation.
• The market is perceived as an efficient mechanism for allocating
resources including labour and the individual seller of labour is
perceived as being able to look after his own interest in the
marketplace.
• The individual is perceived to be rational and to have a rough equality
of bargaining power in the marketplace with the buyer.
• The terms of the employment relationship are determined through
the process of individual exchange in the marketplace.
Ideologies and Political Approaches -
Corporatism
The belief is that liberal systems in which decision making is both
competitive and decentralized are inevitably inefficient, disruptive and,
perhaps most concerning for government, unpredictable and
uncontrollable.
Additionally these liberal decision-making processes are quite capable
of resulting in inequalities, unfairness and waste.
It is the responsibility of government to protect individuals from the
social injustice that inevitably results from the operation of free market
systems
Consequently, governments with this set of beliefs seek to introduce:
• Decision-making mechanisms which serve to integrate the interests of
capital, labour and government, usually through some process of
exchange or bargaining;
• Political institutions which facilitate tripartite discussion and decision
making, particularly with respect to economic, industrial and social
policies, such as the pursuit of economic growth, full employment
and price stability.
 Goernment as Legislator and the Legal
Context
Labour or employment law then may have a number of objectives, for example it
may:
• seek to protect the weak from exploitation;
• determine the terms and conditions of employment;
• encourage and regulate both individual and collective relationships including the
application of sanctions by one or more parties on the other;
• encourage particular forms of behaviour;
• promote particular processes for the determination of the terms of the employment
relationship;
• establish minimum rights and obligations;
• remedy inbalances of bargaining power;
• promote certain social values and objectives such as fairness, equality and
democracy.
Future Policies should be geared towards
• provides protection and security to labour,
• prevents its impoverishment,
• provides the opportunity for participation;
• enables the maintenance of social stability and cohesion.
Legislative context in Ghana
• Ghana Labour act 2003 (Act 651)
• Establishing the public employment centers and registration of
private employment agencies
• Protection of employment (Rights and duties of employer and
worker)
• Contract of employment
• Prohibition of restrictive conditions of employment
• Grounds for termination of employment
• Notice of termination of employment
• Remuneration on termination of employment
GENERAL CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
• Annual leave with pay
• Sick leave not part of annual leave
• Leave to be uninterrupted
• Worker may take leave in two equal parts
• Hours of work
• Paid overtime
Persons with disability
Women
Young persons
FAIR AND UNFAIR TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT
• Fair termination
• Unfair termination of employment
• Remedies for unfair termination
• Redundancy
PROTECTION OF REMUNERATION
• Payment of remuneration
• Equal pay for equal work
• Prohibited deductions
• Permitted deductions
TRADE UNIONS AND EMPLOYERS’ ORGANISATIONS
• Freedom of Association
• Formation of trade union or employers’ organization
• Organizational rights
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH, SAFETY AND
ENVIRONMENT
• General health and safety conditions
• Exposure to imminent hazards
• Employer to report occupational accidents and diseases
UNFAIR LABOUR PRACTICES
• Discrimination
• Interference by employers in union affairs
• Employer to facilitate workers trade union business
• Interference that causes financial loss
• Union activities during working hours
• Complaints
 Assignment
What role does employee relations play
in contemporary organizations.

ØNB:
• Not more than 3 pages.
• Submission date: 12th March. 2022