Information and Consultation Regulations 2004

On 6 April 2005 the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004 SI 2004/3426 (the ICE Regulations) came into force. These Regulations, made under powers contained in S.42 of the Employment Relations Act 2004, implement in Great Britain EC Directive No.2002/14 ‘establishing a general framework for informing and consulting employees in the European Community’, and are based on a framework for implementation agreed with the CBI and the TUC.

The ICE Regulations set out minimum rights for employees to be informed and consulted by their employers in respect of certain workplace issues. Initially they only apply to businesses with 150 or more employees, but must be extended to all businesses with 100 or more employees by April 2007, and to all businesses with 50 or more employees by April 2008. They will not apply to businesses with fewer than 50 employees.

The scheme of the Supplement is as follows:

• Chapter 1 looks briefly at the background to the ICE Regulations and gives
  an overview of how they apply in practice. It also sets out a chart produced
  by the DTI illustrating the process for setting up consultation arrangements
• Chapter 2 is concerned with the scope of the Regulations and considers
  which organisations are, or will be, covered
• Chapter 3 sets out the ways in which negotiations about an information and
  consultation agreement are triggered under the Regulations and explains
  what amounts to a valid pre-existing agreement
• Chapter 4 focuses on the scope and content of negotiated agreements while
• Chapter 5 sets out the default standard information and consultation
  provisions that apply where the employer is under an obligation under the
  Regulations to negotiate but has failed to do so or the negotiation procedure
  has failed to result in agreement
• Chapter 6 considers the employment protection rights of employees
  involved in the setting up or implementation of information and
  consultation arrangements governed by the Regulations, i.e. the right to
  time off and the right not to be unfairly dismissed or subjected to a
  detriment
• Chapter 7 looks at how employers can best protect confidential information
  while complying with their obligations to inform and consult under the
  Regulations
• Chapter 8 deals with the enforcement mechanisms under the Regulations
  and explains the role of the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC)
• Chapter 9 discusses the various other statutory provisions that require
  employers to inform and consult employees or their representatives in
  particular circumstances. These include the obligation to inform and consult
  on collective redundancies or where there is a transfer of an undertaking.
  This chapter also looks at European Works Councils, which are concerned
  with the informing and consultation of employees at the European level.

The law is stated as at 6 April 2004.