Managing employee Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Managing employee Relations - Essay Example The profit turnover of M&S is close to 7.3 billion. M&S not only caters to clothing but has also widened the market by offering other products that range from furniture to food and financial services. (Marks and Spencer, 2000) Initially there were problems and issues with the employee employer relationship and hence the company had to adopt a different employee relation approach. The company adopted some changes and principles within the management such as, Change in work timings: With the introduction of Sunday trading in the UK, Marks and Spencer had to create flexible shift timings in order to work on Sundays. Most of the staff work 36-38 hours per week and currently some of the staff work more than normal work schedules. (Yvonne, 2010) Pension: Marks and Spencer’s provide secure retirement benefits for its employees if they have worked in the company for more than a year. The company also provides additional health and dental care for its employees. They also provide SAYE for all the employees across the world. (M&S, 2007) The company is not represented by any trade union. The employee relation of M&S is taken care by the Human Resource Management (HRM) and it is closely aligned to the business objectives and strategies. The trade union in the UK is the most influential association for protecting employee’s rights.   In 2001, Marks and Spencer’s had announced closing down stores in Europe especially Belgium, France, Germany, Portugal and Spain. The company had planned to close down some of the stores in Europe as a part of cost cutting measure which would help in saving 250 million GBP in 2006-07. The UNI commerce and the national trade Union had raised concerns and had tried to reverse the company decision as it had breached the laws. The Marks and Spencer staff members and the trade union had demanded to reverse the decision to close the stores in Europe and also to initiate and