The Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations were introduced on 6 April 2005 and apply to businesses with 50 or more employees. They give you the right to request an information and consultation agreement. An employee request must be made by at least 10 per cent of the business employees, which must amount to at least 15 employees. Your employer must start negotiations with representatives of the workforce for an agreement no later than three months after a valid request has been made.

If your organisation already has in place one or more pre-existing I&C agreements, your employer may hold a ballot to see whether a new agreement is needed.

Your employer already has legal obligations to inform and consult you on certain issues. The new regulations give employers and employee representatives the flexibility to tailor information and consultation arrangements to suit their own circumstances. The new regulations may mean:

• reviewing your existing systems, or
• introducing employee consultation arrangements for the first time.

Your employer will need to talk to trade union representatives or employee representatives (or both) about reviewing existing systems or think about setting up new procedures for informing and consulting staff.

The terms of any negotiated agreement reached with your employer should set out:

• the issues to be discussed
• when and how often discussions should take place.

The areas on which an employer informs and consults you are for employee representatives and your employees to agree on. If a negotiated agreement is not reached then the fall-back provisions (known as the 'standard provisions' of the ICE regulations) set out the areas where your employer is obliged to inform and consult you.

Under these provisions your employer must:

• inform you about the business's economic situation
• inform and consult you about employment prospects
• inform and consult you, with a view to reaching an agreement on, decisions likely to lead to substantial changes in work organisation or contractual relations.

If the employer fails to abide by the terms of a negotiated information and consultation agreement or the fall-back provisions, employees can raise a complaint with the Central Arbitration Committee.

The Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations were introduced on 6 April 2005 and give all employees of undertakings (which are normally businesses) with 50 or more employees the right to request an information and consultation agreement. An employee request must be made by at least 10 per cent of the business employees, which must amount to at least 15 employees. You must start negotiations with representatives of the workforce for an agreement no later than three months after a valid request has been made by your employees.

If you already have in place one or more pre-existing I&C agreements, you can hold a ballot to see whether a new agreement is needed.

You already have legal obligations to inform and consult your employees regarding certain matters. The new regulations give you the flexibility to tailor information and consultation arrangements to suit your own circumstances. The new regulations may mean:

• reviewing your existing systems, or
• introducing employee consultation arrangements for the first time.

You need to talk to trade union representatives or employee representatives (or both) about reviewing your existing systems or think about setting up new procedures for informing and consulting staff.

If you have a valid pre-existing agreement (PEA) in place to inform and consult your employees, you may not have to negotiate a new one. To be valid a PEA must:

• be in writing
• cover all the employees in the undertaking
• set out how the employer will inform and consult the employees or their representatives
• be approved by your employees.

If you have a PEA, but your workforce has put in a request for a new agreement, you can either negotiate a new agreement or ballot the workforce to decide whether it endorses the request for a new agreement

The 'fall back' provisions of the ICE regulations, known as the standard provisions, come into force if you do not make the necessary arrangements to negotiate an information and consultation agreement, or negotiations fail. Under these provisions your employees have the right to be:

• informed about the business's economic situation
• informed and consulted about employment prospects
• informed and consulted, with a view to reaching an agreement on, decisions likely to lead to substantial changes in work organisation or contractual relations.

If you fail to abide by the terms of a negotiated information and consultation agreement or the fall-back provisions, your employees can raise a complaint with the Central Arbitration Committee

You should inform and consult your employees because it can improve: 

• organisational performance: time spent communicating at the outset of a new project or development can minimise subsequent rumour and misunderstanding
• management performance and decision making: allowing employees to express their views can help managers and supervisors arrive at sound decisions that are more readily accepted by employees
• employees' performance and commitment: employees will perform better if they are given regular, accurate information such as updated technical instructions, targets, deadlines and feedback
• levels of trust: discussing issues of common interest can engender better management/employee relations
• job satisfaction: employees are more likely to be motivated if they have a good understanding of their job and how it fits into the organisation as a whole
• work-life balance: you can talk to all your staff about developing flexible working policies and practices.