AC 1.1 Differentiate between employee involvement and employee participation and how they build relationships.

Please write clearly in block capitals.
Centre number:	1		1			8			7
Centre name:	Prime L&D
Learner number (1st 7 digits of CIPD Membership number):
Learner surname:
Learner other names:
Unit code:	5HR01
Unit title:	Employment relationship management
Assessment ID:	CIPD_5HR01_24_01
Assessment start date:
Assessment submission date:
First resubmission date for centre marking – if applicable
Second resubmission date for centre marking – if applicable
Declared word count

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This unit examines the key approaches, practices and tools to manage and enhance the employee relationship to create better working lives and the significant impact this can have on organisational performance.

CIPD’s insight

The Professional Map – Employee Relations

Employee relations is about creating and maintaining a positive working relationship between an organisation and its people.

An important part of that relationship is the culture, and the extent to which the organisation seeks to be resolution-focused. People professionals have an important role in setting that culture through the development of policies and processes which apply the law in a practical, fair and transparent way. So, specialists in this area need a deep understanding of employment / labour law, keeping up to date with legislative developments in order to advise the business and line managers to create the best outcome for individuals and the organisation.

https://peopleprofession.cipd.org/profession-map/specialist-knowledge/employee-relations

Employee voice

Wellbeing, commitment and innovation are negatively impacted when employees feel they are without ‘voice’ in their organisation. We believe all employers should have policies and practices in place which enable employees to express themselves on matters that are important to them in their work.

Employee voice means individuals being able to safely put forward their viewpoints on their work, at work, irrespective of where, when and how they do their work. When employee voice channels work effectively, employees can feel valued, trusted and influential. In turn, this can increase their job satisfaction and performance.

For employers, effective employee voice can mean better relationships with their employees and, ultimately, improved organisational performance. Line managers, people professionals and voice champions have a responsibility to actively bring out, listen to and respond to employees’ voices. They can encourage employees to express themselves in individual and collective channels, both directly, for example to their team leader, and indirectly, for example through an employee representative.

Employee voice channels include individual self-representation, for example one-to-one meetings with a line manager and employee surveys, as well as collective representation such as trade unions and an employee representative on the company board. Employee voice platforms increasingly include digital technologies, for instance for group meetings, and protected social networking apps for more informal communication.

https://www.cipd.co.uk/news-views/viewpoint/employee-voice

Engagement

Employees who have good quality jobs and are managed well, will not only be happier, healthier and more fulfilled, but are also more likely to drive productivity, better products or services, and innovation. This mutual gains view of motivation and people management lies at the heart of employee engagement, a concept that’s become increasingly mainstream in management thinking over the last decade. As part of our work in this area, we sponsor Engage for Success, the voluntary UK movement promoting employee engagement.

Employment law regulates the relationship between employers and employees. It governs what employers can expect from employees, what employers can ask employees to do, and employees’ rights at work.

Please note that the purpose of this insight is to link you to CIPD’s research and evidence within the subject area, so that you can engage with the latest thinking. It is not provided to replace the study required as part of the learning or as formative assessment material.

Preparation for the Tasks:

• At the start of your assessment, you are encouraged to plan your work with your assessor and where appropriate agree milestones so that they can help you monitor your progress.
• Refer to the indicative content in the unit to guide and support your evidence.
• Pay attention to how your evidence is presented.
• Ensure that the evidence generated for this assessment remains your own work.
• Completing and acting on formative feedback from your assessor.
• Reflecting on your own experiences of learning opportunities and continuous professional development.
• Reading the CIPD Insight, Fact Sheets and related online material on these topics as well as key research authors on the subject.

You will also benefit from:

Scenario

The public sector organisation that you work for has recently undergone a merger with another similar public sector organisation that has had significant staff changes across key departments.

The incoming leadership, management and people practice teams are relatively new to their posts and have limited awareness of managing employee relations in the public sector as many of them have been recruited from the private sector.

There are concerns that this could affect commitment to existing employee relations practices. With this in mind, your people practice director has asked you to write a briefing paper. You need to provide the teams with knowledge and understanding about:

a) the various forms of representation that can be employed at work and how these are used to support workplace harmony, and

b) the different forms of conflict and dispute resolution and how to manage performance, disciplinary and grievance matters lawfully.

To complete the briefing paper, you should include written responses to each of the 10 points below, making appropriate use of academic literature, case and statutory law, codes of practice, research and good practical examples to substantiate your response and illustrate key points.  Please ensure that you use reputable sources as indicated on the unit reading list and that all cited sources are correctly acknowledged and presented in full in a bibliography at the end of your briefing paper.

Briefing paper

Referring to the above scenario:

1) Differentiate between employee involvement and employee participation and how they build relationships. (AC 1.1)

2) Compare forms of union and non-union employee representation. (AC 1.2)

3) Evaluate the relationship between employee voice and organisational performance. (AC 1.3)

4) Explain the concept of better working lives and how this can be designed. (AC 1.4)

5) Distinguish between organisational conflict and misbehaviour. (AC 2.1)

6) Assess emerging trends in the types of conflict and industrial sanctions. (AC 2.2)

7) Distinguish between third-party conciliation, mediation and arbitration. (AC 2.3)

8) Explain the principles of legislation relating to unfair dismissal in respect of capability and misconduct issues. (AC 3.1)

9) Analyse three key causes of employee grievances. (AC 3.2)

10) Advise on the importance of handling grievances effectively. (AC 3.3). 

Your evidence must consist of: A briefing paper setting out written responses to each of the 10 instructions above. And be approximately 3900 words in total (refer to CIPD word count policy).

Briefing paper Questions

(AC1.1) Differentiate between employee involvement and employee participation and how they build relationships. Short references should be added into your narrative below. Please remember to only list your long references in the reference box provided at the end of this section.   Word count: Approximately 400 words

Type here…

 

(AC1.2) Compare forms of union and non-union employee representation. Short references should be added into your narrative below. Please remember to only list your long references in the reference box provided at the end of this section.   Word count:  Approximately 400 words

Type here…

 

(AC1.3) Evaluate the relationship between employee voice and organisational performance.  Short references should be added into your narrative below. Please remember to only list your long references in the reference box provided at the end of this section.   Word count: Approximately  400 words

Type here…

(AC1.4) Explain the concept of better working lives and how this can be designed. Short references should be added into your narrative below. Please remember to only list your long references in the reference box provided at the end of this section.   Word count: Approximately 300 words

Type here…

(AC2.1) Distinguish between organisational conflict and misbehaviour.  Short references should be added into your narrative below. Please remember to only list your long references in the reference box provided at the end of this section.   Word count: Approximately  400 words

Type here…

(AC2.2) Assess emerging trends in the types of conflict and industrial sanctions. Short references should be added into your narrative below. Please remember to only list your long references in the reference box provided at the end of this section.   Word count: Approximately  400 words

Type here…

(AC2.3) Distinguish between third-party conciliation, mediation and arbitration. Short references should be added into your narrative below. Please remember to only list your long references in the reference box provided at the end of this section.   Word count: Approximately  400 words

Type here…

(AC3.1) Explain the principles of legislation relating to unfair dismissal in respect of capability and misconduct issues. Short references should be added into your narrative below. Please remember to only list your long references in the reference box provided at the end of this section.   Word count: Approximately  400 words

Type here…

(AC3.2) Analyse (three) key causes of employee grievances. Short references should be added into your narrative below. Please remember to only list your long references in the reference box provided at the end of this section.   Word count: Approximately  400 words

Type here…

(AC3.3) Advise on the importance of handling grievances effectively. Short references should be added into your narrative below. Please remember to only list your long references in the reference box provided at the end of this section.   Word count: Approximately  400 words

Type here…

References

Please provide your full long reference list here. The Harvard method is preferable. Please refer to the guidance on the Learner HUB.

You may find the following checklist helpful to make sure that you have included the required evidence to meet the task. This is not a mandatory requirement as long as it is clear in your submission where the assessment criteria have been met.

Briefing paper - section one Assessment criteria		Evidenced Y/N	Evidence reference
1.1	Differentiate between employee involvement and employee participation and how they build relationships.
1.2	Compare forms of union and non-union employee representation.
1.3	Evaluate the relationship between employee voice and organisational performance.
1.4	Explain the concept of better working lives and how this can be designed.
2.1	Distinguish between organisational conflict and misbehaviour.
2.2	Assess emerging trends in the types of conflict and industrial sanctions.
2.3	Distinguish between third-party conciliation, mediation and arbitration.
3.1	Explain the principles of legislation relating to unfair dismissal in respect of capability and misconduct issues.
3.2	Analyse key causes of employee grievances.
3.3	Advise on the importance of handling grievances effectively.

Declaration by learner

I can confirm that: this assessment is all my own work.  where I have used materials from other sources, they have been properly acknowledged and referenced. I have not used Artificial Intelligence tools to generate content for my assessment. I understand the consequences of malpractice and accept that any violation of this agreement may result in disciplinary action.
Learner name:
Learner signature:
Date*  *This should be the date on which you submit your assessment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assessment Criteria marking descriptors.

Assessors will mark in line with the following assessment criteria (AC) marking descriptors, and will indicate where the learner sits within the marking band range for each AC.

Assessors must provide a mark from 1 to 4 for each assessment criteria within the unit. Assessors should use the mark descriptor grid as guidance so they can provide comprehensive feedback that is developmental for learners. Please be aware that not all the mark descriptors will be present in every assessment criterion, so assessors must use their discretion in making grading decisions.

The grid below shows the range for each unit assessment result based on total number of marks awarded across all assessment criteria. 

To pass the unit assessment learners must achieve a 2 (Low Pass) or above for each of the assessment criteria.

The overall result achieved will dictate the outcome the learner receives for the unit, provided NONE of the assessment criteria have been failed or referred.

Please note that learners will receive a Pass or Fail result from the CIPD at unit level. Referral grades can be used internally by the centre.

Overall mark	Unit result
0 to 19	Fail
20 to 25	Low Pass
26 to 32	Pass
33 to 40	High Pass

 

 

Marking Descriptors

Mark	Range	Descriptor
1	Fail	The response DOES NOT demonstrate sufficient knowledge, understanding or skill (as appropriate) to meet the AC. Insufficient examples included where required to support answer. Insufficient or no evidence of the use of wider reading to help inform answer. Presentation or structure of response is not appropriate and does not meet the requirement of the question/assessment brief.
2	Low Pass	The response demonstrates an acceptable level of knowledge, understanding or skill (as appropriate) to meet the AC.  Sufficient acceptable examples included where required to support answer. Sufficient evidence of appropriate wider reading to help inform answer. Satisfactory in-text referencing. Answer is acceptable but could be clearer in responding to the question/task and presented in a more coherent way. Required format adopted but some improvement required to the structure and presentation of the response.
3	Pass	The response demonstrates a good level of knowledge, understanding or skill (as appropriate) to meet the AC. Includes confident use of examples, where required to support the answer. Good evidence of appropriate wider reading to help inform answer.  A good standard of in-text referencing. Answer responds clearly to the question/task and is well expressed. Presentation and structure of response is appropriate for the question/task.
4	High Pass	The response demonstrates a wide and confident level of knowledge, understanding or skill (as appropriate) to meet the AC. Includes strong examples that illustrate the points being made and support the answer. Considerable evidence of appropriate wider reading to inform answer. An excellent standard of in-text referencing. Answer responds clearly to the question/task and is particularly well expressed or argued. Presentation and structure of response is clear, coherent, and responds directly to the requirements of the question/task.

 

 

Marking grid and feedback for learner

Unit 5HR01: Assessor Feedback to Learner
Centre number	1187
Centre name	Prime L&D
Learner number (1st 7 digits of CIPD Membership number)
Learner surname
Learner other names (e.g. first name and middle name(s))

Note to Assessor – Please enter a mark for each AC. You need only provide feedback where you have awarded a mark of 1. This feedback should be developmental.

Task - Briefing paper
AC Number	Assessment Criteria	Mark 1-4
1.1	Differentiate between employee involvement and employee participation and how they build relationships.
	Assessor feedback first submission (if applicable)
	Assessor feedback resubmission 1 (if applicable)
	Assessor feedback resubmission 2 (if applicable)
1.2	Compare forms of union and non-union employee representation.
	Assessor feedback first submission (if applicable)
	Assessor feedback resubmission 1 (if applicable)
	Assessor feedback resubmission 2 (if applicable)
1.3	Evaluate the relationship between employee voice and organisational performance.
	Assessor feedback first submission (if applicable)
	Assessor feedback resubmission 1 (if applicable)
	Assessor feedback resubmission 2 (if applicable)
1.4	Explain the concept of better working lives and how this can be designed.
	Assessor feedback first submission (if applicable)
	Assessor feedback resubmission 1 (if applicable)
	Assessor feedback resubmission 2 (if applicable)

2.1	Distinguish between organisational conflict and misbehaviour.
	Assessor feedback first submission (if applicable)
	Assessor feedback resubmission 1 (if applicable)
	Assessor feedback resubmission 2 (if applicable)
2.2	Assess emerging trends in the types of conflict and industrial sanctions.
	Assessor feedback first submission (if applicable)
	Assessor feedback resubmission 1 (if applicable)
	Assessor feedback resubmission 2 (if applicable)
2.3	Distinguish between third-party conciliation, mediation and arbitration.
	Assessor feedback first submission (if applicable)
	Assessor feedback resubmission 1 (if applicable)
	Assessor feedback resubmission 2 (if applicable)
3.1	Explain the principles of legislation relating to unfair dismissal in respect of capability and misconduct issues.
	Assessor feedback first submission (if applicable)
	Assessor feedback resubmission 1 (if applicable)
	Assessor feedback resubmission 2 (if applicable)
3.2	Analyse key causes of employee grievances.
	Assessor feedback first submission (if applicable)
	Assessor feedback resubmission 1 (if applicable)
	Assessor feedback resubmission 2 (if applicable)
3.3	Advise on the importance of handling grievances effectively.
	Assessor feedback first submission (if applicable)
	Assessor feedback resubmission 1 (if applicable)
	Assessor feedback resubmission 2 (if applicable)
Total marks for TASK
Total marks for TASK  (resubmission 1 if applicable)
Total marks for TASK (resubmission 2 if applicable)

Total marks for UNIT		Grade
Total marks for UNIT (resubmission 1 if applicable)		Grade (resubmission 1 if applicable)
Total marks for UNIT (resubmission 2 if applicable)		Grade (resubmission 2 if applicable)
Assessor Feedback Summary Please use this box to summarise your feedback on the assessment overall. This should highlight strengths and any areas for improvement, either referring to specific ACs or commenting more generally across the assessment. (Note: developmental feedback on any ACs awarded a mark of 1 should have already been provided in the relevant box of the assessment form above. Please use a different font colour for any resubmission comments)
Assessor name	Submission		Resubmission 1	Resubmission 2
Assessor signature* I confirm that I am satisfied that to the best of my knowledge, the work produced is solely that of the learner.
Date

*This must be a true signature, so a handwritten signature, or a photo or scan of a handwritten signature, or an e-signature. A typed signature is not acceptable.

Example Answer:

Differentiate between employee involvement and employee participation and how they build relationships.

Employee relations play a pivotal role in any organisation, particularly in the public sector where employee engagement is essential for ensuring quality service delivery and fostering a positive workplace culture. With the recent merger and the introduction of new leadership, understanding the distinction between employee involvement and employee participation is crucial in maintaining effective employee relations. This briefing paper aims to differentiate between these two concepts and explore how they contribute to building relationships within the organisation.

1. Employee Involvement Employee involvement refers to the processes and initiatives that allow employees to contribute their input on matters related to their work, decision-making, and organisational strategy. It typically involves consultation and sharing information with employees, allowing them to voice their opinions, but not necessarily giving them direct control over decisions. The focus is on communication and inclusion, fostering a sense of belonging and alignment with the organisation’s goals.

Examples of employee involvement include:

• Staff surveys to gather feedback on policies or workplace practices.
• Regular team meetings where employees can offer suggestions.
• Informal consultations on upcoming organisational changes.

2. Employee Participation Employee participation goes beyond involvement by giving employees a more active and formal role in decision-making processes. It involves direct engagement in decision-making bodies, such as committees or working groups, where employees or their representatives have a say in how key organisational matters are handled. Participation implies shared responsibility and empowerment, allowing employees to have a meaningful influence on decisions that affect their work and the broader organisation.

Examples of employee participation include:

• Employees sitting on health and safety committees or negotiating bodies.
• Joint decision-making forums with management on workplace policies.
• Collective bargaining where employee representatives negotiate on behalf of the workforce.

3. Building Relationships Through Involvement and Participation Both employee involvement and participation play distinct roles in building and strengthening relationships between employees and management. Employee involvement fosters a culture of transparency and openness, where employees feel informed and valued, which can enhance trust and mutual respect. By regularly seeking employee input, organisations can reduce the risk of disengagement and promote a sense of ownership and accountability.

Employee participation, on the other hand, builds stronger relationships by empowering employees to have a direct voice in organisational decisions. This empowerment can lead to greater commitment, loyalty, and a sense of fairness, as employees feel that their views are genuinely considered and acted upon. Participation fosters collaboration between employees and management, enhancing workplace harmony and reducing potential conflicts.

Conclusion Differentiating between employee involvement and employee participation is essential for maintaining strong employee relations in the context of the public sector merger. While involvement ensures that employees feel informed and included, participation actively empowers them in decision-making. Both are key to building trust, engagement, and collaboration, which will be critical for the success of the newly merged organisation