Introduction

Employee voice is an umbrella term used to capture the many forms of practice that give employees a view at work. These processes and structures enable, and at times empower, employees directly and indirectly to contribute to decision making in the business.
This report will look into two forms of employee voice; employee representative participation and direct employee involvement, it will look at a specific practice of each form of employee voice and analyse the strengths and weaknesses on their value to the employee. Representative Participation

In 1996 a European Works Council was made a mandatory feature of any organisation with over 1000 employees that operate in over 2 EU states (EUGOV, 1996). In the UK (from the 6th April 2008) any business with a workforce of 50 persons or greater must establish a works council on demand. As a result the presence of a works council today is a very common method of representative participation. The term "works council" applies to any body that represents the interests of employees, which an employer must inform and consult with on issues affecting their organisation. Providing a works council initiates formal employee representation at workplace level to facilitate consultation and discussion of enterprise related issues between workers and management, but to what extent is a works council of value to the employee?

Strengths of Works Council for employees

One of the more significant strengths of a works council would be its level of scope and depth of issues it has influence over. As a works council is a joint venture between employer and employee, this gives the employee more influence over talked about issues. Ultimately making the issues less operational and more beneficial to the worker (e.g. pay, employment T&C’s). As an individual an employee could face problems in the work place that