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The Management of Redundancies in Europe: The Case of Great Britain
Author(s) -
Deakin Simon,
Wilkinson Frank
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
labour
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.403
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1467-9914
pISSN - 1121-7081
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9914.00093
Subject(s) - severance , comparability , redundancy (engineering) , workforce , flexibility (engineering) , section (typography) , labour law , european union , employment protection legislation , labour economics , economics , business , accounting , economic policy , macroeconomics , computer science , economic growth , management , unemployment , mathematics , combinatorics , advertising , operating system
The paper presents the findings of a comparative and interdisciplinary legal and economic study on managing labour redundancies in seven EU member countries. It is structured for immediate comparability between the systems examined. The introductory section contains an account of the evolution of the British labour market, with special reference to redundancy trends, the features of the programmes for managing redundancies, the roles of firms and the ‘external environment’ in handling workforce adjustments. The second section presents a map of policies that work to prevent labour redundancies ( preventive measures ) such as flexibility, training etc. Next, the instruments for handling temporary labour redundancies ( retentive measures ) are examined (e.g. short‐time working, temporary layoffs etc.). The following section is devoted to instruments and programmes involved in the management of permanent labour redundancies ( expulsive measures ), e.g. collective dismissals, severance pay etc. The final section provides an overall assessment of the British system for managing labour redundancies, and briefly discusses the national debate on the prospects for reform, in light of the principles and policies of convergence set forth by the European Union.