BMAN72391 INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
ESSAY QUESTIONS 2023-24

The coursework essay for Industrial Relations is 3,000 words long (with 10% allowance, references excluded), typed in font size 12 and with at least 1.5 spacing.

Essays should be submitted via Blackboard in accordance with instructions

STUDENT NAMES SHOULD NOT APPEAR ANYWHERE ON THE WORK

The deadline for submission of the Industrial Relations coursework is 3pm on Friday 12th January 2024

Resits will be assessed through the completion of a different essay

See the penalties for Late or Non Submission of Coursework on Blackboard.

Answer one of the questions below, using both case study examples and theories and readings from the module reading list:

1. In a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court in the UK February 2021 Uber drivers are now recognised as workers and are entitled to basic rights. What does the essence of the ruling tell us about the effectiveness of the state in promoting and protecting the employment rights of workers and employees in the UK, especially in the ‘gig economy’?

2. “Trade union organisations in the UK have in contemporary times become more relevant and are demonstrably effective in delivering for workers”. Critically discuss this statement by drawing on literature discussing debates on union decline and revitalisation, e.g., how unions are now rising to meet their contemporary challenges. Illustrate your argument with case study examples of union action over the last 40 years.

3. “Conflict which is very much an inevitable feature of the employment relationship has in contemporary times drastically moved from the collective to individual forms”. Critically discuss why this is the case in the UK. Answers should reflect the changing patterns of conflict at work using cases from the UK.

Question 3: Lectures 1 and 2 on background, lecture 7 on conflict at work

4. Provide a critical appraisal of the reasons why most employers choose to avoid or suppress unions in the UK.  This requires the examination of literature and theory from the course (e.g., Fox’s frames of reference, Dundon and Rollinson’s 2004 work). Illustrate your argument with examples from academic literature.