ICE: what, why and how?

A guide for information and consultation of employees

The Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) regulations have been amended from April 2020 to grant the right to 15 employees, or 2% of the workforce – whichever is higher – in any company with at least 50 workers, to request the establishment of a forum or other mechanism to be consulted on and informed about key issues affecting the business.

This guidebook has been produced with employers in mind, but anyone with an interest in the issue of information and consultation at work should find it helpful. Based on interviews with employers and employees at five very different organisations, it provides a real insight into how different organisations approach the topic and can make a success of it, designing information and consultation arrangements that suit their own circumstances.

With a foreword from Matthew Taylor, author of the Good Work Review of Modern Working Practices which spurred the government to lower the ICE threshold from this year, this guide aims to encourage more organisations to be proactive in setting up ICE arrangements and adopt best practices as part of an effort to improve the quality of work in the UK.

The guide is structured to provide answers to three key questions:

• What is meant by information and consultation of employees and what are the ICE Regulations? What are employers’ obligations under the regulations?

• Why should employers act to set up good information and consultation arrangements, even in the absence of a formal workforce request?

• How can employers go about setting up effective staff forums and other bodies, to make sure they and their workforces get the most out of information and consultation?

The benefits to both the workforce and the employer of having properly functioning information and consultation arrangements, in terms of productivity, engagement, well-being, innovation, resilience and change management, are very evident – as made clear from the case studies in this report. Organisations will only reap these benefits, however, if they take care to set up their voice arrangements in a way that leads to meaningful, respectful, informed and constructive discussions. This guide contains a whole host of practical advice for organisations in how that might best be achieved – looking at everything from who should attend meetings, how agendas should be set, how to run elections and what structures might better suit different kinds of organisations.

To download the full report, click here. More information about the guide, including an audio podcast of the Executive Summary, can be found on the CIPD website here. For further information about this issue and how IPA could support you in setting up information and consultation arrangements at your workplace, please email involve@ipa-involve.com or call 0207 759 1006.