The Role of the State in Regulating Employment Relations

The state performs several distinct and sometimes contradictory roles in employment relations, and this video examines each of them in the context of 7HR01 AC 2.1, which asks students to critically evaluate how globalisation and international influences have shaped and transformed employment relations within organisations. The video works through the legislative and regulatory function, covering individual rights such as unfair dismissal protection, collective rights including freedom of association, and procedural obligations around consultation. It also addresses the enforcement function, the facilitation role — illustrated through reference to ACAS — and the state's position as a significant employer whose own practices can influence standards and dynamics across the wider labour market.

Globalisation's influence on state regulatory behaviour is examined through the regulatory competition thesis, which centres on the pressure that international capital mobility places on states to reduce employment regulation in order to attract investment. The video subjects this thesis to critical scrutiny, identifying the qualifications it requires, including distinctions between mobile and less mobile capital, the role of democratic accountability, and the social stability functions that employment regulation serves. The varieties of capitalism framework is introduced to explain why liberal market economies such as the UK and the United States have historically adopted lighter regulatory approaches, while coordinated market economies such as Germany and the Nordic countries have maintained more extensive frameworks and stronger collective institutions — and why these distinct systems tend not to simply converge under globalisation pressure.

Contemporary UK regulatory developments ground the theoretical discussion in recent policy history. The video references the introduction and subsequent abolition of employment tribunal fees, trade union legislation reforms in the post-2010 period, National Living Wage adjustments, and the Employment Rights Bill introduced in 2024, which addresses zero-hours contracts, fire and rehire practices, and union recognition. Together, these examples illustrate that state regulation is neither fixed nor uniformly shaped by global market pressures, but continues to evolve in response to shifting political priorities and social demands — a tension that sits at the heart of AC 2.1's requirement for critical evaluation.