The Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996
These Regulations provide for further implementation, within Great Britain, of Articles 10, 11 and 12 of Council Directive 89/391/EEC (“the Framework Directive”, OJ No. L183, 29.6.89, p.1) on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the health and safety of employees at work. The Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 (S.I. 1977/500 as amended by S.I. 1992/2051) already implement those Articles in cases where employees are represented by safety representatives appointed by a trade union recognised by their employer. These Regulations require employers to consult either their employees directly or representatives elected by their employees where there are employees not represented by safety representatives appointed by trade unions under the 1977 Regulations. The need for this further implementation of those Articles in the Framework Directive arises from the judgment of the European Court of Justice in cases C382/92 and C383/92, Commission of the European Communities v. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ([1994] I.C.R. 664) which, although the judgment was in respect of other Directives, established the principle that rights to consultation had to be accorded to all employees and could not be limited to those employees who were represented by a trade union recognised by their employer.