Who the regulations cover

Unions need to know who the regulations apply to in a given undertaking. They apply to employees, individuals who have entered into or work under a contract of employment including a contract of service or apprenticeship (regulation 2). Crown employees are specifically included (regulation 42) if they work in an undertaking that carries out an economic activity.

There have to be at least 50 employees, based on the monthly average number of employees in the previous 12 months (regulation 4). The fact that an undertaking is part of a group of companies is not relevant for deciding if it has enough employees to be covered by the legislation.

Part-time employees are counted but individuals working for 75 hours or less per month (disregarding absence and overtime) can each be counted as half a full-time employee, if the employer chooses. The TUC wants this loophole abolished.

Casual and agency staff are not covered, which could be significant for calculating whether the regulations apply and in testing the level of employee support for setting up an ICE arrangement. In 2007, Bournemouth University had some difficulty providing a figure for its employee workforce, due to its varied employment arrangements (see page 20).