Understanding ER vs. IR, Outsourcing vs. Contract Work, and Service Contracts: Can You Help Clarify?

Please guide me on the difference between ER and IR.

I would also like to understand the variances between outsourcing and contract work.

Furthermore, could you explain the disparities between a contract of service and a contract for service, and clarify which labor laws are applicable to each?

Thank you,
Mantu72

Understanding Industrial Relations (IR) and Employee Relations (ER)

Industrial Relations (IR) is the relationship between the employer and the collective workforce, exclusively held together by a recognized union. It involves matters between management and government, government and unions, etc.

Employee Relations (ER) involves all matters related to the relationship with employees, including welfare, absence, pay, discipline, etc. ER includes maintaining a harmonious relationship with individuals in an organization.

Regards

Understanding IR and ER

IR refers to the company's overall relationships with government machinery, clients, bankers, suppliers, and all outside agencies, including society at large. It also encompasses ER as one component. Therefore, ER pertains to employer-employee relationships. IR is the tree, and ER is its branch.

Thanks,
Raj Singh Phogat

In legal contexts, IR Terminology is used, such as in the act, etc. ER Terminology, on the other hand, is never utilized in the act or legally. It represents advanced terminology used in the respective field.

Understanding Industrial Relations (IR)

Industrial relations examine the relationship between labor (employees) and management (the employer), as well as the governments, institutions, and organizations that directly or indirectly regulate the industrial relations system.

Exploring Employee Relations (ER)

Employee relations refer to the relationship shared among the employees in an organization that contributes to satisfactory productivity, motivation, and morale. Essentially, Employee Relations is concerned with preventing and resolving problems involving individuals which arise out of or affect work situations.

Regards

Understanding the Difference Between IR and ER

IR is a broader term, and ER is part of IR, in a sense where it is applied mostly to the non-manufacturing sector. IR deals with not just the overall aspects of cumulative bargaining but also with individuals who, in turn, form part of the big picture, especially when one needs to strategize a policy or action affecting the entire or a substantial workforce in a unit. That is why IR is mostly related to unions and the manufacturing sector. However, in our fast-changing environment, even IR has evolved. Unfortunately, some professionals presume that it is obsolete for the non-manufacturing sector, but it's far from that. In fact, it applies even today in its reformed and adaptive ways in the service sector or where there are no 'workmen' as well.

ER is a part of IR and is actually the reformed approach within IR, which is mostly used in the non-manufacturing sector.

I am of the following opinion: outsourcing is done entirely outside the company. For example, the outsourcing of accounts by Philips Holland to a company in Mysore. Contract work usually relates to work done within a company. A company provides 'Security services' on contract. Railway ticket booking and long-haul bus ticket booking by many private individuals represent a contract of service (many people providing service for one company - Railways and state Transport). Many people providing services to many companies is a contract for services, such as courier companies and goods transport companies.

I am open to correction if someone has better definitions.

Regards