Role
Emeritus Professor of Human Resource Management and Professional Practice
Lynette's particular interest lies in teaching managers with HR responsibilities about contemporary issues in human resource management. A major contribution externally lies in the area of dispute resolution, particularly through her national mediation and arbitration roles and as a Deputy Chair of the Central Arbitration Committee.
Career overview
No longer taking students for supervision due to partial retirement.
Research areas
- Employee Relations and Human Resource Management
- Conflict resolution
- Organisational justice and employment practices
- Employment regulation and the employment relationship
- Performance management and reward systems
- Diversity management
- HRM and line management#
Information for prospective research students
- Consultancy, research and guest speaking across a range of human resourcing issues; for example performance management, reward systems, diversity and equal opportunities, equal pay, job evaluation, employee engagement.
- Extensive experience in conflict resolution from dealing with individual and collective workplace disputes including pay disputes, complex mediations and unfair dismissal and discrimination claims
- Professional activities for public and private sector organisations have involved undertaking reviews and providing reports with recommendations across a broad range of employment issues; for example, pay and benefits, allowances and hours of work, procedures for selection, talent management, career structures, collective bargaining arrangements, HR and HRD service provision and the design and implementation of behavioural competencies. Experience has been gained across a varied range of organisations which have included large employers, smaller businesses, trade unions, voluntary organisations and public bodies.
- Particular expertise in teaching professional, postgraduate and post experience groups in the UK and globally.
- Quality assurance expertise through validation activities and examining roles undertaken for Universities and for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development both in the UK and internationally.
External activity
- Deputy Chair for the Central Arbitration Committee, 2002 -
- Arbitrator for unfair dismissal claims, appointed 2000 -
- ACAS Arbitrator/Mediator for Trades Disputes, 1988 -
- Independent Expert on Equal Value for Employment Tribunals, 2010 -
- Northern Ireland Parades Commission Mediator 2006 –
- Independent Adjudicator for grievance resolution for West Midlands Police Authority, 2009 (assisted in establishing the process).
- Independent Member for Pay Appeals Panel, Ministry of Justice 2011 -
- ACAS advisor for dismissal appeals for the Probationary Service, 2000 -
- Independent Chair for clinical grading appeals in the NHS, 1992 - 1998
- Adviser to the Labour Relations Agency, Northern Ireland in establishing the arbitration/mediation scheme 2005.
- Working party post Gibbons – BIS/Acas 2008.
- Harris, L. ‘Independent Review of the Whitley Council’ Isle of Man Tynwald , report for the Council of Ministers.
- BIS advisory research forum on the impact of employment regulation, 2005 -
- Regional Acas Employee Relations steering group and founder member, 2004.
- CIPD’s National Quality Management Panel Chair, 2002 -
- Member of working party to establish the Academic Route to CIPD Membership, 2009/10.
- Member of the Membership and Education Committee for Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), 2000 - 2004.
- Policy Adviser for Derbyshire and Nottingham CIPD Branch, 1999 - 2004 (past Chair and Vice Chair).
- Member of Equal Opportunities Commission/Fair Play East Midlands task group ‘Balancing Home and Work’.1997 - 2005.
- Seminar series for the European Commission on Delivering HR Strategies 2005-7.
- Academic member for the Civil Service/CIPD public sector consortium for action research on strategic HR in the public sector published CIPD report ‘Fit for Business, Building a strategic HR function in the public sector’, October, 2005.
- Member of Arbitration panel for the Local Government Pay Award in England and Wales in 2009.
- Visiting professor for Twente University, the Netherlands and the Wielkopolska University, Posnan, Poland.
Sponsors and collaborators
- The European Social Fund (ESF)
- The Department of Trade and Industry (now BIS)
- Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas)
- The British Academy of Management (BAM)
- The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)
- Local Government
Collaborations have included Acas nationally and regionally, the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Publications
- 2011 - The Employment Relations Challenges of an Ageing Workforce. Emma Parry, Cranfield School of Management and Lynette Harris, Nottingham Business School, Acas Future of Workplace Relations discussion paper series.
- 2010/11 – A study into Career Management and Third Age Employment funded by the British Academy of Management
- 2009/2011 An evaluation of the Acas led ‘Innovative workplace initiative’, a pilot initiative to change work place practices and increase employee engagement as a means of improving organisational performance, Acas funded.
Final report: Harris, L., Tuckman, A , Watling, D. and Downes, B, (2011) ‘Unlocking Engagement: A Review of the ‘Innovative Workplaces’ Initiative: Acas Research Series. - 2007/8 A study into dispute resolution in smaller businesses in collaboration with the University of West of England, Acas Funded.
Final report: Harris, L., Tailby, S., Hutchinson, S, Tuckman, A, and Snook, J., ‘Dispute Resolution in small firms’, (2008) ACAS Research Series. - 2007 - ACAS funded Regional WERS analysis with A. Tuckman and D. Watling
- 2006/7 - CIPD funded project into Talent Management.
Final report: Tansley, C, Harris, L., Stewart, J and Turner, P (2007) Talent: Strategy, Management, Measurement, Research Report , London: CIPD. - 2007/6- ESF funded project into HR development of Polish SMEs, Harris and Doughty.
- 2004/05 - DTI Small Grants scheme ‘Small, friendly and flexible - an examination of flexible working arrangements in small businesses’. Harris, L and Foster C.( 2005).
Final Report: ‘Small, flexible and family friendly work practices in service sector small businesses’. DTI Employment Relations Research Series, Report 47. - 2004 A study into ‘Women’s Careers in Retailing’ European Social Fund with Foster and Whysall.
Final report: Foster, C, Harris, L and Whysall, P (2006). 'Improving the position of women in the labour market - A study of retailing'. ESF Report No. 041075 EM3.