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Examines union and non‐union consultation and representation arrangements at South West Water, UK.

Constitutes a briefing that is prepared by an independent writer who adds his own impartial comments.

Demonstrates that perceptions of trade union membership change over time and between people. Shows that South West Water has generally diluted trade union influence in recent years. Argues, however, that adopting a strategy of substituting unions at the workplace by individualizing the employment relationship and derecognizing the union may not always produce positive industrial‐relations outcomes.

Highlights that new European Union directives which seek to make sure employees are informed and consulted in employment matters, may mean that a mechanism for communication between management and employees at the workplace may not be enough, and that the right to be heard and have a say over important workplace issues, and at times an acknowledgement of differing interests, may be essential for achieving greater employee satisfaction and commitment.

Contains plenty to interest employer and trade union representatives involved in the ongoing debate over trade union influence.

This paper aims to examine union and non‐union consultation and representative arrangements at South West Water (SWW) over a ten‐year period, from 1992 to 2002.

The paper attempts to fill the gap in the current research by examining the processes leading from union derecognition, non‐union employee representation (NER), to recognition of union representation using SWW as an example.

The SWW experience suggests that any representative structures within firms need to have full support of the majority of employees and to have been seen as being organic to the workplace rather than an imposed arrangement by management. Without such a bottom‐up approach, the legitimacy and respect for such arrangements will diminish, creating obstacles for developing meaningful dialogue and trust between management, staff and unions. For unions, maintaining high membership density, while no guarantee of continuing recognition, creates an environment of strong union organisation and representation at workplace level.

As the experience at SWW has shown, where unions have been excluded from the workplace, maintaining a presence through the representation of individual employee interests and through colonisation of NER structures has been shown to pay dividends in the long run. However, a recognition agreement is not enough on its own to secure new members and unions need to be effective and relevant to the workforce.

This paper aims to update the chapter by Sutton and Murray in Support from the Start by providing an overview of: research linking the development and experiences of infants and toddlers with the risks of later antisocial behaviour; and evidence on effective interventions for children aged 0‐2 and their families.

The authors give a narrative review on the effects on mothers and their babies of postnatal depression.

The review examines the effects on mothers and their babies of postnatal depression, impaired bonding, insecure attachment as well as the impact of maltreatment in childhood. It considers a number of evidence‐based preventive interventions implemented in the UK to help children aged 0‐2 and their parents.

The paper provides an overview of recent evidence for the factors contributing to difficulties for parents of young children and identifies interventions demonstrated in high‐quality studies to prevent or address these problems.