Employment Relations Minister Gerry Sutcliffe today revealed details of legislation to give employees the right to quiz bosses about the state of their business.

The Bradford South MP said Information and Consultation regulations, coming into force next month, mean staff must be kept regularly informed about developments at work.

Today Mr Sutcliffe said he hoped the regulations would end the culture of firms sacking staff by text message.

The rules initially apply to companies with more than 150 staff but will be extended to smaller firms over three years.

To drive home the message, the Department of Trade and Industry will this week send details to 125 companies in Bradford. The onus will be on employees to ask for the rights but, if at least ten per cent of the workforce request the information, employers will be legally obliged to work with them to draw up an agreement on how information and consultation will take place.

It will mean bosses cannot keep staff in the dark if there are major changes affecting their company which could have an impact on jobs and conditions of employment.

The changes effectively mean the implementation of a new EC directive and the regulations were drawn up with both the CBI and TUC. Part of the agreement was that a single, rigid model will not be imposed on all firms and businesses will be able to tailor their own arrangements, provided employees agree.

Mr Sutcliffe said employers who already have consultation agreements in place would need to review them in light of the new legislation while those which do not currently consult would need to address the situation urgently.

"Communication in the workplace is vital," said Mr Sutcliffe. "Employees who feel their voices are heard and their views listened to rate their employer higher.

"In short, involving staff in decision-making is a recipe for success. A workforce that rates its employer as good has a greater sense of loyalty and produces better results. This means lower staff turnover and recruitment and training costs.

"I want to see an end to staff hearing out of the blue about job losses or major changes to their organisation. If employers invest in their workforce, the workforce will invest their time and energies in them."

Employers that do not comply with the new legislation face being fined by the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

For further details on the new legislation, visit dti.gov.uk/er