Background:  

While JCB has been particularly badly hit by the construction downturn and has been unable to avoid redundancies, consultation with staff including the GMB union has saved 350 jobs across the UK and kept thousands of people working.

Approach:

Chief Executive Officer Matthew Taylor said: "The ballot result shows the tremendous unity amongst the JCB workforce and a great team spirit, which I applaud. They have looked after the needs of one another rather than the needs of the individual and that is to be commended."

What happened:

In October 2008 the GMB union said that 2,500 of its members in the UK had accepted a shorter, 34-hour, working week by a two-thirds majority, in order to save about 350 jobs across the UK.