A study released today by IRS Employment Review (that’s a human resources publishing group in the UK, not a revenue collection agency in the US) reveals that most British companies aren’t anywhere near ready to comply with a European Community communications directive or the UK regulations associated with it.

The Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Directive becomes law next April for larger employers in the EC. (I reported on this back in mid-September.) Under the directive, employees have the right to know about anything that materially affects their job security, prospects and future, including the company’s financial performance and its prospects. According to the study, just one company out of 20 plans to consult employees on this information even though seven out of 10 are prepared to “tell them what is going on.”

The difference between consultation and reporting is pretty clear. The publication says the gap signals a long way to go before British companies are in compliance with the spirit of the law.

Some other findings:

* 98% of the sample uses team meetings to communicate with employees. 91% use a noticeboard, 83% use e-mail or letters, 78% use a publication, and 67% use an intranet.

* Two-thirds said they measure the effectiveness of their communications

* The two most popular issues for consultation (that is, the two issues companies in which companies most engaged in dialogue with their employees rather than just informing them) are changes to employment levels or status and changes to pay and working conditions.

* 67% said internal communication is an HR issue, while 27% said it depended on the issue.

Read the full story on the findings.