2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey

Labour Market Trends, Sep 2005

Collective labour organisation has continued to decline since 1998, although at a slower pace than previously. The picture differs markedly across sectors of the economy and by workplace size. Joint regulation of terms and conditions by management and unions remains for many employees, with half of employees employed in workplaces with a recognised trade union. But union involvement in pay setting and joint regulation of the workplace is very much the exception in the private sector and in smaller workplaces. These are among the initial findings of the latest in the series of periodic Workforce Employment Relations Surveys.

The 2004 Workforce Employment Relations Survey (WERS 2004) is the fifth in the series of surveys conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), and the Policy Studies Institute (PSI). Previous surveys in the series were conducted in 1980, 1984, 1990 and 1998. A booklet was published in July reporting the first findings from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS 2004). The booklet will be followed by two further publications in spring 2006. One will provide an in-depth exploration of the survey findings and the other will report on employment relations in small workplaces.

WERS 2004 provides a nationally representative account of the state of employment relations and working life inside British workplaces. It covers a sample of workplaces with five or more employees, apart from those in agriculture, fishing and mining. It involved interviews with around 3,200 managers and about 1,000 worker representatives. Over 20,000 employees completed and returned a self-completion questionnaire. The survey links the views from these three parties, providing an integrated picture of employment relations within workplaces.

The management interviews contained questions on: recruitment and training; consultation and communication; employee representation; payment systems; grievance and discipline; equal opportunities; work-life balance; health and safety; and flexibility and performance. The interviews with employee representatives contained questions on: structure of representation at the workplace; time spent on representative duties; means of communication with employees; incidence of negotiation and consultation over pay and other matters; involvement in redundancies, discipline and grievance matters; incidence of collective disputes and industrial action; relations with managers; and union recruitment. The employees' questionnaire included questions on: working hours; job influence; job satisfaction; working arrangements; training and skills; information and consultation; employee representation; and pay. The 2004 survey includes new questions on well-being, trust and computer use.

Further information

* Inside the Workplace: First Findings from the 2004 Workforce Employment Relations Survey by Barbara Kersley, Carmen Alpin, John Forth, Alex Bryson, Helen Bewley, Gill Dix and Sarah Oxenbridge was published by DTI in July 2005. Copies of the booklet can be obtained from the DTI publications order line on 0845 015 0100, ore-mail publications@dti.gsi.gov.uk. An online version of the booklet and information about the forthcoming full report are available at www.routledge.com/ textbooks/0415378133/. Further information about WERS 2004 is available from the DTI website at www.dti.gov.uk/er/emar/wers5. htm