13 1010 WERS First Findings Report Third Edition May 2013

The 2011 Workplace
Employment Relations Study

FIRST FINDINGS
Brigid van Wanrooy, Helen Bewley, Alex Bryson, John Forth, Stephanie Freeth, Lucy Stokes and Stephen Wood
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
WERS is a multi-sponsored project and the input of the various
sponsorsisoneofthereasonswhythestudyhasmaintaineditsrigour
overasustainedperiodoftime. The2011WERSisco-sponsoredby
theDepartmentforBusiness,InnovationandSkills(BIS),theAdvisory,
ConciliationandArbitrationService(Acas),theEconomicandSocial
ResearchCouncil(ESRC),theUKCommissionforEmploymentand
Skills (UKCES) and the National Institute of Economic and Social
Research (NIESR). NIESRs involvement is made possible through
fundingfromtheNufeldFoundation.
TheprojectisoverseenbytheSteeringCommitteeinwhicheachof
the sponsors are represented,in addition to the Health and Safety
Executive which has made a contribution to the project.Thanks go
tothevariousmembersoftheSteeringCommitteewhohavetaken
personalresponsibilityforthesuccessofWERS. Thememberssince
2008are:BillWells(Chair), BeverleyBishop, VivienBrighton, Anthony
Burke, AlexBryson,BernardCarter,ScottCourt,GillDix,PeterElias,
ClaireFeary,JohnForth,RichardGarrett, AlisonHiggins,JoannaLake,
FionaNeathey, AiofeNiLaunaigh,SumitRahman,KellyTaylor,Stephen
Wood,andStellaYarrow.
In a series like WERS that spans decades, but is conducted
intermittently, maintaining continuity and building on previous
experiencebecomesincreasinglydifcultandimportantatthesame
time.While many people have helped retain the WERS memory,
GillDixandJohnForthplayedaparticularlyvaluablerole.
Mark McConaghy commenced as the 2011WERS Project Leader
and led in the initiation, consultation, instrument development and
piloting stages of the project, as well as contracting the National
CentreforSocialResearch(NatCen)toconducttheeldwork.Brigid
vanWanrooysubsequentlytookovertheprojectleaderrole.
The NatCen team responsible for carrying out the study exceeds
200people,includingeldinterviewersscatteredacrossBritain,eld
operations,thetelephoneunit,andresearchers.Theeldinterviewers
showed a great deal of dedication to such a challenging study.
In particular, we would like to acknowledge the effort and
commitmentshownbyMartinWood,TracyAnderson,ZoeLancaster,
Yvette Prestage, Kavita Deepchand, SarahTipping, Nick Gilby and
Emma Drever. Hulya Hooker a researcher at BIS also played a
vitalroleinobtainingrespondentsparticipationinthestudy.
NatCenenlistedexpertsforelementsoftheproject:SusanPurdon
providedessentialadviceontheweightingofthedataandPublicZone
developed the communications strategy for approaching potential
WERS participants.We are also grateful for advice provided on
equalityanddiversityaspectsofthestudybyNikkiBennettandfor
guidanceonweightingfromProfessorChrisSkinner.
At the initial stages of the survey development a consultation was
conductedwithWERSusersincludingacademicsandpolicymakers
andpractitioners. ManypeopletookthetimetomeetwiththeWERS
researchteamormakeasubmissionaboutthecontentofthesixth
WERS. Thisinformationwasvitalinmakingdifcultdecisionsabout
reducing the length of the questionnaires,as well as what additions
shouldbemade.
As part of the initiative to engage potential participants inWERS,
the following organisations kindly agreed toendorse the study: the
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the
Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Trades Union Congress
(TUC), British Chamber of Commerce (BCC), Federation of Small
Businesses (FSB), British Retail Consortium (BRC), Engineering
Employers Federation (EEF), Alliance of Sector Skills Councils,
The Work Foundation, and the Involvement and Participation
Association(IPA).
Most of all,WERS would not be possible without the participants.
Sincere thanks go to the managers, employees and employee
representatives who voluntarily gave up their time to participate in
the survey.We also gratefully acknowledge the contribution of the
manyotherindividualsinparticipatingworkplacesandorganisations
whomadethispossible.
THE 2011 WORKPLACE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS STUDY
2
CONTENTS
Foreword
PART TWO: THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP
Who Sets Pay and Conditions?
Workplaces in the Shadow of Recession
Representing Employees in the Workplace
Introduction
Who Manages Employment Relations?
Paying for Performance
Discontent in the Workplace
Pay Dispersion and Satisfaction
Work-life Balance
Health and Safety: Consultation, Risk and Control
More Work, Less Pay? Employees in Recession
Engaging Employees
PART ONE: IN THE SHADOW OF RECESSION
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
26
28
30
32
34
36
38
40
24
What Has Happened To Employee Representation?
PART THREE: WORKING LIVES
Long Working Hours: The Path to Progression?
Equality and Diversity: Creating a Level Playing Field?
Trends in Training
Job Satisfaction and Well-being
Stafng the Workplace
Workplace Change: A Matter for Debate?
Technical notes
1
4
42
FOREWORD
The Workplace Employment Relations Study (WERS) series
commenced in 1980.This sixthWERS has been conducted in an
exceptional period for the British economy. Its ndings offer an
importantopportunitytounderstandtheoperationofworkplacesin
atimeofsubstantialeconomicandsocialuncertainty.
TheWERSserieshasmappedemploymentrelationsextensivelyover
threedecades. ThereiscurrentlynootherstudyinBritainlikeWERS.
It provides insights into often complex and diverse employment
relationships by taking a step inside the workplace and collecting
a wide range of information from managers, employees and their
representatives. In doing so, it sheds light on the current economic
andsocialpolicyenvironmentthroughtheexplorationofamultiplicity
ofemploymentrelationsmatters.
This report provides the rst look at the headline data on three
broadareas:i)theexperiencesofworkplacesandtheirworkforces
intherecenteconomicrecession;ii)thestructuresandpracticesof
employmentrelations;andiii)theexperiencesofworkers.
Workplaces in the Shadow of Recession
The economic and social context for the 2011WERS provides a
uniqueopportunitytoexplorehowworkplaceshaverespondedto
an economic downturn and how employment relations practices
havebeenaffected.
Over the last few decades, forms of contractual arrangement
betweenemployersandemployeeshavebecomemorediverse.Did
managersincreasetheirrelianceonnon-standardwaysofstafngthe
workplace?
How have employees been affected by the recession? Often in a
recession we focus on the jobless, but how were those employees
who remained in work affected? Has worker well-being suffered
duringtheeconomicupheaval?
The Employment Relationship
Effectiveemploymentrelationsarevitaltotheworkplace,whetherat
thetimeofrecruitment,duringanemployeestenureoratthetimeof
separation.Employers,managers,employeesandtheirrepresentatives
areallkeyplayersinthisrelationship. Whatstructuresareinplaceto
supportthemanagementofemployees?
Over the last three decadesWERS has mapped the declining role
of unions and the increasing individualisation of the employment
relationship. Do unions still matter? To what extent are they
involved in wider organisation decision-making?What is the role of
representatives,bothunionandnon-union?
Questionsaroundpaysetting,bothinthepublicandprivatesectors,
havebeenattheforefrontofpublicpolicydebate. WERSprovides
detailed information on the determination of pay including the
inuenceofworkplaceactors.
Jobsecurity,rewardsandsatisfactionareallcentraltounderstanding
howemployeesrelatetotheirwork;andtheimportanceofthesehas
beenheightenedinthecurrenteconomicclimate.HaveHRmanagers
cometotheforetopromotestrategiesforrespondingtothecrisis?
Where the employment relationship breaks down, conict can
occur.Collectiveworkplaceconicthasbeenonadownwardtrend,
although it experienced a small spike in 2011.WERS looks at the
trends in conict and also at the methods for resolution of both
individualandcollectivedisputes.
Working Lives
Employeesexperiencesatworkarenotonlyshapedbythetypeof
work they do, but also how they are managed. Do employees feel
committedtotheirworkplaceanddoesthatimpactonthewaythey
approachtheirwork?Areemployeessatisedwiththeirpay?Arethe
low-paiddissatisedwithallaspectsoftheirjob?
Employees ability to balance their work and home lives is an issue
thathasgrowninimportanceoverthelastfewdecades.Arefewer
employeesnowworkinglonghours?Doemployeesfeeltheircareer
trajectories are dependent on working long hours? Are managers
doing more to assist employees with their caring responsibilities?
Ordomanagersfeelthatthisshouldbeamatterforemployeesto
addresswithoutemployerassistance?
The Context of 2011 WERS
TheBritisheconomyisfacingoneofitsgreatestchallengesinrecent
history.In2008,wesawtheglobaleconomyplungeintoturmoil. The
recessionisnotableforanumberofreasons.First,itwasbornoutof
anancialcrisisafteralongperiodofgrowthandprosperity.
Second,giventhefallinoutput,thefallinemploymentwasrelatively
small and by September 2012, absolute employment had returned
topre-recessionarylevels.However,duetopopulationincreasesthe
employment rate is still below the pre-recessionary peak.The ip
2
side to employment performing better than output is that labour

productivityhasdeclined.
Third,employment in the private and public sectors have behaved
very differently. Private sector employment fell substantially during
2008 and 2009 as the recession hit. In contrast, public sector
employmentroseduringthisperiod.Since2010,thepicturehasbeen
reversed; with private sector employment rising while public sector
employmenthasfallen.
Fourth,thepatternofgrowthhasbeenunstable.Negativegrowthhas
beenrecordedinvariousquartersin2008,2011and2012.
Fifth, the global picture is one of uncertainty, particularly in the
Eurozone.
Thesecharacteristicsandtheirrespectivetimingsmeanthatthesixth
WERS,whichwasconductedfromearly2011tomid2012,provides
awindowintoworkplacesduringaparticularlychallengingperiod.
The First Look at the 2011 WERS
Thisreportprovidestherstlookatsomeofthekeyndingsfrom
the2011WERS.Morespecically,thepurposeofthisreportis:
Toprovidetherstcutofheadlineresultsofkeydataitems.
(Further data with breakdowns across industry and workplace
sizecanbeobtainedfromthewebsite:https://www.gov.uk/
government/organisations/department-for-business-innovation-
skills/series/workplace-employment-relations-study-wers.)
To illustrate the breadth inWERS as well as showcase some of
thenewquestions.
ToexaminechangesincethelastWERSconductedin2004.
Tostimulatedebateandfurtherresearch.
Ihopethisreportfullstheseobjectivesandmore.
However,thereisonlysomuchthatcanbeachievedinaformatsuch
asthisandWERSprovidesahugeamountofscopeformuchmore
in-depthanalysis.
Therefore, I expect that this First Findings report will whet your
appetiteforthenextoutputfromthe2011WERSresearchteam,the
book,Workplaces in the Shadow of Recession: Findings from the 2011
Workplace Employment Relations Study. This will be available at the
endof2013.
Moreover,theWERSdatawillbemadeavailablethroughtheUKData
Service. By making the data available in this way, we hope that the
tremendous potential ofWERS will continue to be realised by the
vastarrayofresearchersandanalystswhoareinterestedinmatters
relatingtowork.
Bill Wells
Chair,2011WERSSteeringCommittee
DepartmentforBusiness,InnovationandSkills
3
INTRODUCTION
The Objectives of the WERS Series
WERShashadthreecorepurposeswhichhave
remainedthroughouttheseries:
1. TomapBritishemploymentrelationsovertime.
2. Toinformpolicyandpractice,andstimulatedebate.
3. Toprovideacomprehensiveandstatisticallyreliabledataset
onBritishworkplaceemploymentrelationsforpublicuse.
WERS Methodology
The study commences with an interview with the most senior
manager with responsibility for employment relations, human
resources or personnel at the sampled workplace.The manager
is asked to provide a demographic prole of the workforce prior
to the interview, and nancial performance information about the
workplacesubsequenttotheinterview.Permissionissoughtfromthe
managertodistributeaself-completionquestionnairetoamaximum
of25employeesattheworkplace.
Ifaunionandnon-unionemployeerepresentativeispresentforthe
workplace, one interview with each is sought. The union interview
is conducted with the most senior lay representative of the largest
union at the workplace.The non-union representative interview is
conducted with the most senior non-union employee sitting on a
joint workplace consultative committee.Where there is no such
committee,astand-aloneemployeerepresentativeisinterviewed.
The eldwork for the sixthWERS took place from March 2011 to
June 2012.A total of 2,680 face-to-face interviews with managers
were carried out (Table 1).The average length of the management
interview was 90 minutes. Some 1,002 interviews were conducted
with employee representatives, 797 of which were union
representatives. Theseinterviewswereconductedeitherface-to-face
oroverthephone,lasting30minutesonaverage.
In workplaces with 25 or fewer employees, all were given the
questionnaire. In larger workplaces, 25 employees were randomly
selected to participate. A total of 21,981 employees completed
the survey. This report will not draw directly on ndings from the
Financial Performance Questionnaire. However, this source of data
willbemadepubliclyavailable.
TABLE 1:Total response and
response rates, 2011
Management
Questionnaire
WorkerRepresentatives
Questionnaire
SurveyofEmployees
All
workplaces
989
52.3%
432
65.6%
8,821
55.7%
2,680
46.3%
1,002
63.9%
21,981
54.3%
Panel
workplaces
(alsosurveyed
in2004)
FinancialPerformance
Questionnaire
200
32.3%
545
31.8%
Response rates were lower than in earlier waves of the study, but
reect prevailing trends in business surveys. Response biases have
beencomprehensivelyinvestigatedandaddressedwhereapparent.
The 2011 WERS continued the tradition of innovation that has
characterisedtheentireseries.Previoussurveyscomprisedanewly
selectedsample,togetherwithaseparatepanelelementwherebya
selectionofcontinuingworkplacesthatparticipatedintheprevious
studywererevisitedtocarryoutanabridgedmanagementinterview.
In 2011, these two discrete samples were integrated, with 989
panel workplaces now being combined with 1,691 newly sampled
establishments to form the overall sample of 2,680.The benets
of this approach were to boost the size of the overall sample and
to widen the scope of the information collected from the panel
workplacesinthestudy.
Reporting of the 2011 WERS
The2011 WERS First Findingsreportsonallworkplaceswith
5ormoreemployeesintheBritisheconomy,excluding
workplacesinagriculture,forestry,shing,andminingand
quarrying.Thisrepresents:
Almost 750,000 workplaces
23.3 million employees
4

The overall 2011 WERS sample is representative of all British

workplaceswith5ormoreemployees. Thispopulationaccountsfor
35%ofallworkplacesand90%ofallemployeesinBritain.
Figure1showsthedistributionoftheseworkplacesbysizeandthe
proportionofemployeestheyaccountfor.Morethantwointhree
workplaces(70%)discussedinthisreportaresmall,thatis,theyhave
between5and20employees;buttheseworkplacesaccountforjust
21%ofemployeesinthesurveypopulation.Incontrast,just1in20
workplaces have more than 100 employees but cover almost half
(48%)ofallemployees.
FIGURE 1: Distribution of workplaces and employment
in WERS (%)
N
u
m
b
e
r

o
f

e
m
p
l
o
y
e
e
s

500ormore
100to499
50to99
20to49
10to19
5to9
18
10
11
44
26
17
14
6
27
4
21
1
0 20 40
60
Workplaces Employees
Base:Allworkplaces
It is then very important to remember, when reading First
Findings, that any estimates that are provided for all workplaces are
heavily determined by the characteristics and behaviour of small
establishments,whileanyestimatesthatareprovidedforallemployees
aremoreheavilyinuencedbythesituationinlargerestablishments.
Wealsodistinguishbetweenworkplacesthatbelongtosmall,medium
andlargeprivateenterprises(denedasthosehaving5-49,50-249,
and250ormoreemployees,respectively).
Inthisreport,wewilldrawonall2,680workplaceresponsestoprovide
estimates for 2011 and will compare this to the 2,295 responses
obtainedin2004.Insomeinstances,toobtainabetterunderstanding
of change within workplaces the ndings will concentrate on the
continuingworkplaces.Bydoingthiswecanascertainhowmuchof
overallchangeisattributabletochangeinsideworkplaces.
Inlookingatthischangeinsideworkplaces,wewilloccasionallywant
to determine if this level of change is high or low compared with
previous periods. In these cases, we will go to the previous panel
study that examined workplaces that participated in the 1998 and
2004surveys.In1998,onlyworkplaceswith10ormoreemployees
were surveyed.Therefore, when making such comparisons we will
onlyexamineworkplacesof10ormore.
Reporting Conventions
Unlessotherwisestatedtheresultspresentedexcludecases
wheretherespondentdidnotprovideananswer(i.e.refused
ordidnotknow). Thelevelofmissingcasesneverexceeds
10%,unlessstated.
SymbolswithinTables
0 Representslessthan0.5%,includingnone.
() Thebaseisbetween20and50observationsandshould
betreatedwithcaution.
Notapplicable/noestimateavailable.
Examining Change and Differences
Wheredatacomparisonshavebeenmade,forexample
betweentwotimepoints(2004and2011)orbetweengroups
ofworkplacesofdifferentsizes,theresultshavebeentested
forstatisticalsignicanceatthe5percentlevel.Essentially,this
testingallowsustodeterminewhetherthereareenough
surveyobservationstobecondentthattheestimatesreect
differencesinthepopulation.
Thisreportonlycommentsondifferencesorassociationsthat
arestatisticallyreliable(i.e. signicant).Insomecases,thiswill
meanthatalthoughthegureslookdifferent,astatistically
signicantdifferencehasnotbeenobserved.
Managers Responses
Themanagementinterviewwasconductedwiththemostsenior
personresponsibleforemploymentrelationsorstaffatthe
workplace. Whentheresponsesgivenbymanagersarediscussed,
wearereferringtotheserespondents. Whenthecharacteristics
oropinionsoftheManagerialoccupationarediscussed,thisis
madeclearinthetext.
5

PART ONE: IN THE SHADOW OF RECESSION

WORKPLACES IN THE SHADOW OF RECESSION
THE ECONOMY ENTERED RECESSION IN LATE 2008. It contracted more than at any point since the
depression of the 1930s and, four years later, output remains around four percentage points below its
pre-recession level. How have British workplaces fared in the crisis?
Therateofworkplaceclosureinourstudypopulationwasactuallyno
greaterthaninthelate1990s/early2000s.However,mostsurviving
workplaces were affected in some way by the recession, and many
took some form of action that impacted directly upon the wages,
hours,organisationofwork,orjobsecurityoftheirworkers.
Workplace Closure
Onepartofthe2011WERSinvolvedreturningtothoseworkplaces
that participated in the previous wave in 2004 to establish which
werenolongerinexistence.Some17%hadcloseddown. Therate
was 19% among private sector workplaces and 7% in the public
sector.Therecessionmayhaveprecipitatedclosureforsome,butthe
overallclosureratewasinfactnohigherthanthatobservedbetween
thetwopreviousWERSsurveys(in1998and2004).
Who Else Was Affected?
The 2011 WERS included questions to identify which surviving
workplaceshadbeenaffectedmostbythedownturn,andalsotond
outhowtheyhadresponded.
Workplace managers were asked about the extent to which their
workplace had been adversely affected by the recession. One fth
(19%)saidthattherecessionhadaffectedtheirworkplaceAgreat
deal,whileonequarter(26%)saidthatithadaffectedthemQuitea
lot. Afurther27%saidthatithadaffectedthemAmoderateamount
andoneinsix(17%)saidthatithadonlyaffectedthemAlittle. The
remaining10%saidthattherecessionhadNoadverseeffectontheir
workplace.
Thepatternofresponsesacrosstheseveresponsecategoriesdid
not differ greatly between small and large workplaces, and so the
employmentcoverageacrosstheseworkplaceswasalsoverysimilar.
Thepatternofresponseswasalsosimilarbetweentheprivateand
publicsectors.
Ofcial statistics suggest that Construction, Transport and
communication, Financial services, and Public administration have
been among the worst affected industry sectors, either in terms
of output or employment.
1
Figure 1, which summarises workplace
managersresponsesabouttheimpactoftherecession,reectsthis
broad pattern, showing that the recession had some of its most
widespreadeffectsinthesefourindustries.Figure1alsoshowsthat,
eveninindustrieswheretheimpactwaslesswidespread,therewere
stillmanyworkplacesthatkeenlyfelttheeffectsoftherecession.
How Did Managers Respond to the Recession?
Inresponsetotherecession,threequarters(76%)ofallworkplaces
had taken some form of action that impacted directly on their
FIGURE 1:To what extent were workplaces adversely affected by the recent recession?
Percentage of employees in workplaces giving the specifed response
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Allindustries
Manufacturing
Electricity,gasandwater
Construction
Wholesaleandretail
Hotelsandrestaurants
Transportandcommunication
Financialservices
Otherbusinessservices
Publicadministration
Education
Health&socialwork
Othercommunityservices
47 28 25
47 27 26
18 12 70
72 11 16
39 25 37
49 27 24
46 32 22
48 38 14
45 29 26
65 17 18
42 39 19
51 23 26
34 38 28
A great deal/Quite a lot A moderate amount Just a little/No adverse effect
Base: Allworkplaces(weightedbyemployment)
6
workforce. Themostcommonresponsewastocutorfreezewages
(42%). Other common responses included introducing a freeze on
lling vacant posts (28%), changing the organisation of work (24%)
andpostponingplanstoexpandtheworkforce(21%). Therecession
prompted compulsory redundancies in 14% of all workplaces and
voluntaryredundanciesin7%(18%whencombined).
TABLE 1: Actions taken in response to the recent recession (%)
Freeze/cutinwages
Freezeonllingvacantposts
Reducepaidovertime
Reducetrainingexpenditure
Reduceuseofagencystaff
Reducebasichours
Compulsoryredundancies
Voluntaryredundancies
Reducenon-wagebenets
Enforcedunpaidleave
Increaseuseofagencystaff
Otherresponse
Noactiontaken
Changeintheorganisationofwork
Postponeworkforceexpansion
Private Public All
39
26
22
21
17
14
13
16
14
5
7
3
2
3
26
63 42
44 28
35 24
22 21
23 18
32 16
31 16
6
9
23
7
2
4
5
11
15
14
7
7
3
3
3
24
Base:Allworkplaces
Largerworkplacesweremorelikelythansmalleronestohavetaken
someformofactionso,while24%ofallworkplaceshadseennoneof
thespeciedactions,theseemployedonly18%ofallemployees. The
extenttowhichvariousinitiativestouchedonindividualemployeesis
reportedfurtheronpages8-9.
Publicsectorworkplacesweremorelikelythanthoseintheprivate
sectortohaveexperiencedsomeformofresponsetotherecession
(Table 1). Many of the individual actions were also more prevalent
in the public sector.The only actions that were more common
among private sector workplaces were compulsory redundancies
andreductionsinbasichours.Asthispatternsuggests,publicsector
workplaces were then also more likely to have experienced more
thanonetypeofresponseperhapsfreezingwagesaswellasmaking
voluntaryredundancies.
Workplaces that reported the recession had affected them more
severelyweremorelikelytohavetakenconsequentactioninvolving
their workforce. But again there was considerable heterogeneity:
7%ofworkplacesthatwereaffectedAgreatdealbytherecession
managedtoavoidaworkforcerelatedresponse,asdid12%ofthose
thatwereaffectedQuitealot.
Similarly,almosttwofths(38%)ofthoseworkplacesthatreported
No adverse effect from the recession nonetheless reported taking
at least one of the specied actions.The incidence of this was
considerably higher in the public sector (70%) than in the private
sector(32%),perhapsindicatingtheparticularrolethatstate-owned
workplaceshavebeenaskedtoplayinrespondingtothecrisis.
How Did Workplaces Fare?
Workplacemanagerswerealsoaskedwhethertheirworkplacewas
nowweakerasaresultofitsexperienceintherecession(seeFigure
2).Theoverallpatternofresponsesdidnotdiffergreatlybetweenthe
privateandpublicsectors.
FIGURE 2: Managers: The workplace is weaker as a result
of the recession (%)
8
14
19
39
21
Strongly agree
Agree
Neither agree nor
disagree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Base:Allworkplaces
Workplaces that were similarly affected by the recession did not
always experience the same outcomes. Notably, only half (47%)
of those workplaces on which the recession hadA great deal of
adverseimpactagreedthattheywereweakerasaresult.
A central aim of the forthcoming book will be to examine which
typesofworkplacesfaredbetterthroughtherecession,andwhether
theapproachtoemploymentrelationsplayedanypartindetermining
theirexperience.
1
OfceforNationalStatistics:IndexofProduction,IndexofServicesandAllin
EmploymentbyIndustrySector.
7

MORE WORK, LESS PAY? EMPLOYEES IN RECESSION

IN TIMES OF RECESSION, MUCH ATTENTION IS FOCUSED ON UNEMPLOYMENT AND JOB LOSSES.
BUT WORKING LIFE MAY ALSO CHANGE FOR THOSE EMPLOYEES WHO REMAIN AT WORK. There may
be changes to rewards, such as pay cuts or freezes, or reductions in non-wage benets. Further, there
may be changes to the nature of work, such as the reorganisation of tasks or increases in workload.
Examining the perspective of employees, we nd that the most
common changes they experienced as a result of recession were
wage cuts or freezes and increases in workload. Men were more
likelythanwomentoexperienceachangeatworkasaresultofthe
recession.
Employees Experiences of Recession
The 2011WERS asked employees if they had experienced any of a
speciedlistofchangesasaresultofthemostrecentrecession,while
at their current workplace (Figure 1). Here we focus on the 88% of
employees who indicated that they were working at the surveyed
workplaceduringtherecession.
Themostcommonchangesreportedbyemployeesweremorework
and less pay.Wage cuts or freezes were cited by 33% of employees,
and increases in workload were reported by 29% of employees.
FIGURE 1: Changes experienced by employees as a result
of recession (%)
Wagesfrozenorcut
33
Workloadincreased
29
Workwasreorganised
19
Accesstopaidovertimerestricted
19
Accesstotrainingrestricted 12
Non-wagebenetsreduced 6
Movedtoanotherjob 5
Contractedworkinghoursreduced 5
Requiredtotakeunpaidleave 2
Noneofspeciedchanges
39
0 10 20 30 40 50
Base:Employeesatworkplaceduringrecession
Reorganisationofworkandrestrictionsinaccesstopaidovertimewere
eachcitedbyaroundonefth(19%)ofemployees.Justoveroneinten
(12%)reportedthataccesstotraininghadbeenrestricted.However,
39% of employees indicated that none of the specied changes had
happenedtothemasaresultofthemostrecentrecession.
More than a third (36%) of employees experienced two or more
changes. Focusing on the two most prevalent changes, 14% of
employeesreportedbothanincreaseinworkloadandawagecutor
freeze.
Which Employees Were Most Affected?
Theextenttowhichemployeeswereaffectedbytherecessionwill
beinuencedbythedegreetowhichtheirworkplacewasaffected.
Aroundhalf(48%)ofemployeesinthepublicsectorreportedwage
cuts or freezes, compared with just over one quarter (27%) in the
private sector. More than a third (36%) of public sector employees
reported an increase in workload, compared with 26% in the
privatesector.
PublicadministrationandConstructionweretheindustrieswiththe
highest percentages of employees reporting wage cuts or freezes
(68% and 50% respectively). Increases in workload were most
commonamongemployeesinPublicadministration(48%),followed
byTransportandcommunication(36%)andFinancialservices(33%).
Theprevioussection(pages6-7)indicatedthattheseareamongthe
industriesthathavefaredtheworstintheeconomicdownturn.
As to be expected, employees were more likely to report changes
wherethemanagerindicatedthattheworkplacehadbeenadversely
affectedbyrecession:68%ofemployeesinworkplacesaffectedeither
QuitealotorAgreatdealbytherecessionhadexperiencedatleast
onechange.Nevertheless,evenamongemployeesinworkplacesless
adverselyaffected,thisproportionstoodatjustoverhalf(54%).
Certain groups of workers may be more vulnerable to changes in
recession.Table1showsthepercentageofemployeesreportingapay
freezeorcut,anincreaseinworkload,oranychange,accordingtosex,
age,full-timeorpart-timestatusandoccupation.
Among those remaining at their workplace, men were more likely
than women to have had their wages frozen or cut (35% versus
31%)buttherewasnostatisticallysignicantdifferencebysexinthe
proportionwhoreportedanincreaseintheirworkload.Overall,men
weremorelikelythanwomentohaveexperiencedsomechangeas
aresultofrecession(64%comparedwith58%).
Workers aged between 30 and 59 years were more likely than
youngerorolderworkerstoreportchangesasaresultofrecession.
Full-time employees were more likely to have experienced wage
cutsorfreezesandincreasesinworkload,butpart-timeemployees
weremorelikelytoreportthattheircontractedworkinghourshad
been reduced (8% compared with 4% among full-time employees).
It should be noted that some of these employees may have been
previously employed on a full-time basis. Many of these factors are
likelytobeinter-related,forexample,womenaremorelikelytobe
employedinpart-timeroles.
8
TABLE 1: Changes experienced by employees as a result of

recession (%)
Sex
Male
Female
Age
Lessthan20
20-29
30-59
60plus
Workinghours
Full-time
Part-time
Occupation
Managerial
Non-managerial
Wages
frozen
orcut
Work-
load
increased
Any
change
35
31
1
23
36
31
35
24
38
32
29 64
28 58
8 26
24 55
31 64
23 52
32 64
19 50
39
27
67
60
Base:Employeesatworkplaceduringrecession
Overall,employeesinAssociateprofessionalandtechnicaloccupations
were the most likely to have experienced wage cuts or freezes
(41%) while those in Elementary occupations were the least likely
(17%).EmployeesinManagerialoccupationswerethemostlikelyto
have experienced increases in workload (39%), while employees in
Caring,leisureandotherpersonalserviceoccupationsweretheleast
likely(17%).
Job Security
In a period of recession it would not be surprising for employees
to have greater concerns about their job security. In 2004, around
two thirds (67%) of employees agreed or strongly agreed with the
statement I feel my job is secure in this workplace. In 2011, this
proportionhadfallentothreefths(60%)ofemployees(Table2).
TABLE 2: Perceptions of job security (%)
Ifeelmyjobissecureinthisworkplace
Numberofchangesasaresultofrecession
Stronglyagree
oragree
Neitheragree
nordisagree
Strongly
disagreeor
disagree
2004
None
67
72
18
18
15
10
2011
1
2
3
4ormore
60
60
50
45
32
21
23
24
24
25
18
17
26
32
43
Base: Allemployees;Employeesatworkplaceduringrecession
Employeesthathadexperiencedchangeasaresultofrecessionwere
lesslikelytoagreethattheirjobwassecure(Table2).Furthermore,
themorechangestheyhadexperienced,thelesslikelytheywereto
feelsecureintheirjob.Aroundonethirdofemployees(32%)who
hadexperiencedfourormorechangesasaresultoftherecession
agreed that their job was secure, compared with 72% of those
experiencingnoneofthespeciedchanges.
9

STAFFING THE WORKPLACE
HAVE EMPLOYERS CHANGED THE WAY THEY STAFF WORKPLACES IN RESPONSE TO THE RECESSION?
This section considers whether the use of practices that give exibility over the size of the workforce or
the allocation of working hours has changed since 2004.
Therewasanincreaseintheproportionofworkplacesmakingsome
use of non-standard working hours arrangements such as shifts,
annualisedhoursandzerohourscontractsovertheperiodfrom2004
to 2011, but annualised hours and zero hours contracts remained
relatively unusual.There was little change in the use of xed-term
or temporary contracts, the use of agency workers, or employers
contractingactivitiesinorout.However,employersreportedcutting
agencyworkers,ratherthanincreasingtheiruse,inresponsetothe
recession.
Shift-working
The percentage of workplaces where at least some employees
workedshiftsrosebetween2004and2011,from24%to32%.Shift-
workingalsoincreasedamongworkplacesthathadbeeninexistence
in 2004. Larger workplaces were much more likely to have some
employeesworkingshiftsthansmallerworkplaces(Figure1). However,
anincreaseintheuseofshift-workingamongsmallerworkplaceswas
the main driver of the increase overall, as there was no signicant
changeintheiruseinworkplaceswith50ormoreemployees.
FIGURE 1:Workplaces with any shift-workers (%)
2004 2011
100
80
60
40
20
0
5-9 10-19 20-49 50-99 100-499 500+
18
15
36
44 44
62
63
80
81
42
32
23
Number of employees
Base:Allworkplaces
Increasesbetween2004and2011intheprevalenceofshift-working
foratleastsomeemployeesweremostpronouncedinworkplaces
in the service industries of Wholesale and retail (from 19% of
workplacesin2004to30%in2011),Hotelsandrestaurants(47%to
74%)andEducation(7%to24%).
Annual Hours Contracts
In 2011, 6% of workplaces had some employees on annual hours
contracts
1
,comparedwiththe4%in2004.
Largerworkplacesaremorelikelytohavesomeemployeesonannual
hourscontractsthansmallerworkplaces.Onefth(20%)ofworkplaces
with100ormoreemployeesusedannualhourscontractscompared
with5%ofsmallworkplaceswithlessthan50employees.
WorkplacesintheHotelsandrestaurantsandOtherbusinessservices
sectorsweremostlikelytointroduceannualhourscontractsbetween
2004 and 2011. In 2004 just 1% of workplaces in either sector had
someemployeesonannualhourscontracts,whereasthishadincreased
to7%withinHotelsandrestaurantsand6%inOtherbusinessservices
by2011.
There was a clear increase in the proportion of workplaces in small
privatesectorenterpriseswithemployeesonannualhourscontracts
(from 1% to 6%), but not in larger private sector enterprises or the
publicsector.
Zero Hours Contracts
There was also a doubling in the percentage of workplaces that
had some employees on zero hours contracts
2
between 2004 and
2011(from4%to8%),thoughincidenceremainedlow. Therewere
increasesintheuseofzerohourscontractsinlargerworkplaces.In
2004, 11% of workplaces with 100 or more employees used zero
hourscontracts,increasingto23%in2011.
Workplaces in the Hotels and restaurants sector were again
particularly likely to introduce zero hours contracts between 2004
and 2011 (4% and 19% respectively), while workplaces in the
Education sector also saw a marked rise in the use of zero hours
contracts(from1%to10%).
Use of Fixed-term and Temporary Contracts
There is no evidence that employers overall have changed their use
oftemporaryandxed-termcontractstoadjustthesupplyoflabour
in response to uctuations in demand. In 2011, 25% of workplaces
hadsomeemployeesontemporaryorxed-termcontracts,whichis
notasignicantchangefrom22%in2004.Also,thepercentageofthe
employeesinsidetheworkplacethathadatemporaryorxed-term
contractremainedstable,atanaverageof7%in2011(and5%in2004).
Thestabilityintheuseofxed-termandtemporarycontractsatboth
time points may mask more pronounced changes for workplaces
with different characteristics.There was a sizeable reduction in the
10
percentage of workplaces in the Education sector which had some

employees on xed-term or temporary contracts (from 74% to
60%).Also,the average percentage of employees on xed-term or
temporarycontractswithinManufacturingworkplacesincreasedfrom
1%to5%. Withinworkplacesthatusedxed-termcontracts,managers
weremorelikelytosaythatthiswasbecauseofafreezeonpermanent
staffnumbersin2011thanin2004(11%and7%oftheseworkplaces
respectively).
Use of Agency Workers
The Agency Workers Regulations, introduced part way through
eldworkinOctober2011,gaveagencyworkersarighttothesame
basic terms and conditions of employment as employees after 12
weeksinajob,withsomecomparablerightsfromtherstday. There
wasnosignicantchangeintheproportionofworkplacesthatmade
useofagencyworkersin2004and2011.In2011,10%ofworkplaces
hadsomeagencyworkers,comparedto12%in2004.
The general picture of stability masked clear changes for particular
typesofworkplacesintheiruseofagencystaff.Only10%ofworkplaces
intheHealthandsocialworksectorhadanyagencyworkersin2011,
comparedto18%in2004.Amongworkplacesthathadsomeagency
workers,between2004and2011therewasanincrease(from14%to
22%)intheirusetoprovidecoverformaternityorannualleave.
Using Agency Workers or Temporary Staff in Response to the
Recession
Anewquestioninthe2011WERSaskedmanagersaboutarangeof
actionstheytookinresponsetotherecession(seepages6-7). Table
1displaystheresponsesregardingtheuseofagencyortemporary
workers.Managersin16%ofworkplacesreportedthattherecession
hadresultedinreductionsintheiruse.Cutsweremorecommonin
thepublicsectorthantheprivatesector.
TABLE 1: Use of agency or temporary staff in response to
the recession (%)
Reduced Increased
agencyor agencyor
temporarystaff temporarystaff
Private 13 2
Public 31 4
All 16 3
Base:Allworkplaces
Ontheotherhand,only3%ofworkplaceshadincreasedtheiruse
of agency or temporary workers because of the recession and in
this case the differences between the private and public sectors
werenotmarked.
Contracting Out and In
Despite the changed economic climate, there were no signs that
employerschangedtheiruseofcontractorsbetween2004and2011.
Inbothyears,managerswereaskedwhetheranyactivitiespreviously
donebyemployeeshadbeencontractedoutintheveyearsprior
tothesurvey.Serviceshadbeencontractedoutin12%ofworkplaces
in2011(14%in2004).In13%oftheseworkplacestheworkthathad
beencontractedoutwasstillbeingcarriedoutbyformeremployees
(14%in2004).
Managers were also asked whether any activities previously carried
outbycontractorshadbeenbroughtin-houseintheveyearsprior
tointerview. Thishadhappenedin11%ofworkplacesinboth2011
and2004.
Thereasonsforcontractingservicesoutorindidnotchangeover
time. Cost savings was the most common reason for contracting
servicesoutandalsocontractingthemin(44%and65%respectively).
1
Acontracttoworkasetnumberofhoursoverthecourseofayear,ratherthanthe
moretraditionaldaily,orweeklyschedule.
2
Theemployeeispaidforhoursworked,ratherthanaxedminimumnumberofhours.
11

PART TWO: THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP

WHO MANAGES EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS?
THE RECESSION ARGUABLY OFFERED AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE HUMAN RESOURCES (HR)
FUNCTION TO TAKE A MORE CENTRAL POSITION IN THE WORKPLACE. Few establishments were left
untouched by the recession and so there was a widespread opportunity and apparent need for skilled
HR professionals who could successfully manage the workplaces response.
However,somehavequestionedtheinuenceandstrategiccapacity
ofHRprofessionals,pointingtotheiroftenlimitedautonomyandto
thefragmentationofHRrolesthroughoutsourcing.
ThissectionexaminessomeofthekeyfeaturesoftheHRfunction
atworkplacelevelandtheextenttowhichithaschangedinrecent
years.Theevidencesuggestssomesmallchangesinthestructureand
activities of workplace HR, particularly in respect of the increases
in autonomy of branch-level managers and the demand for expert
advice. But there is little to suggest that HR managers have more
strategicinuence.
Specialists or Generalists?
First,itisapparentthatdailyresponsibilityforemploymentrelationsat
workplacelevelwasnomorelikelytobeheldbyanHRprofessional
in 2011 than was the case in 2004.The percentage of workplaces
in which employment relations was the responsibility of an HR
manager,aPersonnelmanagerorsomeonewithanotherHR-related
jobtitlestoodat14%in2011,agurenotstatisticallysignicantfrom
the16%observedin2004.
1
Inmostworkplaces(79%),employment
relationscontinuedtobepartofthewiderdutiesoftheownerora
generalmanager.
Mostworkplaceswith500ormoreemployeeshavesomeonewith
an HR title (84%), but this is the case for 8% of those with 5 to 9
employees.Overall,45%ofemployeesarelocatedinaworkplacethat
hasamanagerwithanHRtitle.
The time spent by workplace managers on employment relations
issues was also no different, on average, in 2011 than in 2004.
The workplace manager with responsibility for HR issues spent an
average of 26% of their time on such matters in 2011 (also 26%
in 2004). Some of these managers spend considerable proportions
of their time on employment relations issues despite not having an
HR-relatedjobtitle.Ifwedeneaspecialisttoincludemanagerswith
HRtitlesandowners/generalmanagerswhospendamajorityoftheir
timeonHRissues,wendthat22%ofallworkplaceshadaspecialist
HR manager in 2011.Again, this was not statistically different from
2004,whenitstoodat21%.
What Do HR Managers Spend Time On?
Workplace managers were no less likely in 2011 than in 2004 to
bespendingtimeonrecruitmentorselection(Figure1).Someissues
weremorecommonlymentionedinthelatestsurvey,however,with
theincreasesbeingstatisticallysignicantfor:employeeconsultation,
andholidayentitlements.
FIGURE 1: Issues that workplace HR managers have spent
time on (%)
2004 2011
39
43
92
Recruitmentorselectionofemployees
91
91
Disciplinarymattersorprocedures
90
91
Grievancesorgrievanceprocedures
89
89
Trainingofemployees
87
88
Employeeconsultation
83
86
Stafngplans
86
86
Performanceappraisals
84
85
Healthandsafety
86
81
Equalopportunitiesanddiversity
77
80
Workinghours
76
70
Holidayentitlements
60
66
Ratesofpay
66
Pensionentitlements
0 20 40 60 80 100
Base: Allmanagerslocatedattheworkplace
TherelativelylowproportionsofworkplaceHRmanagerswhospend
timeonissuesrelatingtoholidays,payorpensionsispartlyindicative
of the fact that these items more than any others are often
dealt with centrally in multi-site organisations. In single independent
workplaces, each item in Figure 1 was mentioned by at least 80%
ofworkplacemanagers,withthesoleexceptionofpensions(59%),
whicharenotuniversallyprovidedbyemployers.
In multi-site organisations, the proportion of branch-level managers
having the autonomy to make decisions without higher-level
consultationincreasedbetween2004and2011onanumberofthe
items listed in Figure 1. Pay, hours, holidays, and pensions were all
exceptions(alongwithconsultationandrecruitment),suggestingthat
head ofces are affording branch-level managers greater inuence
oversomeHRprocesses,butnotovertermsandconditions.
12
Moregenerally,therewasnoapparenttrendtowardstheincreased
outsourcing of HR functions, with the proportions of workplaces
that outsourced payroll (28%), training (34%), recruitment (11%)
ortemporaryllingofvacantposts(12%)nothavingchangedtoa
statisticallysignicantdegreesince2004.
The Continued Reshaping of HR
Between1998and2004WERSdocumentedtheincreasing
feminisationoftheHRfunctionandtheriseinformalHR
qualications.Bothtrendscontinuedbetween2004and2011.
2004 2011
% female
SpecialistHRmanagers 60 67
Generalists 35 43
AllworkplaceHRmanagers 40 48
% with HR qualication
SpecialistHRmanagers 46 59
Generalists 16 20
AllworkplaceHRmanagers 22 28
A Strategic Role for HR?
There was little indication in the survey of an increasingly strategic
role for HR. Among UK-based private sector organisations, the
percentage of workplaces belonging to rms with an employment
relationsrepresentativeontheirtopgoverningbody(e.g.theirBoard
ofDirectors)stoodat55%in2011,agurethatwasnotstatistically
signicantfromthe59%observedin2004.
Moregenerally,thepercentagesofallworkplacesin2011thatwere
coveredbyaformalstrategicplancoveringemployeedevelopment
(55%),employeejobsatisfaction(38%)andemployeediversity(32%)
hadnotalteredtoasignicantdegreefrom2004. Theonlynotable
increase was in the percentage covered by a strategic plan that
included forecasts of stafng requirements (42% in 2004, but 47%
in2011).
External Advice
There was considerable evidence of the increasing need among
workplaceHRmanagerstoseekexpertadvicefromexternalbodies.
Inthe12monthspriortothe2011survey,greaterproportionshad
soughtexternaladvicefromlawyersandaccountants,andmorehad
soughtadvicefromAcasandBusinessLink,thaninthecomparable
periodinthe2004survey(Table1).
Thismayreectcontinueddiscussionsaroundchangestoemployment
law, or alternatively a greater prevalence of contentious situations
thatrequireexpertadvice.Nevertheless,itwasapparentthatfewer
workplaceHRmanagershadturnedtoanemployersassociationfor
advice.Indeedmembershipofemployersassociationscontinuedits
downward trajectory,with only 6% of workplaces belonging to an
employersassociationin2011,downfrom9%in2004.
TABLE 1: Sources of external advice (%)
Externallawyers
Acas
Otherprofessionalbodies
Externalaccountants
DeptforBusiness,Innovation
andSkills
BusinessLink
Othergovernmentdept/agency
Managementconsultants
Employersassociation
CitizensAdviceBureau
Anyexternaladvicesought
24
2004 2011
21
14
15
11
11
10
10
5
3
53
29
28
15
20
8
16
11
11
3
3
59
Base: Allmanagerslocatedattheworkplace
1
Inthissectionallestimatesrelatingtoworkplacemanagersarebasedonthe85%of
allworkplaceswithasite-levelmanagementinterview.
13

WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATION?
THE MOST PREVALENT ARRANGEMENT THROUGH WHICH EMPLOYEES ARE REPRESENTED AT
WORK IS THE TRADE UNION. After two decades of substantial decline, union presence was relatively
stable among all but the smallest private sector workplaces over the period between 1998 and 2004.
Non-union representation remained relatively uncommon.
This section shows that since 2004 the prevalence of workplace
union representation has continued to fall in small private sector
workplaces,but has proved relatively robust in other parts of the
economy. Therehasbeennogrowthinnon-unionrepresentation.
Union Membership and Representation
In workplaces with ve or more employees, the proportion of all
employeeswhobelongtoatradeunionchangedlittlebetween2004
and 2011.The small decline from 32% to 30% was not statistically
signicant,butisinlinewiththeslowdownwardtrendseeninofcial
statisticscoveringallemployees.
1
WERS provides additional insights by indicating the workplace
concentrationofunionmembership.Thepercentageofallworkplaces
withanyunionmembersfellsixpercentagepointsfrom29%in2004
to23%in2011,whilethepercentageinwhichamajorityofworkers
wereunionmembersfellfrom14%to10%.
Therecognitionoftradeunionsfornegotiatingtermsandconditions
isanotherkeyindicatorand,here,thedeclinewaslesspronounced.
The percentage of all workplaces with recognised unions fell from
24%to21%but,again,thiswasnotastatisticallysignicantchange.
Any decline in the percentage of workplaces with union members
wasrestrictedtotheprivatesector(Table1),andunionsnowhave
majoritymembershipinonly3%ofallprivatesectorworkplaces.Public
sectorworkplacesaccountforthemajority(55%)ofallworkplaces
that recognise unions, despite the public sector accounting for only
13%ofallworkplacesinthesurveypopulation.
TABLE 1:Workplaces with a union presence (%)
Privatemanufacturing
Privateservices
Publicsector
Any
Union
members
Any
recognised
unions
2004
2004
2004
2011
2011
2011
23
20
90
13
14
89
14
14
90
11
11
91
FIGURE 1:Workplaces with a union presence (%)
2004 2011
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
56
46 46
52
29
23 24
21
Any
recognised
union
Any
union
members
Any
recognised
union
Any
union
members
% of workplaces
% of employees in these
workplaces
There was also no change in the share of unionised workplaces
withon-siterepresentatives(shopstewards),whotendtobemore
prevalentinlargerestablishments.Some27%ofunionisedworkplaces
hadatleastoneon-sitelayunionrepresentativein2011,compared
with26%in2004.
Managers Attitudes Towards Unions
Thepercentageofworkplacemanagerswhowerenotin
favourofunionmembershipstayedunchangedbetween
2004and2011at17%.
Thepercentagewhoagreedthattheywouldratherconsult
directlywithemployeesthanwithunionsrosefrom76%
to80%.
In2011,24%agreedthatunionshelptondwaysto
improveworkplaceperformance(nosignicantchange
from22%in2004).
Base:Allworkplaces
Theproportionworkinginaworkplacethatrecognisedauniondid
notchangeatall(Figure1). Thisisbecause,asinearlierperiods,the
reductioninunionpresenceintheprivatesectorwasgreatestamong
smallworkplaces.
Joint Consultative Committees
AJointConsultativeCommittee(JCC)isanycommitteeofmanagers
andemployeesthatisprimarilyconcernedwithconsultationrather
than negotiation.The prevalence of JCCs fell between 1998 and
2004 but there was no change between 2004 and 2011, with 7%
ofworkplaceshavingaJCC(Table2). Thepercentageofworkplace
14
- -

JCCs on which union representatives sat as part of the employee
delegationwasalsolargelyunchanged,standingat28%in2011.
In multi-site organisations however, there was a decline in the
proportionofworkplaceswhereaconsultativecommitteeoperated
atahigherlevelintheorganisationmostnotablyinprivatesector
service industries (Table 2). The result was that the proportion of
all workplaces covered by either type of committee fell from 35%
to25%.
TABLE 2:Workplaces covered by Joint Consultative Committees (%)
Private
manufacturing
Privateservices
Publicsector
All
NoJCC
Work
placeJCC
Higher
levelonly
2004 87
2004 67
2004
2004
28
64
2011 90
2011 80
2011
2011
37
76
10
5
19
7
3
28
53
28
6
6
15
7
4
15
48
18
Base:Allworkplaces
Amongworkplacesthatbelongedtoorganisationsoperatinginmore
thanonecountry,18%werecoveredbyaEuropeanWorksCouncil
(EWC)in2011. Thiswasnotstatisticallysignicantfromthe21%of
suchworkplacescoveredbyanEWCin2004.
Stand-alone Non-union Representation
In some workplaces, employee representatives may be appointed
who have no connection with a trade union and who do not
operate within a JCC.The prevalence of such stand-alone non-
union representatives was stable between 2004 and 2011 7%
of all workplaces in both years. However, stand-alone non-union
representativesdidbecomemorecommoninworkplacesbelonging
tolargeprivatesectorenterprises:6%ofsuchworkplaceshadstand-
alonenon-unionrepresentativesin2004,risingto13%in2011.
The Overall Availability of Structures for Employee
Representation
The various indicators mentioned above can be combined into a
summarymeasurethatidentiesthepresenceofanyrepresentative
arrangementattheworkplace,whetherarecognisedunion,anon-
site representative from a non-recognised union, a workplace-level
JCCorastand-alonenon-unionrepresentative. Thepercentageofall
workplaceswithanysucharrangementfellfrom45%to35%between
2004and2011(Figure2).Howeverthedeclinewasconcentratedin
smallprivatesectorworkplacesandsotheproportionofemployees
workinginanestablishmentwithanysucharrangementwasstable.
FIGURE 2:Overall availability of employee representation (ER) (%)
2004 2011
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Any
on-site
reps
Any
on-site
reps
Any
structurefor
ER
Any
structurefor
ER
45
35
15
67
47 47
64
14
% of workplaces
% of employees in these
workplaces
Figure 2 also shows a second summary measure that identies the
presenceofanyon-siterepresentative(whetherfromaunion,sitting
onaJCCoractingasastand-alonenon-unionrepresentative).Here
the workplace and employee-based percentages had not changed
signicantlybetween2004and2011.
Taken together these summary measures indicate that there
has been some contraction across workplaces in the overall
availability of structures for employee representation between
2004and2011.Buttheextenttowhichanemployeehasaccessto
individual representatives at their own workplace has remained
largelyunchanged.
1
Brownlie,N.(2012)TradeUnionMembership2011.London:DepartmentforBusiness
InnovationandSkills.
15

REPRESENTING EMPLOYEES IN THE WORKPLACE
THE AMOUNT OF TIME REPRESENTATIVES SPEND ON THEIR ROLE DID NOT CHANGE BETWEEN
2004 AND 2011. However, representatives are now working on a wider variety of issues, with some
issues increasing in prevalence.
Nearlyhalf(47%)ofemployeesarelocatedinaworkplacewithat
leastoneon-siterepresentative(seepage15). Thissectionexamines
results of the survey with the most senior union or non-union lay-
representativeattheworkplace:thatis,anemployeeoftheworkplace
who represents employees in dealings with managers. Due to the
higherprevalenceofunionsinworkplacescomparedtoothernon-
union forms of representation, 60% of the representatives in the
surveyactedasunionreps.
Who are the senior employee reps?
SexJustoverhalf(51%)ofallrepsaremale. Womenhold41%
ofseniorunionand61%ofseniornon-unionrepresentative
positionsattheworkplace.
Age85%are40yearsorolder,upfrom73%in2004,
withtheaverageageofallrepsincreasingfrom45yearsin
2004to48yearsin2011.
Ethnicity97%ofrepresentativesarewhite.
Occupation63%areemployedinhigherskilledoccupations
1
,
13%workpart-timeand43%areinthepublicsector.
The Representative Role
In 2011, similar proportions of senior union and non-union
representatives were paid by their employer for time spent on
representative activities while at work (Figure 1). However, all non-
union representatives were fullling their representative role on a
part-timebasis,whileoneinsixseniorunionrepresentatives(17%)
carriedouttheirroleonafull-timebasis.
Onaverage,unionrepresentativesspent13hoursperweekontheir
roleandnon-unionrepsspent3hoursperweek,withnosignicant
changesince2004. Theseguresareanoverallaverage,and51%of
unionrepresentativesspentlessthan5hoursaweekontheirrole,
comparedwith87%ofnon-unionreps.
In the public sector, 19% of senior union representatives were
spendingalloftheirtimeonunionactivities,64%werepaidpart-time
repsand17%wereunpaidpart-timereps. Thiscomparedwith12%,
81%and7%intheprivatesector.Part-timeunionrepresentativesin
the public sector that were paid spent an average of 10 hours per
weekontheirrole,comparedwith6hoursfortheircounterpartsin
theprivatesector.
2
FIGURE 1:Status of representative role (%)
Paid full-time Paid part-time Unpaid part-time
100
80
60
40
20
0
76
70
70
85
15
17
8
14 14
27
Union Non-union Union Non-union
2004 2011
Base:Allworkplaces
Representatives were shown a list of 11 items (see Figure 2) and
askedwhichtheyspenttheirtimeonandwhattheyconsideredtobe
themostimportantissuefortheirworkplace.Unionrepresentatives
were more likely than non-union representatives to spend time on
disciplineandgrievances,whiletrainingwasamorecommonissuefor
non-unionrepresentatives.
Takingbothunionandnon-unionrepresentativestogether,themost
common issues that representatives spent time on were discipline
andgrievances(64%),healthandsafety(62%),andratesofpay(61%).
The prevalence of these issues had not changed since 2004. Issues
thathadgrowninprevalencewere:pensionentitlements(from30%
in2004to45%in2011)andperformanceappraisals(from28%to
41%).
Theincreasedprevalenceofcertainissuesbetween2004and2011
meantthatthenumberofissuesthatrepresentativesspenttheirtime
onincreased:88%spenttheirtimeontwoormoreissuesin2011,a
risefrom73%in2004.
Whenaskedwhethertheirtimewasspentprimarilyoncollectiveor
individualissues,non-unionrepresentativesweremorelikelytospend
their time primarily on issues that affect groups of employees: 64%
compared to 41% of union representatives.Union representatives
were more likely than non-union representatives to say their time
wasequallydividedbetweencollectiveandindividualissues(23%and
7%respectively).
16

FIGURE 2: Issues representatives spent time on (%)
Non-union Union
77
43
66
57
62
60
55
54
54
47
43
59
47
Disciplineorgrievances
Health&safety
Ratesofpay
Pensionentitlements
Stafnglevels
Hoursofwork
Holidayentitlements
Equalopportunities
Training
Performanceappraisal
Recruitmentorselection
28
37
42
37
31
37
37
30
28
0 20 40 60 80 100
Base: Allsenioremployeerepresentatives
Whiletheprevalenceofmanyissueshasnotchanged,theirperceived
importance by the representative has. Perhaps indicative of the
currenteconomicclimate,stafnglevelshaveovertakenratesofpay
asthemostimportantissuerepresentativessaytheyaredealingwith.
Onefthofrepssaidstafnglevelswerethemostimportantissue,
17% said it was pay, and 17% said it was discipline and grievance.
However,thereisnotasignicantdifferencebetweenthetopthree
issuesidentiedbyrepresentatives.
An Employee Evaluation
Employees were asked who they ideally thought would best
representthemoverarangeofwork-relatedissues. Theyweremost
likely to nominate themselves (Figure 3). However, the prevalence
of this answer decreased between 2004 and 2011, with a growing
preferenceforOthersourcesofrepresentation.
3
Most, but not all, union members thought union representatives
wouldbestrepresentthem.Thepercentagesofunionmemberswho
choseunionrepresentativeswas76%inrespectofreductionsinpay
orhours,71%inrespectofdisciplinarymattersand69%forobtaining
apayincrease.
FIGURE 3:Who best represents employees? (%)
Myself Union rep Employee rep Other
Getting
increasesin
yourpay
2011
2004
Makinga
complaint
aboutwork
2011
2004
Ifamanager
wantsto
discipline
2011
2004
39 25 6 30
47 8 11 33
45 33 5 16
61
37
8 10
8
21
29 25
47 31 11 12
0 20 40 60 80 100
Base:Allemployees
Employees in workplaces with no representative structures prefer
torelyonthemselvesindealingswithmanagement:61%forgetting
increasesinpay(comparedwith29%ofemployeesinworkplaceswith
representative structures); 62% for making a complaint (compared
with37%);and58%fordealingwithdiscipline(comparedwith28%).
Thenextmostcommonoptionwasothersourcesincludingtheirline
manager.Betweenonequarterandonethirdofemployeespreferred
theseothersourcesfortheissuesmentionedandthiswasmorein
line with employees in workplaces where structures were in place.
Forexample,27%ofemployeesinworkplaceswithoutrepresentative
structureswouldideallygotoothersourcesofrepresentationabout
apayincrease,comparedwith24%ofemployeesinworkplaceswith
thesestructures.
1
TheseareManagers,Professionals,Associateprofessionalandtechnical,
andSkilledtrades.
2
Theseresultsonrepresentativesreportsofhowmuchtimetheyspendontheir
activitieseachweekmaynotcorrespondtotheirallocatedfacilitytime.
3
TheresponseoptionschangefromSomebodyelsein2004toLinemanagerin2011.
ThegroupedcategoryofotheralsoincludestheoptionofAnotheremployee.
17

ENGAGING EMPLOYEES
ENGAGING AND INVOLVING EMPLOYEES WITH ALL ASPECTS OF THEIR WORK IS AT THE
HEART OF MANY PROMINENT MODELS OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT INCLUDING
HIGH PERFORMANCE WORK SYSTEMS.
It is thought that by developing a broader understanding of the
workplace,employeeswillbeabletocontributetoimprovementand
innovationbyconnectingwhattheydowithwhatothersdo,reacting
effectively to problems that arise, and contributing to workplace
decision-making.
Managersareusingavarietyofmethodsthatcanenhancelevelsof
employeeengagement.Therehasbeengrowth,since2004,inmethods
thatfocusoncommunicationandtheprovisionofinformation.There
hasalsobeenarisesince2004intheproportionofemployeesfeeling
committedandengagedwiththeirworkplace. Whilethemajorityof
employeesfeelthatmanagersaregoodatseekingtheirviews,fewer
employeesfeelthattheyinuencedecision-making.Asaconsequence
lessthanhalfoftheemployeepopulationaresatisedwiththeirlevel
ofinvolvementinworkplacedecisions.
Methods for Engaging Employees
Theincidenceofmethodsforsharinginformationhasincreasedsince
2004,whileothermethodsforengagingemployeeshavedecreasedor
remainedthesame(Figure1).Themostwidelyusedwereworkplace
meetings involving all staff, used in 80% of workplaces in 2011, up
from75%in2004;andteambriengs,whichrosefrom60%in2004
to66%in2011. Thedisclosureofnancialinformationalsoincreased
from55%ofworkplacesin2004to61%in2011.
FIGURE 1: Methods for engaging employees (%)
2004 2011
80
66
61
37
14
75
60
55
36
17
0 20 40 60 80
Allstaffworkplacemeetings
Teambriengs
Provisionofinformationon
workplacenances
Staffsurvey
Problemsolvinggroups
Base:Allworkplaces
Problemsolvinggroupswereoperatingin14%ofallworkplaces.They
were most common in Education (27%) and Public administration
(25%). Overall 37% of workplaces had conducted a staff survey in
thetwoyearsprecedingthesurvey,buttheseweremorecommonin
largerworkplaces:73%ofworkplaceswith100ormoreemployees
haddoneso.
InvestorsinPeople(IiP)isanaccreditationschemethatprovidesone
indicationofmanagementattemptingtoengageemployees.In2011,
overonequarter(28%)ofworkplaceshadIiPaccreditation.
Employee Involvement in Decision-making
Half (52%) of employees considered that management wereVery
goodorGoodatseekingtheirviews.However,thisisjusttherst
step in the decision-making process. Employees were less likely to
ratemanagersasVerygoodorGoodatrespondingtosuggestions
and, in particular, allowing employees inuence over nal decisions
(Figure2).
FIGURE 2: Employees rating of managements active
consultation (%)
Very good or good Neither Very poor or poor
Seekviewsof
employees&
representatives
2011
2004
Respondto
suggestionsfrom
employees&
representatives
2011
2004
Allowemployees
&representatives
toinuence
decisions
2011
2004
52 24 24
48 26 26
46 26 28
43 27 30
34 34 31
34 32 35
0 20 40 60 80 100
Base:Allemployees
There was a slight increase in positive ratings across all three
measuressince2004.Employeesinsmallerworkplaces(withlessthan
50employees)weremorelikelythanthoseinlargerworkplacesto
say that managers are good at seeking views of employees (58%),
respondingtotheseviews(56%)andallowingemployeestoinuence
naldecisions(43%).
18

Overall, 43% of employees were satised with the amount of

involvementtheyhadindecision-making,while20%weredissatised.
Employee Commitment
Since 2004 employees level of commitment to the organisation in
which they work increased across the three measures contained
withinWERS (Figure 3).The largest rise was in the percentage of
employeeswhosaidtheysharedthevaluesoftheirorganisation,up
from 55% in 2004 to 65% in 2011.The increases in organisational
commitmentoccurredacrossprivateandpublicsectorworkplaces.
FIGURE 3:Employees organisational commitment (%)
Strongly disagree or disagree Neither
Strongly agree or agree
100
80
60
40
20
0
Sharemanyof
thevaluesofmy
organisation
33
28
55
65
12
8
2004 2011
Feelloyalty
tomy
organisation
17
20
75
70
8
10
2004 2011
Proudtotell
peoplewhoI
workfor
29
23
60
68
11
9
2004 2011
Base:Allemployees
Of the three measures, employees were most likely to agree that
theyfeelloyaltotheorganisationtheyworkfor(75%).Loyaltywas
particularly high among employees of small enterprises (83%), and
theseemployeesweremorelikelythanthoseinotherorganisations
tosaytheysharetheorganisationalvalues(69%),andareproudof
whotheyworkfor(74%).
A high level of organisational commitment might translate into an
employees willingness to take initiative within the workplace. In an
attempt to measure this, employees were asked how much they
agreedwiththestatement:UsingmyowninitiativeIcarryouttasks
thatarenotrequiredaspartofmyjob. Almostthree-quarters(71%)
ofemployeesstronglyagreedoragreedthattheydisplayedthistype
ofproactivebehaviouratwork.
Employees in small private enterprises were more likely to report
usingtheirinitiativetogobeyondtheirjobremit(75%)thanthose
inlargeenterprises(70%)orthepublicsector(70%).Managersand
Professionals are more likely than employees in other occupations
toreportusingtheirinitiativetoperformtasksbeyondtheirjobrole
(83% and 76% respectively). In contrast, 55% of Process, plant and
machineoperativesagreedthattheydothis.
Employees who feel committed to their organisation were more
likely to say they carried out tasks beyond those required of them.
For example, 79% of employees who share the values of their
organisation said that they use their initiative to do more than just
theirrequiredtaskscomparedwith50%ofthosewhosaidtheydo
notsharetheirorganisationsvalues.
There is also an association between employee commitment and
involvement in decision-making. For example, 91% of those who
weresatisedwiththeirinvolvementfeltloyaltotheirorganisation,
comparedwith49%amongthosewhowerenotsatised.And87%
of those satised with their involvement in decision-making felt
proud to work for their organisation, compared to 38% who
weredissatised.
19

WORKPLACE CHANGE: A MATTER FOR DEBATE?
MANY WORKPLACES HAVE EXPERIENCED REDUNDANCIES OR MADE OTHER CHANGES TO THE WAY
THEY OPERATE IN RECENT YEARS. These changes have sometimes been made unilaterally, but in most
cases, managers have consulted with employees or their representatives. This provides opportunities for
both sides to explore the possible implications and in some cases to discuss alternatives.
Consultationisnolesslikelythanitwasinthemorebenigneconomic
climate of 2004. There is some evidence that managers have
narrowed the range of options over which employees are typically
consulted. However, slightly higher proportions of employees have
positive opinions of the extent to which managers are seeking to
involvethemindecision-making.
Consultation Over Redundancies
Aroundoneineightworkplaces(13%)hadmadestaffredundantin
the12monthspriortothe2011survey(comparedwith9%in2004).
Inmostcases(87%),managershadconsultedwithemployeesortheir
representatives before making anyone redundant. Managers almost
always did so (95%) when two or more employees were being
laidoff.
Legal rights to consultation over redundancy
Ifanindividualisbeingmaderedundant,theyareentitledto
aconsultationwiththeiremployeraboutthereasonsandto
discussalternativestoredundancy.
Ifanemployerismaking20ormoreemployeesredundantat
thesametime,consultationshouldtakeplacebetweenthe
employerandanemployeerepresentative.
The outcomes of redundancy consultation were mixed. The
consultation process generated alternatives to redundancy or
reduced the number of redundancies in 22% of workplaces where
a consultation took place (Figure 1). Changes were made to the
employersmeansofpreparingemployeesforredundancyin19%of
cases.Otherchangeswerelesscommon:strategiesforredeployment
were identied or changed in 14%; redundancy payments were
increasedin10%;andthecriteriaforselectionwerechangedin5%.
Overall,managersoriginalproposalswerealteredinatleastoneof
the ways listed in Figure 1 in 40% of workplaces that engaged in
consultationoverredundancy.Some18%ofworkplacesexperienced
multiplechangesinmanagersoriginalproposals.
Although redundancies were more common in 2011 than in 2004,
the extent of consultation and the pattern of outcomes were not
substantiallydifferentinthetwoyears.
FIGURE 1: Outcomes from redundancy consultation (%)
Alternativestoredundancy
orreductioninnumber
Preparingemployeesfor
redundancy
Strategiesfor
redeployment
Increaseinredundancy
payments
Criteriaforselection
22
19
14
10
5
0 5 10 15 20 25
Base: Workplacesthatconductedaredundancyconsultationwith
employeerepresentatives
Consultation Over Other Changes at Work
Employers may also seek to make a range of other changes in the
workplace,rangingfromtheintroductionofnewproductsorservices
tochangesinthewayworkisorganisedorhowemployeesarepaid.
SomeofthemostcommonchangesarelistedinTable1(column1).
When asked to name the change that had the greatest impact on
employees at the workplace (column 2), managers most frequently
chosechangesinworktechniques,changesinworkorganisationor
theintroductionofnewtechnology.
However, changes in work techniques and the introduction of new
technologywerealongwiththeintroductionofnewproductsor
servicestheitemsonwhichmanagerswereleastlikelytoconsultor
negotiatewithstaffortheirrepresentatives(columns3and4).
Consultation and negotiation were more common if the changes
impacted on the terms and conditions of employment, or the
organisationofwork,thaniftheyaffectedissueswhichmightarguably
havemoredirectimplicationsforjobdesign.
As in the case of redundancy, the patterns of consultation and
negotiationweresimilarin2004and2011.Theonlynotabledifference
was that changes in work organisation were more likely to be
the subject of negotiation in 2011 (14%) than they had been in
2004(5%).
20

TABLE 1: Incidence of workplace changes and involvement of employees (%)

Ifmostimportantchange:
Introduction/upgradingofnewtechnology
Changesinworktechniques
Changesinworkorganisation
Productorserviceinnovation
Newemployeeinvolvementinitiatives
Changesinworkingtimearrangements
Introductionofperformance-relatedpay
Noneoftheabove
Base:Allworkplaces
48
Overall
incidence
Most
important
change
Any
consultation
Negotiation
withstaffor
representatives
42
39
33
27
22
7
22
21 47 8
22 52 12
22 68 14
12
9
9
5
44
58
62
50
10
27
26
29
The Operation of Joint Consultative Committees
Jointconsultativecommitteeswerepresentin7%ofallworkplacesin
2011agurethatisunchangedfrom2004(seepages14-15).But
it appears that discussions in these committees may now be more
circumscribedbymanagersthanin2004.
Whenreportingontheconsultativecommitteethatdealtwiththe
widestrangeofissuesattheirworkplace,43%ofmanagersin2011
said that their usual approach was to use the committee to seek
solutions to problems, 38% said that it was to seek feedback on a
rangeofoptionsand19%saidthatitwastoseekfeedbackontheir
preferredoption.
The percentage of managers who said their usual approach was
to focus on their preferred solution stood at 13% in 2004.This
was not a statistically signicant difference from 2011. However,
employee representatives responses indicated that managers
approachhaschanged. Amongemployeerepresentativeswhosaton
joint consultative committees, the percentage who considered that
managers typically focused consultation around a preferred option
rosefrom8%in2004to27%in2011.
How Do Employees Rate Their Managers?
Figure 2 on page 18 showed that 52% of all employees consider
thatmanagersareeitherVerygoodorGoodatseekingtheviews
ofemployees,while46%considerthatmanagersareVerygoodor
Good at responding to their suggestions. Only 34% consider that
managersareeitherVerygoodorGoodatallowingemployeesto
inuencenaldecisions.
Despitethesegures,almostthreefths(57%)ofemployeesagree
that managers are sincere in attempting to understand employees
views (Table 2). Moreover, the percentage of employees who are
satised with the amount of involvement they have in decision-
makingattheirworkplacerosebetween2004and2011,from40%
to43%.Alloftheincreaseoccurredintheprivatesector,wherethe
percentage of satised employees rose from 41% to 45%.Among
publicsectoremployeesitremainedunchanged(37%in2004;36%
in2011).
TABLE 2: Employees views of managers (%)
EmployeeStronglyagreesorAgrees
thatmanagersaresincereinattempting
tounderstandtheirviews
EmployeeisVerysatisedorSatised
withtheamountofinvolvementin
decision-making
55 57
2004 2011
40 43
Base:Allemployees
21

WHO SETS PAY AND CONDITIONS?
UNION INFLUENCE OVER PAY AND CONDITIONS HAS CONTINUED TO DECLINE SINCE 2004.
In the private sector, although formal rights to negotiate over pay changed little, the scope of
collective bargaining in the unionised sector declined dramatically.
Inthepublicsector,collectivebargainingcoveragefellmarkedlybut
the bargaining scope was stable. Nevertheless, unions continue to
bargain successfully for employees, increasing the likelihood of pay
risesthroughpaysettlements.
Employeesperceptionsofunioneffectivenessinbargainingontheir
behalf have remained fairly stable since 2004, in spite of indications
that their inuence is waning.When employees were askedIdeally,
whodoyouthinkwouldbestrepresentyouindealingwithmanagers
aboutgettingincreasesinyourpay?,onethird(33%in2004and30%
in2011)saidatradeunion.Thisrosetoonehalfinworkplaceswitha
unionrecognisedforpaybargaining(55%in2004and53%in2011)
andtwothirdsamongunionmembers(69%inbothyears).
Collective Bargaining Coverage
Union inuence over pay setting has been in decline for three
decades.By 2011 only 6% of private sector workplaces bargained
withunionsoverpayforanyoftheiremployeesandjustunderone
sixthofprivatesectoremployees(16%)hadtheirpaysetbycollective
bargaining.These gures have remained fairly stable since 2004
(Table1).
TABLE 1: Collective bargaining coverage (cell %)
A fall in the percentage of public sector workplaces using multi-
employer bargaining from 58% in 2004 to 44% in 2011 lies
behindthedeclineinpublicsectorpaybargaining. Thepercentageof
public sector employees covered by collective bargaining in Health
has fallen from 74% in 2004 to 14% in 2011,in part because the
Independent Pay Review Body has resumed responsibility for pay
after Agenda for Change negotiations were completed. However,
evenifweexcludeHealth,thepercentageofpublicsectoremployees
coveredbycollectivebargainingfellfrom66%in2004to56%in2011.
The Scope of Collective Bargaining
Whatisthescopeofcollectivebargainingwhereunionsarepresent
at the workplace? Managers were asked whether they normally
negotiate, consult, or inform the union on seven issues, namely pay,
hours, holidays, pensions, training, grievance procedures, and health
and safety.Table 2 shows the percentage of workplace managers
sayingtheynegotiatedwiththeuniononnone,someorallsevenof
theseitems.
TABLE 2: Scope of collective bargaining where unions
present (row %)
None Some All
Publicsector:
2011
2004
37
37
55 8
59 4
Privatesector:
2011
2004 54
67
41 5
32 1
Allworkplaces:
2011
2004 47
53
48 5
43 5
Base: Allworkplaceswhereaunionispresent
In 2004 close to two thirds (63%) of unionised public sector
workplaces normally negotiated over at least some of the items.
Thisremainedunchangedby2011. Althoughitwasrareforunionsin
thepublicsectortonegotiateoverallsevenissues,thepercentageof
workplaceswheretheydidsodoubledfrom4%to8%.
The scope of collective bargaining was narrower in the private
sectorin2004andhasbeenfalling. Thepercentageofprivatesector
unionised workplaces that normally negotiated with unions over at
leastsometermsandconditionsfellfromnearlyhalf(46%)toone
Public Private All
Workplaceswithanycollectivebargaining:
Employeescoveredbycollectivebargaining:
Workplaces100%collectivebargaining:
58 2011
2011
2011
69
50
70 2004
2004
2004
44
38
6
17
5
13
29
11
8
16
3
16
23
8
Base:Allworkplaces
However,thelastsevenyearshasseenasignicantdeclineincollective
bargaining coverage in the public sector. Collective bargaining takes
place in less than three fths (58%) of public sector workplaces,
settingpayforalittleovertwofths(44%)ofpublicsectoremployees,
down from over two thirds in 2004. Strongly unionised workplaces
where100%ofemployeeshavetheirpaysetbycollectivebargaining
havebeenararityintheprivatesectorforsometime.Buttheyare
increasinglyuncommoninthepublicsectortoo.
22
third (33%). Private sector employers propensity to negotiate had

declinedonallsevenitems.
Thepercentageofallunionisedworkplacesnormallynegotiatingover
pay,hours and holidays (the three items covered in the statutory
unionrecognitionprocedure)fellfrom33%in2004to25%in2011.
Thisfallwasconcentratedintheprivatesectorwherethepercentage
declinedfrom29%to16%,suggestingahollowingoutofrecognition
inthatpartoftheeconomy.
Pay Settlements
WERS is the only source of information on pay settlements that is
nationally representative of workplaces in Britain. Figure 1 shows
thefactorsinuencingthesizeofpaysettlementsforemployeesin
the largest occupational group at the workplace in 2011. Financial
performance of the rm dominates in the private sector, but it is
alsoasalientfactorinthepublicsector.Althoughthecostoflivingis
mentionedbyonethirdofworkplacesinbothsectors,thesegures
weresignicantlylowerthanin2004whenitwasmentionedby75%
of public sector workplaces and 55% of private sector workplaces.
Onethirdofprivatesectorworkplaceshadregardtothestatutory
national minimum wage, compared with only 14% of public sector
workplaces.
FIGURE 1: Infuences on size of pay settlement (%)
Private Public
Financialperformance
Costofliving
Minimumwage
Productivity
Recruitmentandretention
Other
Nationalagreement
Industrialaction
Funds
Noneofthese
27
32
14
13
4
13
12
18
8
5
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
62
35
31
30
22
7
4
Base:Allworkplaces
The vast majority of workplaces review basic pay for their largest
occupational group of employees at least once a year, but annual
reviewsarenowlesscommoninthepublicsectorthantheyareinthe
privatesector(Box1).Anincreasingproportionofpaysettlements
resultinapayfreeze,especiallyinthepublicsector.However,where
unions negotiate the pay settlement, employees are more likely
to get a pay increase than when the settlement is not negotiated
withaunion.
BOX 1: Pay Settlements for the Largest
Occupational Group
Annual Review
91%ofprivatesectorworkplacesconductpayreviewsfor
employeesintheirlargestoccupationalgroupatleastonce
ayear,similartothe94%in2004.Butinthepublicsectorthe
percentageconductingpayreviewsatleastannuallyfellfrom
92%to83%reectinggrowthinlong-termdeals.
Outcome of last pay settlement
In56%ofpublicsectorworkplaces,theirlargestoccupational
grouphadapayfreezeattheirlastpayreviewcomparedto
only4%in2004.Thepercentagedoubledintheprivatesector
from12%to26%.
Union effects on settlements
In2011inpublicsectorworkplaces55%ofunion-negotiated
settlementsledtoapayincrease(ratherthanafreezeor
paycut),comparedto35%ofsettlementsthatwerenotunion
negotiated.Intheprivatesectorthegureswere77%and
69%respectively.
23

PAYING FOR PERFORMANCE

IN THE TWO DECADES TO 2004 AN INCREASING PROPORTION OF WORKPLACES TIED PAY
TO PERFORMANCE. More workplaces used payments-by-results (PBR) based on individual or
team-level performance. There was also greater nancial participation through prot-related
pay (PRP) and employee share ownership.
Performance-related pay may help encourage greater employee
effort,recruitthemostableemployees,andfacilitatewageexibility.
Financialparticipationmightbeanattractivewayforrmstosharerisk
withtheiremployeesintroubledtimes.Since2004theproportionof
workplaces using incentive payment schemes has remained broadly
constant,althoughthemixofschemeshaschanged.Formalappraisal
of non-managerial employeesperformance is increasingly common
andaffectspay.
How Many are Paid for Performance?
New questions introduced in 2011 asked employees whether they
were paid a xed wage and whether they were in receipt of PBR.
Onefth(20%)receivedPBRinadditiontotheirxedwageand3%
weresolelyreliantonPBR. Theremaining77%wereonaxedwage
only (Figure 1).There is substantial variation across industries: 68%
ofemployeeswereinreceiptofPBRintheFinancialservicessector
comparedwithonly4%inEducation.
BOX 1: PBR, Merit Pay and Financial Participation
Payments by Results (PBR)
Anymethodofpaymentdeterminedbyobjectivecriteria
the amount done or its valueratherthanjustthenumber
ofhoursworked.Itincludescommission,andbonusesthat
aredeterminedbyindividual,workplaceororganisation
productivityorperformance.Itdoesnotincludeprot-related
payschemes.
Merit pay
Payrelatedtoasubjective assessmentofindividual
performancebyasupervisorormanager.
Proft-related Pay (PRP)
Paymentsorbonusesrelatedtoprotlevelsofallorpart
oftheorganisation.
Share schemes
AnyShareIncentivePlan(SIP);SaveAsYouEarn(SAYEor
Sharesave);EnterpriseManagementIncentives(EMI);Company
ShareOptionPlan(CSOP);orotheremployeesharescheme.
Only 7% of public sector employees received PBR compared with
28% of private sector employees (Table 1). Individual PBR was the
dominantformofperformancepaymentinthepublicsector. However
muchofthisisaccountedforbyemployeesinPublicadministration,
some of whom may be reporting receipt of non-consolidated
bonusesinthewakeofapayfreeze.
FIGURE 1:Employees in receipt of PBR (%)
Fixed pay only PBR only Both
100
80
60
40
20
73
4
0
24
Private
Base:Allemployees
93
6
77
3
1
Public All
20
TABLE 1:Types of PBR employees receive (%)
Individualresults
Groupresults
Organisationresults
Employeespaidby2
ormoremeasures
AllemployeesonPBR
Public Private All
6
2
1
1
7
15
9
15
8
13
7
11
7
28 23
Base:Allemployees
IntheprivatesectorindividualPBRandorganisation-levelPBRwere
equally common. In private manufacturing employees were most
likely to have PBR tied to workplace or organisation performance
(18%),followedbyindividualperformance(11%).Inprivateservices,
individualPBRwasmostcommon(with16%ofemployeesinreceipt
ofit)followedbyworkplaceororganisationperformance(14%).
Employer Use of Incentive Schemes
The management survey allows us to distinguish between nancial
participation(prot-relatedpayschemesandshareplans)andPBR,
and between objective and subjective assessments of performance
(Box 1). Just over half (54%) of all workplaces use at least one
incentivepayscheme,butprivatesectorworkplacesaremorethan
twiceaslikelyaspublicsectorworkplacestodoso(Table2).
24

TABLE 2:Workplaces using incentive schemes (%)
Public Private All
AnyPaymentsbyResults:
2011
2004
9
10
31 28
35 31
AnyMeritPay:
2011
2004 10
10
16 15
21 20
AnyPaymentbyResultsorMeritPay:
2011
2004 17
17
44 40
43 40
AnyProt-relatedPay:
2011
2004 1
6
35 30
32 29
AnyShareSchemes:
2011
2004 1
5
20 17
10 9
Atleastoneofaboveincentiveschemes:
2011
2004 18
22
60 54
58 54
Base:Allworkplaces
Thepercentageofworkplacesusingincentiveschemeshasremained
broadlystablesince2004:thesmallchangesintheprivateandpublic
sectors are not statistically signicant. But there have been notable
changes in the types of schemes used by employers. In the private
sector,agrowthintheuseofmeritpayhasbeenoffsetbyareduction
in the use of PBR, so that the proportion of all workplaces using
either PBR or merit pay has remained constant at just over two
fths(43%). Thepercentageofprivatesectorworkplacesusingshare
schemeshashalvedto10%. Thischangeisnotdrivenbychangesin
thenancialsector.InthepublicsectorPRPandshareownershipare
largelyconnedtothepostalservice.
The percentage of non-managerial employees covered by incentive
schemes has changed little since 2004, although the percentage
covered by prot-related pay schemes has risen a little (Figure 2).
The percentage of workplaces with PRP covering all of its non-
managerialemployeesrosefrom7%to10%.
FIGURE 2:Within-workplace incentive coverage of non-managerial
employees (%)
0% 1-99% 100%
100
80
60
40
20
4
6 6
1 1
0
64
89
91
64
84
93
22
7 8
23
10
14 13
Merit/PBR
2004 2011
PRP
2004 2011
Shares
2004 2011
Base:Allworkplaces
Performance Appraisals for Non-Managerial Employees
A growing percentage of non-managerial employees have their
performance formally appraised. The percentage of workplaces
formallyappraisingatleastsomenon-managerialemployeesrosefrom
43%in2004to69%in2011(Figure3).Furthermore,thepercentage
ofworkplaceslinkingpaytotheoutcomeofperformanceappraisal
rosesothat,by2011,non-managerialpaywaspartlydeterminedby
performanceappraisalin24%ofworkplaces.Thisincreasewasfound
inboththepublicandprivatesectors.
FIGURE 3: Appraisal of non-managerial employees (%)
Private Public All
11
16
16
24
Appraisal 2011 25
24
linkedto
pay
2004
43
2011 63
Appraisal 45
nolink 25
41 2004
27
33
2011 13
No 31
appraisal
58
2004 48
57
0 20 40 60 80
Base:Allworkplaces
25

DISCONTENT IN THE WORKPLACE

FOLLOWING THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN IN 2008, MANY WORKPLACES FACED DIFFICULT DECISIONS
AND CHANGES. Public sector unions have responded to the Governments austerity agenda with co-
ordinated industrial action. Public sector strikes have become more common, but more employees
report positive workplace relations than in 2004 and the rate of individual grievances is down.
The Employment Relations Climate
Managers were typically positive about their relationship with their
employees,thevastmajority(96%)ratingthisrelationshipaseither
VerygoodorGood(Figure1).Thisisnotasignicantincreasefrom
93% in 2004. In contrast, 64% of employees rated the relationship
between themselves and managers as Very good or Good; an
increasefrom62%in2004.
FIGURE 1: Relations between managers and employees (%)
Very good Good Neither Poor Very poor
The proportion of workplaces that experienced industrial action
washigherin2011thanin2004;however,thisrisecanbeattributed
primarilytotheincreaseinstrikesinthepublicsector(Table1). The
large-scalestrikesinthepublicsectorledtoaquadruplingofthese
workplaces reporting strikes. In contrast, the rate of strikes in the
private sector, and other industrial action such as non-strike action
andthreatstotakeactionacrossallworkplacesweresimilarin2011
and2004.
TABLE 1: Industrial action in prior 12 months (%)
2011 55 41 4
All
managers
2004 49 6 44
2011 21 10 22 43 3
All
employees
2004 21 11 23 40 4
0 20 40 60 80 100
Relations between managers and employees were poorer in larger
workplaces. Only 85% of managers and 57% of employees in
workplaces with 500 or more employees rated relations positively.
There was a notable improvement in the climate in Manufacturing
workplaces: the percentage of managers reporting aVery good or
Goodrelationshipincreasedfrom85%in2004to97%in2011,and
amongemployeesitrosefrom49%to56%.Publicsectormanagers
andemployeesviewsonrelationshavenotchangedsince2004(93%
ofmanagersand57%ofemployeesgaveapositiveratingin2011).
Workplace Disputes
Accordingtoofcialstatistics1.39milliondayswerelosttostoppages
in2011. Thecomparativegurein2004was905,000.
1
4% of workplaces experienced a strike in the 12 months
prior to the 2011 survey, an increase from 1% in 2004.
Private Public
All
workplaces
2004 2011 2004 2011 2004 2011
Anystrikeaction
Anynon-strikeaction
Threatsofactiononly
Noactiontakenor
threatened
Note:Strikeandnon-strikeactionarenotmutuallyexclusive.
(0)
1
2
97
6
(4)
6
86
1
1
3
95
1
1
1
98
27
6
4
66
4
1
1
94
Ballots were held in the 12 months prior to the survey in 7% of
workplaces. Most workplace managers (67%) did not know what
proportion of eligible employees voted in the last ballot. Of those
managersthatknew,atleasthalfofeligibleemployeesvotedin64%
ofcases.
Despitetheriseinstrikes,managersthatsaidtheirworkplacesuffered
disruption as a result of industrial action in another organisation
remainedlow2%ofworkplacesweredisruptedin2011.
Individual Disputes
The incidence of disciplinary action was similar in 2004 and 2011.
Figure2showsthatin2011,39%ofmanagersappliedatleastone
of the following disciplinary sanctions: a formal verbal or written
warning,suspension,deductionfrompay,internaltransferordismissal.
In 2011, less than one fth (17%) dismissed at least one employee.
Thepercentageofworkplaceswhereanemployeeraisedagrievance
inthe12monthspriortothesurveydecreasedfrom38%in2004
to30%in2011.
26

2004 2011
39
Workplaces Employees
Grievances
Disciplineanddismissals
Collectivedisputes
2004
83
86
41
2004
94
95
56
2011
88
89
35
2011
96
97
54
Proceduresforhandling
Disciplinarysanction
Grievanceraised
FIGURE 2: Individual disputes (%)
Dismissal
ETclaim
43
38
19
5
0 10 20 30 40 50
30
17
4
Base:Allworkplaces
As well as raising a grievance, employees might express discontent
at work through absence, leaving the employer or submitting an
EmploymentTribunal claim.The percentage of work days lost to
employeeabsenceremainedatasimilarlevelinbothperiods,atan
averageof3.5%in2011and3.7%in2004.Therateofvoluntaryexits
(i.e.employeeswhoresignedorleftontheirownaccord)declined
since2004,fromaworkplaceaverageof15%to10%ofemployees.
However,thevoluntaryexitratecanbeattributedtomanyfactors,
for example,employees may be less likely to leave their job if they
perceive that there are fewer labour market opportunities open
tothem.
The percentage of workplaces in which an employee made an
EmploymentTribunalapplicationwasconsistentwith2004at4%.
Handling of Disputes
Mostworkplaceshaveproceduresinplacefordealingwithgrievances
(88%),anddisciplineanddismissals(89%)(Table2).Also,asworkplaces
withoutprocedurestendedtobesmall,anevenlargerproportionof
employeesarelocatedinworkplaceswhereproceduresareinplace.
The percentage of workplaces that have an internal procedure
for handling collective disputes has decreased from 41% in 2004
to35%in2011. Thisdeclineisconcentratedinworkplaceswithout
a recognised union down from 30% in 2004 to 24% in 2011.
Almostthreequarters(73%)ofworkplaceswitharecognisedunion
havesuchaprocedure.
Twothirds(67%)ofcollectivedisputeproceduresrefertoanexternal
bodyforresolution. Themostcommonlyspeciedreferralswereto
TABLE 2: Presence and coverage of dispute procedures (%)
Base:Allworkplaces
Acasconciliation(36%ofproceduresthatrefer),andAcasarbitration
(24%).Only11%specifymediation,butthispercentagehasdoubled
since2004.
The2004DisputeResolutionRegulationssetoutastatutory3-step
procedure for handling a dispute: i) to put the matter in writing; ii)
toholdaformalmeeting;andiii)togivetherighttoappealagainst
the decision. In 2009, the 3-step statutory procedure was repealed.
A new principles-based Acas Statutory Code was issued which
maintainedthe3stepsasgoodpracticeguidance. Thepercentageof
workplacesthathaveall3stepsinplaceforhandlinggrievanceshas
increasedbetween2004and2011from66%to80%(covering89%
of employees in 2011). Only 45% of managers reported practising
the3stepsallofthetime,thoughthishasrisenfrom37%in2004.
Managers are more likely to report the 3 steps in procedures for
handling discipline (92%), as well as practising all steps all of the
time(81%).
Mediation
The focus of policy-makers and practitioners has turned to the
preventionandresolutionofdisputeswithintheworkplace.Mediation
by an impartial third party is one way of attempting to do this.
Provision for mediation is included in 62% of grievance procedures
and61%ofdisciplinaryanddismissalprocedures,covering63%and
56%ofemployees,respectively.However,thishasnottranslatedintoa
highlevelofuse.Ofallworkplaces,7%hadusedmediationtoresolve
anindividualdisputeinthe12monthspriortothesurvey:4%with
aninternalmediatorand3%withanexternalmediator.Thislowlevel
ofuseofmediationincomparisontoitsinclusioninproceduresmay
reectaperceivedlowneedforsuchanintervention,orthefactthat
mediationmaynotbeembeddedinthecultureofconicthandling.
1
OfceforNationalStatistics(2012)LABD01:LabourDisputesinLabourMarket
StatisticsDataTables,November2012release.
27

PART THREE: WORKING LIVES
PAY DISPERSION AND SATISFACTION
THE DISTRIBUTION OF PAY WITHIN WORKPLACES VARIES CONSIDERABLY, WITH DIFFERENCES
APPARENT ACROSS SECTOR AND INDUSTRY. Low-paid employees are less satised with their pay
than higher paid employees, but they are not always less satised with other aspects of their jobs.
Higher-paid employees report higher levels of job-related anxiety than lower-paid employees.
The Distribution of Pay
Managerswereaskedhowmanyoftheiremployeesfellintoeachof
sixpaybands(Figure1).Acrossallworkplaces,onaverageonetenth
of the workforce were paid an hourly rate at or below the adult
rateoftheNationalMinimumWage(NMW).
1
Thisproportionstood
at 11% in private sector workplaces, but only 2% in public sector
workplaces. Employers may be paying below the adult NMW for
apprenticesandemployeesagedunder21.Privatesectorworkplaces
weremorelikelytoemployworkersagedbetween16and21;49%
hadatleastsomeemployeesinthisagegroupcomparedwith24%of
publicsectorworkplaces. Throughoutthissectionwefocuson2011
only,ascomparabledataarenotavailablefor2004.
FIGURE 1:The average distribution of pay within workplaces (%)
NMW adult rate or less 5.94 7.50 7.51 10.00
10.01 13.00 13.01 18.00 18.01 or more
All
Private
Public
11
11
26
28
31
22
22
21
15 14 13
2
14 14 12
19 16
10
0 20 40 60 80 100
% of workforce
Base:Allworkplaces
Attheotherendofthepayspectrum,workplaceshadanaverageof
13% of their employees earning an hourly rate of 18.01 or more
(thehighestpaybandspecied):16%inpublicsectorworkplaces,and
12%inprivatesectorworkplaces.
Concentrations of Low and High Pay
Focusingrstonemployeesearningthelowestrateofpay,in69%of
workplacesnoemployeeswerebeingpaidanhourlyrateequivalent
toorlessthantheadultNMW(Figure2).In9%ofworkplacesatleast
halftheworkforcewerereceivingthisrate.
Private sector workplaces were more likely to have at least some
employeesinthislowestpayband.In17%ofprivatesectorworkplaces,
atleastaquarteroftheworkforcewerelocatedinthelowestpay
band,comparedwithjust2%ofworkplacesinthepublicsector.
FIGURE 2: Employees in the workplace earning at or below the
adult NMW (%)
None 25-50% 1-9% 10-24% 50%+
All
Private
Public
67
6 10
11 10
9
7
90
69 5
5
4 4
0 20 40 60 80 100
Base:Allworkplaces
FIGURE 3: Employees in the workplace earning at least
18.01 per hour (%)
None 25-50% 1-9% 10-24% 50%+
All
Private
Public
55
13 16
16
16
8
9
8
12
21 40
53 10
15
9
0 20 40 60 80 100
Base:Allworkplaces
Figure 3 shows the equivalent data for the highest categorised pay
band.In8%ofworkplacesmorethanhalftheworkforcewerepaid
atleast18.01perhour. Thispercentagedidnotdifferbetweenthe
publicandprivatesectors,butoverall,publicsectorworkplaceswere
more likely to have at least some employees earning this amount
(60%comparedwith45%ofprivatesectorworkplaces).
28
Therewasconsiderablevariationbyindustryinthedistributionofpay
withinworkplaces(Table1). WorkplacesintheHotelandrestaurants
sectorweremostlikelytohavehighproportionsoflow-paidworkers;
in41%atleastaquarteroftheworkforceearnedtheadultNMW
rateorless. ThepercentagewasalsorelativelyhighintheWholesale
andretailsector(25%).Incontrast,theproportionwasrelativelylow
inOtherbusinessservicesandPublicadministrationtwosectors
wheremorethanonethirdofallworkplaceshadatleastaquarterof
theirworkforceearning18.01ormore.
TABLE 1:Workplaces with at least one quarter of workforce
in lowest and highest pay bands (%)
Manufacturing
Electricity,gas&water
Construction
Wholesale&retail
Hotels&restaurants
Transport&communication
Financialservices
Education
Health&socialwork
Base:Allworkplaces
NMWadult
rateorless
18.01or
more
0
18
25
41
0
(0)
4
1
14
8
16
89
31
9
2
9
(43)
45
37
38
15
13
10 17
Pay, Job Satisfaction and Well-being
Payislikelytobeoneofthekeyfactorsaffectinghowemployeesfeel
about their jobs.We can explore this using information on weekly
payreportedbyemployeesthemselves;indoingso,werestrictour
attentiontofull-timeemployees(i.e.thoseworking30ormorehours
perweek).Morethanhalf(55%)offull-timeemployeesearning521
perweekormore(referredtohereashigherearners)wereVery
satised orSatised with their pay (Figure 4).This compared with
31% of those earning between 221 and 520 per week (middle
earners), and 25% of those earning below this amount (lower
earners).
As well as being more satised with their pay, higher earners were
moresatisedthanmiddleorlowerearnerswithanumberofother
aspectsoftheirjobs(Figure4).Thiswastrueforsatisfactionintermsof
senseofachievement,scopeforusinginitiative,inuenceoverthejob
andinvolvementindecision-making.However,lower-paidemployees
tendedtobemoresatisedwiththetrainingtheyreceived.Interms
ofsatisfactionwithjobsecurity,theopportunitytodevelopskills,and
theworkitself,thoseinthemiddleoftheearningsdistributionwere
theleastsatised,withnostatisticallysignicantdifferencesbetween
thelowerandhigherearninggroupsontheseaspects.
FIGURE 4: Employees Very satisfed or Satisfed with aspects of
their job (%)
Higher earners Middle earners Lower earners
Pay 31
55
25
82
Scopeforusing
71
initiative
75
79
Senseofachievement 70
73
78
Workitself 72
76
69
Inuenceoverjob 57
60
60
Jobsecurity 55
63
57
Opportunityto
49
developskills
56
53
Involvementin
37
decision-making
38
50
Training 53
65
0 20 40 60 80 100
Base:Full-timeemployees
Whilehigherearnersreportedgreatersatisfactionthanotherearners
onmanyaspectsoftheirjob,theywerealsomorelikelytosufferfrom
job-related anxiety.Among full-time employees, around two thirds
(66%)ofhigherearnersreportedthat,inthefewweekspriortothe
survey,theirjobhadmadethemfeeltenseAll, MostorSomeofthe
time. Thiscomparedwith56%ofmiddleearnersand50%oflower
earners.There was a small difference in the proportion of higher
earnersthathadfeltuneasyatleastsomeofthetime(29%compared
with 27% among lower and middle earners). Higher earners were
alsomorelikelytohavefeltworriedatwork(39%haddonesoat
least some of the time, compared with 32% among the lower and
middleearninggroups).
1
5.93forinterviewsconductedin2011;6.08forthoseconductedin2012.
29

LONG WORKING HOURS: THE PATH TO PROGRESSION?

THE EU WORKING TIME DIRECTIVE WAS INTRODUCED IN THE 1990s AS A MEANS OF REDUCING
THE PREVALENCE OF LONG-HOURS WORKING. In a third of workplaces in 2011, at least one
employee had opted out of the Working Time Regulations. Inside these workplaces, average working
hours were longer and employees were more likely to believe that long hours are required to progress.
The Distribution of Working Hours
Inatougheconomicclimate,workinghourscanbesubjecttoarange
of inuences. Earlier, it was shown that some employers reduced
overtimeorcutbasichoursinresponsetotherecession(seepages
6-7).However,thereisalsoevidencethatmanagersscaleddowntheir
workforcethroughredundanciesandrecruitmentfreezes,leadingto
the possibility of a larger workload for the remaining employees.
Indeed,29%ofemployeesreportedthattheirworkloadhadincreased
asaresultoftherecession(seepages8-9).
Figure1showsthedistributionofusualworkinghoursin2011among
employees in workplaces with 5 or more employees. Overall, the
distribution was similar to that observed in 2004.The vast majority
ofemployeeswereworkingfull-timehours(denedas30ormore
hours per week).Just under half (46%) were working 40 or more
hoursperweek,and11%ofemployeeswereworkingmorethan48
hoursperweek.
FIGURE 1:Distribution of employees usual working hours (%)
40
30
20
10
0
Hours per week
Base:Allemployees
Fewer
than10
10to29 30to39 40to48
More
than48
5
11
17
32
35
Britain has one of the highest rates of part-time work among
developedeconomies.Onefth(22%)ofemployeesinworkplaces
with5ormoreemployeeswereworkingpart-timehoursonausual
basisin2011(Figure1).
What does the balance of full-time and part-time employees look
likeinsidetheworkplace?Thepercentageofworkplacesthathadany
part-timeemployees(thosecontractedtoworklessthan30hours
per week) was the same in 2004 and 2011 (79%).Workplaces in
thepublicsectorandprivateservicesweremorelikelythanthosein
private manufacturing to have some part-time staff (89%, 80% and
54%respectively).
In workplaces that had some part-time staff, employees working
part-time hours accounted for 40% of the workforce on average.
This gure exceeded 50% among workplaces in Hotels and
restaurants,OthercommunityservicesandEducation.
Long Working Hours
TheEUWorkingTimeDirectiveintroducedin1993andenacted
intoUKlegislationin1998placedanupperlimitof48hoursonthe
workingweek,averagedovera17-weekperiod.However,employees
can agree to opt-out of this limit. One third (32%) of British
workplaces had at least one employee who had signed an opt-out
agreement(Table1,column1).Allmanagershadagreedtoopt-out
oftheworkingtimeregulationsin21%ofworkplaces.Thepercentage
ofworkplaceswhereallemployees(includingmanagers)hadagreed
toanopt-outwaslower,at15%.Overall,12%ofallemployeeswere
locatedinaworkplacewhereeveryonehadopted-out.
Opt-outagreementsweremorelikelytobefoundinprivatesector
workplaces: 34% had at least one employee who had signed an
opt-out, compared with 15% of workplaces in the public sector.
Other business services which includes non-nancial professional
occupationssuchaslawyerswasthesectormostlikelytoreport
opt-outagreements(40%).
The percentage of employees who usually worked more than 48
hours per week was 20% in workplaces where all employees had
signed an opt-out agreement, nearly twice the percentage in
workplacesasawhole(11%)(Table1,column2).
Hours were longer in workplaces that use opt-out agreements.
Where all employees had signed an opt-out, full-time employees
were working an average of 43 hours per week, compared to 39
hours per week where no-one had signed an opt-out (column 3).
This indicates that signing an opt-out agreement is not always a
preludetoworkingbeyondthemaximumprescribedbytheDirective.
However,itispossiblethatitaffectsemployeesviewsoftheworking
hoursthatareexpectedofthembymanagers.
Employees Views on Long Working Hours
In2011employeeswereaskedtheextenttowhichtheyagreedwith
thestatement: Peopleinthisworkplacewhowanttoprogressusually
havetoputinlonghours.Overall,41%ofemployeeseitherStrongly
agreed or Agreed and 23% Strongly disagreed or Disagreed.
Thisleft36%ofemployeeswhoNeitheragreednordisagreed.
Professionals (57%) and Managers (45%) were more likely than
employees in other occupations to think that long hours were
requiredtoprogress.
30
TABLE 1:Working time opt-out agreements in the workplace

Whohas
optedout:
Workplaces
(col%)
Employees
working48+
hours(cell%)
Employees
averagefull-
timehours
Allemployees 15 20 43
Allmanagers,
someorno 6 14 42
employees
Some
employees
11 12 41
Noemployees 68 8 39
All employees 100 11 40
Base:Allworkplaces(column1);allemployees(columns2and3)
Thisperceptionwasalsomoreprevalentamongemployeesworking
in medium and large private sector enterprises, where 41% and
47% of employees agreed, than it was among employees in the
publicsector(where37%agreed)andthoseinsmallprivatesector
enterprises(wherejust31%agreed).
Table 2 explores the link between hours worked and attitudes
towardslonghours. Althoughthedistributionofattitudesamongfull-
time employees did not differ substantially from that found among
part-timeemployees,full-timeemployeesweremorelikelyoverallto
agreethatemployeeswhowanttoprogresshavetoworklonghours
(42%,comparedwith37%ofpart-timeemployees).
TABLE 2:People in this workplace who want to progress usually
have to put in long hours
Employees(%)
Average
full-time
Part-time Full-time
hours
Stronglyagree 10 12 42
Agree 27 30 41
Neither 39 35 40
Disagree 21 21 39
Stronglydisagree 3 3 38
Allemployees 100 100 40
Base: Allpart-timeemployees(column1);
Allfull-timeemployees(columns2and3)
Full-time employees who strongly agreed that long hours are
required to progress in the workplace worked an average of 42
hours per week, compared to 38 hours per week for those who
stronglydisagreewiththisstatement.Further,morethanhalf(56%)
ofthoseworking48ormorehoursperweekagreedthatlonghours
contributed to progression and almost half (49%) of employees in
workplaceswhereallemployeeshadsignedanopt-outagreed.
There is an association between employees well-being and their
workinghours(Figure2).Mostemployees(69%)whowereworking
morethan48hoursperweeksaidtheirjobmadethemfeeltense
All, MostorSomeofthetime.
FIGURE 2:Employees feeling tense, worried, uneasy all, most or
some of the time by usual weekly working hours (%)
Tense Worried Uneasy
80
60
40
20
0
<30hrs
42
53
62
69
23
30
36
45
18
25
29
34
30-39hrs 40-48hrs 48+hrs
Hours per week
Base:Allemployees
31

WORK-LIFE BALANCE
THERE WAS NO GENERAL INCREASE IN EMPLOYERS PROVISION OF FLEXIBLE WORKING
PRACTICES BETWEEN 2004 AND 2011. Moreover, the proportion of workplace managers who
think it is up to employees to balance their work and family responsibilities has increased.
In2011,reducedhoursandexitimewerethemostwidelyavailable
forms of exible working. Flexitime was the most commonly used
by employees.Those with caring responsibilities were more likely
to use exible working arrangements than employees without
such responsibilities, but they reported higher levels of work-life
conictnonetheless.
Employers Provision of Flexible Working Arrangements
Overalltherewasnoconsistentpatternintheavailabilityofexible
working arrangements between 2004 and 2011. The proportion of
workplaceswheresomeemployeeswereabletoworkfromhome
or work compressed hours increased between 2004 and 2011
(Figure1).Incontrast,theproportionofworkplaceswithjobsharing
orreducedhoursfell.
FIGURE 1:Flexible working arrangements available to at least
some employees (%)
2004 2011
Reducedhours
Flexitime
Homeworking
Compressedhours
Job-sharing
Term-timeonly
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
63
35
25
11
26
14
56
35
30
20
16
16
Base:Allworkplaces
Employees with caring responsibilities (i.e. those with dependent
children or carers of a friend or family member) have a statutory
righttorequestexibleworkingarrangements.Managerswereasked
whetheraccesstoexitimeorreducedworkinghourswasavailable
toallemployees,orjustthosewithastatutoryrighttomakesucha
request.Ofthoseemployerswhoallowedexitime,thevastmajority
(84%)madeitavailabletoallemployees.Just10%ofworkplacesthat
offeredexitimemadeitavailableonlytothoseemployeeswhohad
astatutoryrighttorequestexibleworking,while6%offeredittoa
broader,butstillselective,groupofemployees.
There was a very similar picture within workplaces that allowed
someemployeestoreducetheirworkinghours.Some86%ofthese
allowed all employees to do so, 11% limited the provision only to
employeeswhohadastatutoryrighttorequestexibleworking,and
3%restrictedprovisiontoothergroups(inadditiontothosewiththe
statutoryrighttomakearequest).
Maternity and paternity pay
Twenty-sevenpercentofworkplaceswithsomefemalestaff
offeredmaternitypayinexcessofStatutoryMaternityPayfor
someoftheperiodofmaternityleave.
Amongworkplaceswithsomemalestaff,21%offeredpaternity
payinexcessofthestatutoryminimum.
Constraints on Providing Flexible Working Arrangements
Workplace managers were asked to identify constraints to the
provision of exible working arrangements. An incompatibility
with the nature of the work or the operating hours was the most
commonlycitedconstraintin2011(Figure2). Thecostofproviding
exibleworkingarrangementswasseenasabarriertoprovisionin
onlyasmallpercentage(9%)ofworkplaces,whilemanagersin27%
ofworkplacesreportednoconstraintsatall.Managersinsmallprivate
sectorenterprisesweremorelikelytoreportnoconstraints(31%)
than those in larger private sector enterprises (22%) or the public
sector(20%).
Overonethird(36%)ofmanagersinfemale-dominatedworkplaces
(i.e.wheremorethanthreequartersoftheworkforcewasfemale)
reported that they were constrained by the pressure that exible
working arrangements put on other employees, compared with
28%ofmanagersinworkplaceswithalowerproportionoffemale
workers. Morethanaquarter(28%)ofmanagersinmale-dominated
workplaces cited a lack of demand for exible working from
employees,comparedwith14%infemale-dominatedworkplaces.
Use of Flexible Working Arrangements
Among employees, the most commonly used exible working
arrangementswereexitime(30%),workingfromhome(17%)and
taking paid leave to care for a dependant in an emergency (12%)
(Table 1). Carers (employees with dependent children and those
wholookedaftersomeonewithalong-termdisabilityorphysicalor
32
mentalillnessorwhohaveproblemsrelatedtooldage)weremore
likely to use exible working arrangements than other employees,
exceptinthecaseofcompressedhours.
FIGURE 2:Constraints on fexible working provision (%)
Natureofwork/
operatinghours
Pressureonothers
Sizeofworkplace
Nodemand
Cost
Noconstraints
53
30
21
19
9
27
0 20 40 60
Base:Allworkplaces
TABLE 1:Use of fexible working among carers and other
employees (%)
Flexitime
Workingfromhome
Paidtimeoffemergency
Reducedhours
Compressedhours
Schooltermtimeworking
Jobshare
Base:Allemployees
Carers Others All
33
20
18
12
9
9
5
27
15
7
6
9
5
4
30
17
12
9
9
7
4
Flexible Working and Employee Well-being
Aroundahalf(48%)ofemployeesStronglydisagreedorDisagreed
withthestatementIoftennditdifculttofullmycommitments
outsideofworkbecauseofthetimeIspendonmyjobwhile27%
StronglyagreedorAgreed.
Full-time employees were more likely to nd that work interfered
withlifeoutsidework(31%)thanpart-timeemployees(14%). Carers
were also more likely to nd that work interfered with life outside
work(30%)thanotheremployees(25%).
Employees who job shared were less likely to feel that work
interferedwithlifeoutsideworkthanthosewhodidnot(22%and
29%,respectively),andasimilarpatternwasapparentbetweenthose
whoworkedreducedhours(21%)andthosewhodidnot(27%).In
contrast,employeeswhoworkedathomeweremorelikelytond
that work interfered with life outside work (34%) than were other
employees(26%).
Managers Views on Work-Life Balance
Since2004,therehasbeenanincreaseintheproportionofworkplace
managerswhoseebalancingworkandfamilyresponsibilitiesasthe
responsibilityofindividualemployees(Table2).
TABLE 2:Managers: It is up to individual employees to balance
work and family responsibilities (%)
Stronglyagree/agree
Neitheragreenordisagree
Disagree/stronglydisagree
Base:Allworkplaces
2004 2011
66
18
17
76
13
11
Workplaceswherethemanageragreedthatitwasuptoindividual
employeestobalancetheirworkandfamilyresponsibilitiesaccounted
for 71% of all employees in 2011, compared with 56% in 2004. In
2011,managersintheprivatesectorweremorelikelytoagreethat
employees were responsible for their work-life balance (77%) than
managersinthepublicsector(69%).
33

EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY: CREATING A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD?

BRITAINS WORKFORCE IS INCREASINGLY DIVERSE AND LEGISLATION HAS SOUGHT TO HELP
ACHIEVE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AT WORK. While workplace policies have changed to reect this
situation, practice on the ground has changed little since 2004.
Workforce Diversity
Agrowingproportionofemployeesareaged50orover,havesome
form of disability or hail from minority ethnic groups.This growing
diversityisapparentbothwithinandacrossworkplaces(Box1).
BOX 1: Diversity in Britains workplaces
Women
Half(51%)ofemployeesarefemale. Womenmakeupover
halfofallemployeesin53%ofworkplaces.
Age
Workersaged50oroveraccountfor24%ofemployees,
upfrom20%in2004. Theyareemployedin83%ofworkplaces
andmakeupmorethanhalftheemployeesin15%of
workplaces(9%in2004).
Disabled workers
Workerswithalong-standinghealthproblemordisability
accountfor2%ofallemployees,upfrom1%in2004. Theyare
employedin15%ofworkplacesandmakeupatleast5%of
employeesin9%ofworkplaces.
Ethnic minorities
Workersbelongingtoanon-whiteethnicgroupcomprise
9%ofallemployees.Employedin33%ofallworkplaces,they
accountforatleastonetenthofemployeesin21%of
workplaces(17%in2004).
Migrants
Ninepercentofemployeesarenon-UKnationals6%from
theEuropeanEconomicAreaand3%fromoutside.Overall,
26%ofworkplacesemploynon-UKnationals.In8%of
workplacesatleastone-quarterofemployeesarenon-UK
nationals.
The consequences of an increasingly diverse workforce for society,
the economy and for workers themselves are hotly disputed. Less
contentious is the desire to ensure all employees have equal rights,
regardlessoftheirdemographiccharacteristics.TothatendtheEquality
Act2010harmonisesandreplacespreviouslegislation,extendssome
rights, and ensures consistency in what employers need to do to
maketheirworkplaceafairenvironmentforallemployees.Buthow
haveemployersrespondedintermsoftheirpoliciesandpractices?
Employer Policies
Onethird(32%)ofworkplacesin2011hadaformalstrategicplan
coveringemployeediversitywhichsetsoutobjectivestobeachieved.
Thiscompareswith29%in2004(adifferencethatisnotstatistically
signicant).Whereasaroundhalf(47%)ofpublicsectorworkplaces
and half (50%) of workplaces belonging to large private sector
organisationshadtheseplans,only17%ofworkplacesbelongingto
smallprivateenterpriseshadthem.
Three-quarters (76%) of workplaces were covered by a formal
written policy on equal opportunities or managing diversity, up
fromtwo-thirds(67%)in2004. Theyhavebecomealmostuniversal
in workplaces with 50 or more employees, the public sector, and
workplacesthatrecognisetradeunions.Butthemostrapidgrowth
inwrittenpoliciescanbefoundinworkplacesbelongingtosmalland
mediumenterpriseswheretheirincidencehasrisenby20percentage
pointssince2004(36%to56%).
Whereawrittenpolicywasinplace,itwasmuchmorelikelytorefer
explicitlytoageandsexualorientationin2011thanin2004(Figure
1).Indeed,thesegroundswerecitedalmostasfrequentlyasgender,
disabilityandethnicity.Unionmembershipwasmuchlesslikelytobe
mentionedinwrittenpolicies,inspiteofstatutoryprotectionagainst
discriminationongroundsofmembershipstatus.
One sixth (17%) of workplaces had a written policy that mentions
nospecicgroundsfordiscrimination.Thisgurewasupfrom12%in
2004andsuggeststhatsomeworkplaceshavepoliciesinplacethat
mayhavelimitedpracticalvalue.
FIGURE 1:Grounds mentioned in equal opportunities written
policy (%)
2004 2011
82
82
81
80
78
76
87
86
84
81
67
70
66
66
47
44
Sex/gender
Ethnicgroup
Disability
Religionorbelief
Age
Sexualorientation
Maritalstatus
Tradeunionmembership
21
Other
17
12
17
None
0 20 40 60 80 100
Base: Workplaceswithawrittenequalopportunitiespolicy
34
Are Practices Changing?

Doestheincreasingpolicyfocusonequalityanddiversitytranslateinto
practice?Managerswereaskedwhattheydidintermsof:monitoring
recruitment, selection and promotion of different employee
characteristics; reviewing recruitment, selection and promotion
procedurestoidentifyindirectdiscrimination;andreviewingrelative
pay rates by employee characteristics. Table 1 shows whether
managers monitor or review recruitment and selection, promotion
or pay rates and, if they did, whether the actions covered gender,
ethnicity,disabilityandage,orjustsomeofthesecharacteristics.
TABLE 1:Action to combat discrimination (row %)
Base:Allworkplaces
Base:Allworkplaces
No change was apparent in the prevalence of formal assessments
of workplace accessibility for employees and job applicants with
disabilities. Just under half (48%) of all workplaces had undertaken
suchanassessmentin2011,comparedwith47%in2004.
Monitoringrecruitmentandselection
Monitoringpromotions
Reviewingrecruitmentandselection
Reviewingpromotionprocedures
Reviewingrelativepayrates
None Some All
77 2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
91
81
90
92
74 2004
2004
2004
2004
2004
91
82
89
93
9
3
6
2
5
14
6
13
8
3
13
2
4
2
4
13
7
14
9
3
Disabled
people
Women
andwomen
returners
Ethnic
minorities
Older
workers
11
9
8
5
8
5
3
8
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
2004 2011
Thevastmajorityofworkplacestooknoneoftheseactions.Around
oneintenreviewedrelativepayrates(7%)orpromotionprocedures
(11%).A similar proportion monitored promotions (9%). Around
a sixth (18%) reviewed recruitment and selection, while 23%
monitoredrecruitmentandselection. Whereworkplacesdidmonitor
or undertake reviews, they tended to do so for all four worker
characteristics.Practicehadnotchangedsince2004.
In 2011 managers were asked what monitoring and reviewing
they did in relation to sexual orientation and religion. In general,
monitoringandreviewingonthesegroundsfordiscriminationdidnot
differsignicantlyfrommonitoringandreviewingonothergrounds,
althoughsexualorientationandreligionwerelesslikelytobeincluded
inthemonitoringofrecruitmentandselection.
Managerswerealsoaskedwhethertheyhadanyspecialprocedures
toencourageapplicationsfromcertaintypesofjobseeker.Figure2
shows very few workplaces had special procedures for potentially
disadvantaged groups. In each case, workplaces were less likely to
havethemin2011thanin2004,exceptinthecaseofproceduresto
attractpeoplewithdisabilities.
FIGURE 2:Special procedures to attract job applicants (%)
35

TRENDS IN TRAINING
TRAINING HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO MORE EMPLOYEES IN THE WORKPLACE SINCE 2004, BUT THE
DURATION OF TRAINING IS SHORTER. Employee satisfaction with training has nonetheless increased
over this period. Some managers have cut training in response to the recession, and satisfaction levels
in these workplaces are lower.
Trends in Training
It is expected that, within workplaces, groups of employees will
receive different amounts and types of training. In order to ensure
afocusonaspecicgroupofindividualemployees,managerswere
askedaboutthetrainingprovidedtothelargestoccupationalgroupin
theirworkplace. Thendingshererelatestothisgroup.
There was stability between 2004 and 2011 in the percentage of
workplaces that had provided off-the-job training to at least some
experiencedemployeesinthe12monthspriortothesurvey(Table
1). However, the percentage of high training workplaces (where at
least80%ofexperiencedemployeeshadsomeoff-the-jobtraining)
rosefrom35%to41%.Theaveragedurationofsuchtrainingdeclined,
with the percentage of workplaces where experienced employees
received10ormoredaysoftrainingfallingfrom14%to10%.
TABLE 1:Off-the-job training offered to experienced employees
in the largest occupational group (%)
2004 2011
Proportiontrained:
80%ormore(hightrainers) 35 41
20-79%(mediumtrainers) 26 23
1-19%(lowtrainers) 15 16
0% 23 20
Averagedaysoftraining:
Lessthan5 68 71
5tolessthan10 17 18
10daysormore 14 10
Base:Allworkplaces
The percentage of workplaces that offered equal opportunities
trainingtoemployeesincreasedfrom20%in2004to25%in2011
(Figure 1). However, the percentage offering training in computer
skills,communication skills and the operation of new equipment all
fell(Figure1). Thechangesinthepercentageofworkplacesoffering
the other types of training shown in Figure 1 were not statistically
signicant.
Thepercentageofworkplacesthatprovideinductiontrainingtonew
recruitsgrewfrom78%to82%between2004and2011.
FIGURE 1:Training offered to employees in the largest
occupational group (%)
2004 2011
Healthandsafety
Operatingnewequipment
Customerservice
Communication
Qualitycontrol
Teamworking
Computing
Leadership
Equalopportunities
Problemsolving
68
68
42
49
39
43
38
45
37
35
36
40
31
43
27
29
25
20
18
20
Workingtodeadlines
16
19
0 20 40 60 80
Base:Allworkplaces
Who are the High Trainers?
Publicsectorworkplacesweremorelikelytobehightrainers(56%)
than workplaces belonging to small private enterprises (34%) and
medium-sizedprivateenterprises(42%).
Therewerealsomarkeddifferencesintheprovisionoftrainingacross
industrysectors.WorkplacesinElectricity,gasandwater,Healthand
social work, and Education were among the most likely to be high
trainers, while workplaces in Manufacturing and the Hotels and
restaurantssectorswereamongtheleastlikely(Table2).
Unionisedworkplaceswerealsomorelikelytobehightrainers(54%)
thanworkplaceswithnorecognisedunions(37%).
36

TABLE 2:High training workplaces (%) FIGURE 2:Employees satisfaction with their training and
development (%)
Manufacturing
Electricity,gas&water
Construction
Wholesale&retail
Hotel&restaurants
Transport&communication
Financialservices
Education
Health&socialwork
88
39
34
21
31
37
(73)
36
40
58
71
44
Very satisfed/satisfed with development opportunities
Very satisfed/satisfed with training you receive
84
74
65
55
48
37
80
69
63
53
43
38
10+
5to<10
2to<5
1to<2
N
u
m
b
e
r

o
f

d
a
y
s

i
n

t
r
a
i
n
i
n
g

Base:Allworkplaces
<1
Employees Satisfaction with Training and Development
None
Opportunities
TheproportionofemployeeswhowereVerysatisedorSatised
with the training they receive grew from 51% in 2004 to 55% in
2011. TheproportionVerydissatisedorDissatisedfellfrom23%
to20%.Employeeswhoreceivedmoredaysoftrainingweremore
likelytobesatisedwiththeirworkplacesprovision(Figure2).
Half(53%)ofallemployeeswereVerysatisedorSatisedwiththe
opportunitiestheyhadtodeveloptheirskillsintheirjob.Employees
whoreceivedmoredaysoftrainingwereagainmoresatisedwith
theirdevelopmentopportunitiesthanthosewhoreceivedfewerdays
oftraining(Figure2).
As for other facets of job satisfaction, employees in workplaces
belongingtosmall(59%)ormediumprivateenterprises(55%)were
moresatisedwiththeirdevelopmentopportunitiesthanthosefrom
workplacesbelongingtolargeprivateenterprises(51%)orthepublic
sector(50%). Thisisdespitethefactthattheygenerallyofferlessoff-
the-jobtraining.
Skill Use
Morethantwofths(44%)ofemployeesratedtheirskillstobeabout
thelevelrequiredfortheirjob,while52%ratedtheirskillsashigher
and4%aslowerthanrequired.Employeeswhoratedtheirskillsto
beataboutthelevelrequiredweremoresatisedwiththeirtraining
(61%)thanthosewhoratedtheirskillsashigher(50%)orlowerthan
required(42%).
0 20 40 60 80 100
Base:Allemployees
Similarly, employees who rated their skills as about the level
required for their job were more satised with their development
opportunities(62%)thanthosewhoratedtheirskillsashigher(46%)
orlower(40%)thanrequired.
Training and the Recession
Aboutoneineverysixworkplaces(16%)reactedtotherecessionby
reducing training expenditure.Workplaces saying that the recession
affectedthemagreatdealweremorelikelytohavereducedtraining
expenditure (23%) than those saying that the recession had a little
or no effect (9%). However, as noted on pages 6-7, workplaces
were more likely to have responded to the recession by freezing
pay (42%), delaying recruitment (28%) changing work organisation
(24%), postponing expansion plans (21%) than by cutting training
expenditure.
Employeesinworkplacesthatcutbackontraininginreactiontothe
recessionwerelesssatisedwiththeirtraining(51%)thanthosefrom
workplacesthatdidnotreducetraining(56%).
37

HEALTH AND SAFETY: CONSULTATION, RISK AND CONTROL

ACCORDING TO THE LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK, EMPLOYERS CAN USE VARIOUS METHODS
OF CONSULTING THEIR EMPLOYEES OVER HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES. In most workplaces,
managers consult directly with the employees concerned.
However,workplaceswheremanagersperceivethehealthandsafety
riskstobehigharemorelikelytohaveaconsultativecommitteein
place. Health and safety training is common even where risks are
perceivedtobelow.
Arrangements for Consulting on Health and Safety
Bylaw,employersarerequiredtoconsultemployeesonhealthand
safetybutthearrangementstheycanusevaryundertheregulations.
The 1996 Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees)
Regulations extended the requirement for employers to consult
employees not covered by a safety representative appointed by
therecognisedunion. Thesameregulationsalsoallowemployersto
consultemployeesdirectlyincertaincircumstances.
The range of approaches used to consult employees on health
and safety across workplaces did not change substantially between
2004 and 2011.The most popular method continued to be direct
consultation,usedin67%ofworkplaces(Figure1). Thiscaninclude
methods such as newsletters, notice boards, emails, management
cascades and staff meetings, as well as face-to-face meetings with
individualemployees.Afthofworkplaces(21%)consultedthrough
free-standing employee representatives (i.e. they do not sit on a
consultative committee), 11% had a consultative committee which
covershealthandsafetyand2%didnotconsultonhealthandsafety.
There is a strong association between the size of the workplace
and the method used for consulting on health and safety. Smaller
workplaces are more likely to use direct consultation while larger
workplaces are more likely to use worker representatives or
consultativecommittees.Lessthanonequarter(22%)ofworkplaces
with100ormoreemployeesreliedondirectmethodsofconsultation
(Figure1).
Mostworkplaces(59%)thathadahealthandsafetycommitteedid
nothaveanotherjointconsultativecommitteetodiscussotherissues.
Thissuggeststhataproportionofworkplacestendtotakeamore
formalisedapproachwhenconsultingonhealthandsafetycompared
with other employment relations issues. This may be because
workplacesarerequiredbylawtoconsultonhealthandsafety.
Workplaceswithatleastonerecognisedunionweremorelikelyto
have a health and safety committee than those without recognised
unions (21% compared with 8%). Correspondingly, they were
less likely to use direct consultation (53% compared with 71% of
workplacesthatdonotrecogniseunions).
FIGURE 1:Workplace method for consulting on health
and safety (%)
Consultative committee Employee representatives
Direct consultation No consultation
100
80
60
40
20
0
5to49 50to99 100ormore
All
workplaces
7
11
32
51
71
67
41
22
26
25
20
21
Number of employees
Base:Allworkplaces
Managers Rating of Health and Safety Risks
Managers were asked to rate the level of health and safety risks at
the workplace and employees control over those risks, both on a
10-pointscale.Aratingof1indicatesnoriskorcontrolatall,anda
ratingof10indicatesahighlevelofriskorcontrol.
Managersinjustoveronetenth(12%)ofworkplacesconsideredthat
therewerenohealthandsafetyrisksattheirestablishment,whilea
furtherhalf(54%)ratedtherisksatalowlevel,givingaratingofeither
2or3(Figure2). Veryfewmanagers(2%)ratetherisksasrelatively
high(i.earatingof9or10).
There were no signicant differences in managers rating of health
andsafetyrisksbysizeoftheworkplace.Managersfromworkplaces
in Other business services were more likely to consider that there
were no health and safety risks at their establishment (25%), than
workplace mangers in Health and social work (9%), Manufacturing
(8%), Construction (5%), Hotel and restaurants (5%) and Other
communityservices(5%).
38

35
On the other hand, 81% of managers rate employees control of
health and safety risks as relatively high (a rating of 8, 9 and 10)
(Figure 3).There was no relationship between managers rating
of health and safety risks and their rating of employeescontrol of
thoserisks.
FIGURE 2:Managers rating of health and safety risks at the
workplace (%)
Workplaceswiththehighestriskratings(9and10)weremorelikely
touseahealthandsafetycommitteethanworkplaceswithalower
risk rating (Figure 4): 30% used a committee compared with 11%
ofworkplacesoverall.
FIGURE 4:Method of consultation by managers rating of health
and safety risks (%)
Consultative committee Employee representatives
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
2 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
12
29
25
10
8
4 4 1 1
6
(no (high
Risk rating
risks) risks)
Base:Allworkplaces
FIGURE 3:Managers rating of employees control over health
and safety risks (%)
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
2 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
29
26 26
4
3
1 1 1 1
9
Direct consultation No consultation
100
80
60
40
20
0
Risk rating
1&2 3&4 5&6 7&8 9&10
7
30
13
14
9
15
69
60
64
68
67
23
21
20
9
Base:Allworkplaces
Around two thirds (68%) of workplaces had given off-the-job
healthandsafetytrainingtoexperiencedemployeesintheirlargest
occupational group in the year preceding the survey.The provision
of such training was more common in workplaces with higher risk
ratings. Some 55% of workplaces with a risk rating of 1 or 2 had
Base:Allworkplaces
(no
control) Control rating
(high
control)
provided such training, rising to 84% among workplaces with a risk
ratingof9or10.
Differences in Perceived Risk and Approaches to Address
Health and Safety
The approach workplaces used to address health and safety was
somewhat related to managers ratings of health and safety risks.
39

JOB SATISFACTION AND WELL-BEING

IN 2011 MORE EMPLOYEES REPORTED THAT THEY ARE REQUIRED TO WORK VERY HARD THAN IN
2004. YET JOB SATISFACTION INCREASED DURING THIS PERIOD, AS DID OVERALL RATINGS OF WELL-
BEING. This partly reects increases in the autonomy given to employees over key aspects of their jobs.
Employees in workplaces adversely affected by the recession were
worseoff,acrossanumberofdimensionsrelatingtotheirwork,than
theircounterpartsinworkplacesthatexperiencedalessadverseeffect
oftherecession. Employeesinworkplaceswheremanagersreported
tohavebeenaffectedbytherecessionAgreatdealorQuitealot
facedgreaterjobdemandsandinsecurity,lowersatisfactionwithpay,
andlowerlevelsofwell-being,
Job Demands and Job Security
Withemployersneedingtodomorewithlessduringtherecession,
thepossibilityarisesthatthishastakenitstollonemployees.Figure
1showsthattherewasasizableincreasebetween2004and2011
in the proportion of employees who strongly agreed that their job
requiredthattheyworkveryhard.Bycontrast,therewasnochange
intheproportionwhostronglyagreedthattheyneverhadenough
timetogettheirworkdone. Soemployeesappeartobeworking
harder,but perhaps also more efciently. There was also a modest
reductionintheproportionofemployeeswhostronglyagreedthat
theirjobwassecure.
FIGURE 1:Job demands and job security: employees who strongly
agree (%)
2004 2011
MyjobrequiresI
workveryhard
Ineverseem
tohaveenough
timetogetmy
workdone
Myjobissecure
27
34
14
14
19
17
0 10 20 30 40
Base:Allemployees
Job Satisfaction and Well-being
Although more employees felt that they were having to work very
hardin2011thanin2004,agreaterproportionwerealsosatised
withtheirjobs.Figure2showsthat,forallaspectsofthejob,withthe
exception of job security, the proportion of employees who were
satisedorverysatisedrosebetween2004and2011. Twentyper
cent of employees in 2011 were satised or very satised with all
sevenfacetsoftheirjob,comparedto16%in2011.
FIGURE 2:Employees Very satisfed or Satisfed with aspects
of their job (%)
2004 2011
Workitself
Scopeforusinginitiative
Senseofachievement
Inuence
Jobsecurity
Training
Pay
All
75
75
74
62
59
55
42
20
72
72
70
58
64
51
35
16
0 50
Base:Allemployees
The pattern for well-being mirrors the ndings for job satisfaction.
Table1showstheproportionofemployeeswhoreportedthat,over
the weeks prior to the survey,their job had onlyOccasionallyor
Nevermadethemfeeltense,worriedoruneasy. Theseproportions
eachincreasedbetween2004and2011.
TABLE 1:Well-being (%)
Neveroroccasionallyfelt
Worried
Uneasy
Tense
2004
53
62
39
2011
68
74
44
Base:Allemployees
Job Autonomy
Just as satisfaction levels increased between 2004 and 2011, so did
theproportionofemployeeswithhighlevelsofautonomy. Figure3
showsincreasesintheproportionsofemployeeswhoreportedthat
theyhadalotofinuenceoverhowtheydotheirwork,theorder
inwhichtheycarryouttasks,thepaceatwhichtheywork,thetasks
thattheydointheirjob andthetimethattheystartornishwork.
40
100
FIGURE 3:Employees reporting A lot of infuence over aspects

of their job (%)
2004 2011
Howworkis
done
Orderoftasks
Pace
Tasksthataredone
Startornish
time
52
51
41
41
31
50
49
38
36
26
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Base:Allemployees
Itappearsthatthisistosomeextentcounterbalancingtheincreasing
intensityofwork,andmoredetailedanalysisshowedthatitexplains
someoftheriseinsatisfaction.Indicativeofthis,themostcommon
areas of discretion are how employees do their job (52%) and the
orderinwhichtheycarryouttasks(51%),withinuenceoverstart
ornishtimesbeingtheareaofleastdiscretion(31%).
Job Satisfaction, Well-being and Autonomy in the Recession
Despite the generally positive picture in terms of job satisfaction,
well-beingandautonomysince2004,itispossiblethatanynegative
developments are concentrated in workplaces that have been
unfavourablyaffectedbytherecession. Adistinctionismadebetween
workplaces where managers reported that the recession had
adversely affected the workplaceA great deal orQuite a lot and
thoseaffectedAmoderateamount, Justalittleorwheretherehad
beenNoadverseeffect.
Employees in workplaces where managers reported a stronger
adverse impact from the recession were more likely to Strongly
agree that they never had enough time to get their work done
thanemployeesinworkplacesthathadexperiencedmildernegative
effects(Table2).However,theproportionofemployeeswhoStrongly
agreedthattheirjobrequiredthattheyworkedveryhardwassimilar
in workplaces that had been strongly adversely affected by the
recession,comparedwiththosewhichhadexperiencedlessadverse
effects. Employees reports of their control over various aspects of
their job also did not differ between workplaces that experienced
strongerorweakeradverseeffectsfromtherecession.
TABLE 2:Employees well-being by impact of recession on the
workplace (%)
Strongly
adverse
Lessadverse
Jobdemands(stronglyagree):
Neverenoughtime 42 39
Jobrequiresworkveryhard 35 33
Jobsecurity(stronglyagree):
Jobissecure 14 19
Jobsatisfaction(satisedorverysatised):
Senseofachievement 73 75
Scopeforusinginitiative 75 76
Inuence 60 63
Training 53 56
Pay 39 44
Jobsecurity 52 64
Workitself 74 76
Well-being(neveroroccasionally):
Tense 42 46
Worried 66 69
Uneasy 73 75
Base:Allemployees
Job security was most strongly associated with the impact of the
recession. Only 14% of employees in workplaces that had seen a
strongadverseimpactoftherecessionstronglyagreedthattheirjob
was secure, compared with 19% of those in workplaces that had
experienced milder effects. Fewer employees wereVery satised
orSatised with their pay or job security in workplaces that had
experienced the strongest negative effects from the recession.
AlowerproportionofemployeesreportedthattheywereNever or
onlyOccasionally(asopposedtomorefrequently)tense,worriedor
uneasyinworkplacesthathadexperiencedstrongeradverseimpacts
fromtherecessioncomparedtoworkplacesthathadexperienceda
lessadverseimpact.
41
TECHNICAL NOTES
Sampling
The2011WERSsampleconsistedofapanelsamplecontainingallthe
workplacesthathadtakenpartinthe2004WERSandwerestillin
existencein2011,andastratiedrandomsampleofestablishments
drawn from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) in
August2010(thefreshcross-sectionsample).
The fresh cross-section sample was drawn from the population of
IDBRlocalunitswith5ormoreemployeesinGreatBritain,operating
in Sections C to S of the Standard Industrial Classication (2007)
butexcludesthosethatwerepartoftheissuedsampleforthe2004
WERScross-sectionsurvey. Asin2004, largerworkplacesandthose
fromselectedindustrieswereoversampledtoenableanalysisbykey
sub-groups.The data are weighted to compensate for the unequal
selectionprobabilitiesandnon-response.
2011 WERS Instruments
TheWERSdatawerecollectedusingthefollowingve
instruments.
Management Questionnaire (MQ)
administeredinaface-to-faceinterviewwiththemostsenior
managerwhodealswithemploymentrelations,human
resourcesorpersonnelandstaffattheworkplace.
Employee Profle Questionnaire (EPQ)
completedbythemanagementrespondentbeforethe
interview.
Financial Performance Questionnaire (FPQ)
completedafterthemanagementinterviewinprivate
sectorworkplacesandtradingpubliccorporations.
Worker Representative Questionnaire (WRQ)
administeredface-to-facewiththeseniorlayunion
representativeandtheseniornon-unionemployee
representative,wherepresent.
Survey of Employees Questionnaire (SEQ)
completedbyupto25employeesinparticipatingworkplaces.
Research Design and Piloting
A number of innovations were made toWERS in 2011.To reduce
respondent burden, the average length of the MQ and WRQ
interviewswereshortenedto90minutesand30minutesrespectively,
and it was made possible to carry out theWRQ interview on the
telephone. TheSEQwasmadeavailablein7languages,andtheEPQ,
FPQandSEQcouldbecompletedonpaperoron-line.
The questionnaires and eld processes were tested using cognitive
testing, and two pilots.The pilots involved 27 and 45 workplaces,
respectively.
Fieldwork Outcomes
Table1showsthenumberofworkplacesincludedinthepaneland
fresh cross-section samples as well as the number of productive
management interviews achieved. Ineligible workplaces are those
thatwerenolongerinexistenceorhadfewerthan5employees.A
casewasclassiedasunproductiveiftheheadofceorthemanager
refusedtotakepartoriftheinterviewerwasunabletocontactthe
workplacemanager.ResponseratesaresetoutinTable1onpage4
oftheIntroduction.
TABLE 1:Issued and achieved MQ samples
Issued cases
Ineligible
Eligible
Unproductive
Productive
Freshcross-
section
Panel
7,143
1,351
5,792
3,112
2,680
4,848 2,295
947 404
3,901 1,891
2,210 902
1,691 989
Allwork-
places
Availability of the Data
The survey data will be made available from the UK Data Service
(UKDS). Furtherdetailsonthedesignanddevelopmentofthe2011
WERS, including the technical report and questionnaires, will be
availablefromtheUKDShttp://www.ukdataservice.ac.uk.
42

Employment
Relations in
the Shadow
of Recession
Employment Relations in the Shadow of
Recessionexaminesindustrialrelations,
humanresourcemanagementandpeoples
experienceofworkinBritainintherstpart
ofthemillenniumandhowthesehavebeen
affectedbyrecession.
Itreportsonthe2011Workplace
EmploymentRelationsStudy(WERS).
Thestudyinterviewedmanagersandworker
representativesinover2,600workplacesand
surveyedover21,000employees,providinga
uniqueperspectiveinsideworkplaces.
Thebookassesseschangesinemployment
relationsbetween2004and2011,explores
thereasonsforchangeandconsiderstheir
implicationsforworkersandemployers.It,
therefore,continuestherespectedtradition
ofWERSbyprovidingacontemporary
snapshot,andmappingchangeovertime,in
relationtoawidearrayofworkplacepractice
andworkinglife.
Thetimingofthesurveyallowsreection
oftheexperiencesofworkplacesand
employeesduringtherecession. Thebook
willexploretheextenttowhichemployment
relationsdeterminedtheexperiencesof
workplacesintherecession.
Chapter1: Introduction Chapter5: JobQuality
Chapter2:TheChangingWorkplace Chapter6:TheQualityof
EmploymentRelations
Chapter3:Employment
Chapter7: WorkplacePerformance
Chapter4:PayandRewards intheRecessionandProspects
Available November 2013
Paperback:ISBN978113727576924.99Hardback:ISBN978113727577675.00
www.palgrave.com

The 2011 Workplace

Employment Relations Study
FIRST FINDINGS
ThisbookletreportsontheFirstFindingsfromthe2011 Workplace Employment Relations Study(2011WERS),andprovidesinformation
onthecurrentstateofemploymentrelationsinsideBritishworkplacesandwhathaschangedsince2004. The2011WERSisthesixthinthe
seriesofthestudyconductedbytheDepartmentforBusiness,InnovationandSkills(BIS),theEconomicandSocialResearchCouncil(ESRC),
theAdvisory,ConciliationandArbitrationService(Acas),theUKCommissionforEmploymentandSkills(UKCES),andtheNationalInstitute
ofEconomicandSocialResearch(NIESR).NIESRsinvolvementismadepossiblethroughfundingfromtheNufeldFoundation.
Previoussurveysintheserieswereconductedin1980,1984,1990,1998and2004.
ThebookletwillbefollowedbyafurtherpublicationinNovember2013,providinganin-depthexplorationofthestudysndings.
Employment Relations in the Shadow of Recession,willmapemploymentrelationsandpeoplesexperienceofworkinBritaininthe
rstpartofthemillenniumandhowthesehavebeenaffectedbytheeconomicrecession.
The2011 WERSprovidesanationallyrepresentativeaccountofthestateofemploymentrelationsandworkinglifeinsideBritishworkplaces.
Itinvolvedinterviewswithalmost2,700managers,1,000workerrepresentativesandsurveyedmorethan21,000employees. Thestudy
providesatrulyintegratedpictureofemploymentrelationswithinworkplaces. WERSisconsideredtobeoneofthemostauthoritative
sourcesofinformationonemploymentrelationsinGreatBritain.
TheresearcherswereBrigidvanWanrooyfromAcas,StephanieFreethfromBIS,JohnForth,HelenBewley, AlexBryson,andLucyStokesfrom
NIESR,andStephenWoodfromtheUniversityofLeicester.
CrownCopyright/EconomicandSocialResearchCouncil/Advisory,ConciliationandArbitrationSerivce/NationalInstituteofEconomicandSocialResearch.January2013.
DepartmentforBusiness,InnovationandSkills:https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-business-innovation-skills
URN 13/1010

13 1010 WERS First Findings Report Third Edition May 2013

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13 1010 WERS First Findings Report Third Edition May 2013

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Available Formats

The 2011 Workplace

Employment Relations Study

side to employment performing better than output is that labour

The overall 2011 WERS sample is representative of all British

PART ONE: IN THE SHADOW OF RECESSION

MORE WORK, LESS PAY? EMPLOYEES IN RECESSION

TABLE 1: Changes experienced by employees as a result of

percentage of workplaces in the Education sector which had some

PART TWO: THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP

Overall, 43% of employees were satised with the amount of

TABLE 1: Incidence of workplace changes and involvement of employees (%)

third (33%). Private sector employers propensity to negotiate had

PAYING FOR PERFORMANCE

DISCONTENT IN THE WORKPLACE

LONG WORKING HOURS: THE PATH TO PROGRESSION?

TABLE 1:Working time opt-out agreements in the workplace

EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY: CREATING A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD?

Are Practices Changing?

HEALTH AND SAFETY: CONSULTATION, RISK AND CONTROL

JOB SATISFACTION AND WELL-BEING

FIGURE 3:Employees reporting A lot of infuence over aspects

The 2011 Workplace

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