Recent Research Reports
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BARSORI (BARgaining for SOcial RIghts) Bargaining for social rights: reducing precariousness and labour market segmentation through collective bargaining and social dialogue From national to sectoral industrial relations: Developments in sectoral industrial relations in the EU Information and consultation under the ICE Regulations: evidence from longitudinal case studies The full report can be downloaded here Age, Gender and Performer Employment in Europe Deborah Dean The International Federation of Actors (FIA) recently commissioned an online questionnaire to survey performers across Europe in film, television, theatre and radio on their perceptions of the effects of social identities (principally gender and age) on a range of areas including access to work, pay, content of work and career longevity. This project was funded within the ‘social dialogue’ strand of the European Commission’s work. The report's findings indicate differentiated effects of age on access to work, pay and career longevity, depending on the performer’s gender. This is despite the status of performing work as a long-established gender-integrated occupation. The full report can be downloaded here Implementing information and consultation in medium-sized organisations Mark Hall, Sue Hutchinson, Jane Parker, John Purcell and Mike Terry This report presents findings from interviews and employee surveys in eight case study organisations with 100-150 employees undertaken as part of an ongoing research project examining employee consultation practice in the light of the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004. The research found considerable similarities between the nature and operation of the case study organisations’ I&C bodies and those of larger organisations studied. There were some differences in practice reflecting factors such as greater informality in employment relations and limited HR management capacity that may be characteristic of smaller organisations. These included a lower incidence of contested elections for employee representatives and fewer ‘strategic’ issues being tabled for discussion by management. However, employee representatives received greater recognition of their role from the workforce than did their counterparts in the larger organisations. The full report can be downloaded from the BERR website Implementing information and consultation: early experience under the ICE Regulations - interim update report Mark Hall, Sue Hutchinson, Jane Parker, John Purcell and Mike Terry Implementing information and consultation: early experience under the ICE Regulations Mark Hall, Sue Hutchinson, Jane Parker, John Purcell and Mike Terry This report presents initial findings from case study-based research concerning the employee information and consultation (I&C) arrangements of a range of different organisations in the changed legal context established by the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004. The research found considerable variation in the nature and operation of the case study organisations’ I&C bodies. The evidence suggests that senior managers are engaging seriously with the I&C bodies, and that some significant issues have been discussed. Reported instances of I&C bodies influencing management decisions or their implementation are sparse, and employee awareness of the existence and role of I&C bodies is low. However, there are indications that consultation practice is evolving. The full report can be downloaded from the BERR website Workplace Employment Relations in the West Midlands This report, prepared for the West Midlands Employment Relations Forum’s Steering Group by Duncan Adam and Paul Marginson, provides a first-ever profile of employment relations at workplaces across the West Midlands region. The evidence is drawn from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS2004), which is widely regarded as providing the most authoritative and comprehensive survey-based portrait of workplace employment practice in Britain. The report presents findings on a range of topics from West Midlands workplaces surveyed in WERS2004, and compares these with the national picture. The findings draw on responses from both managers and employees at these workplaces. The full report can be downloaded here. New structures, forms and processes of governance in European industrial relations Paul Marginson has recently co-authored a report, as one of a team led by Evelyne Léonard of the Catholic University of Louvain, for the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions on new structures, forms and processes of governance in European industrial relations. The study provides an analysis of the impact of new governance tools, such as forms of 'soft' regulation and the target-setting, benchmarking and peer review associated with the 'open method of coordination', on the different actors of the European-level industrial relations arena. The report, which was published in April 2007, can be downloaded from the Foundation's website. Submission to DTI review of workplace representatives’ facilities and facility time A note which draws on initial findings from a research project, co-sponsored by the DTI, Acas and the CIPD, investigating organisational responses to the Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations can be downloaded here. European Works Councils and transnational restructuring IRRU Associate Fellow Mark Carley and Mark Hall recently co-authored a report for the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions on European Works Councils (EWCs) and transnational restructuring. This reviews the academic literature on the role of EWCs in handling restructuring, examines the restructuring provisions included in agreements establishing EWCs and assesses the evidence on actual practice drawing on case studies previously carried out for the Foundation. The report was published in December 2006. The full report can be downloaded from the European Foundation website. Justice in the workplace: Why it is important and why a new public policy initiative is needed A report by Paul Edwards 'Justice in the workplace: Why it is important and why a new public policy initiative is needed' for the Work Foundation argues that the cause of justice at work will not be best served by introducing any new employment laws in the near future. Instead, what is needed is a new policy initiative aiming to encourage employers both to comply with existing laws and actively pursue a fairness at work agenda. The full report can be downloaded from the Work Foundation website. Temporary agency work A report by James Arrowsmith 'Temporary agency work in an enlarged European Union', for the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, explores a range of topics including the definition and extent of TAW, its regulation in the different countries, both by law and collective agreement, and the views of the social partners on developments in the sector. The report can be downloaded from the European Foundation website. What 'industrial relations' suggests should be at the heart of 'employee relations' Keith Sisson's response to Mike Emmott's CIPD Changing Agenda that asks 'What is employee relations?' can be downloaded here. An annex reviewing the state of the study of industrial relations can also be downloaded. Review of research into the impact of employment relations legislation Linda Dickens and Mark Hall The full report can be downloaded from the DTI website.
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