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These and other findings from SETA 2003 were based on a random sample ofemployment tribunal cases and are, therefore, not directly comparable to thefindings in this report (for example, in the case of advice sources used). Thefindings in this report are based on a representative sample of people ofworking age who have been employees within the past two years, not onapplicants and employers in Employment Tribunal cases. Findings presentedin this report show that a very small minority of respondents tookemployment tribunal cases in response to a self-defined problem to do withtheir rights at work (see Chapter 4).1.2.4 Changing employment relationsFirst findings 4 from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS2004) provide information on the key dimensions of employment relationsand working life in Britain, and in limited areas, on change since the 1998survey 5 (Kersley et al., 2005), in a period where a range of relevantlegislation discussed above has been introduced.The first findings from WERS 2004 show that many aspects of employmentrelations have not changed substantially since the 1998 survey, including theincidence of various dispute, grievance and disciplinary procedures (Kersleyet al., 2005). One of the most striking areas that has changed, cited by theauthors, was the continued decline of collective labour organisation:‘Employees were less likely to be union members than they were in 1998;workplaces were less likely to recognise unions for bargaining over pay andconditions; and collective bargaining was less prevalent’.(page 35-36, Kersley et al., 2005)However, Kersley et al. (2005) also emphasise that the rate of declineappears to have slowed from that seen in earlier periods, and that half ofemployees were employed in workplaces with a recognised union, one-thirdwere union members and four in ten had their pay set through collectivebargaining. Union involvement in pay setting and the joint regulation of theworkplace was the exception in the private sector and in smaller workplaces(p36, Kersley et al., 2005). As Meager et al. (2002) highlight, these changesto collective labour organisation, if anything, reinforce the importance ofindividuals having awareness and knowledge of their employment rights.The first findings also show that collective workplace conflict has remainedlow since 1998, but while managers’ perceptions of management-employeerelations have improved, there had been little change in employees’ views.The findings show a substantial increase in the availability of flexible workingarrangements, as well as increases in the incidence of paid paternity leaveand special paid leave. However, employees did not perceive a change inemployer attitudes in the area of work-life balance, and were also often45A full report of the findings of WERS 2004 is due to be published in summer 2006.WERS 2004 is the fifth in a series of surveys conducted in 1980, 1984, 1990, 1998and 2004.11
unaware of what was available to them personally in terms of flexible workingarrangements (p36, Kersley et al., 2005).1.2.5 Survey data on individuals’ propensities to take action onemployment issuesThe Legal Services Research Centre (LSRC) report on the English and WelshCivil and Social Justice Survey incorporates findings from the 2004 survey(Pleasence, 2006). It consists of face-to-face interviews across England andWales and examines:‘… justiciable problems in a broader social and geographical context,setting out more details of the impact of problems, further revealing levelsof awareness and understanding of legal and advice services, furtherdepicting the methods and resources used by people to access suchservices and assessing the degree to which legal and advice servicesfacilitate problem resolution and prevention. In doing so, it again illustratesand underlines the important links between justiciable problems and socialexclusion, and between civil law and social justice’.(p5, Pleasence, 2006)The survey was a random general population survey and focused onexploring people’s experience of 18 possible justiciable problem areas in thepreceding three years that had been ‘difficult to solve’. The justiciableproblem areas were wide ranging and included, for example, areas such asconsumer problems, personal injury, money/debt problems, and difficultieswith neighbours or housing. The category of ‘employment problems’ includedunfavourable changes being made to terms and conditions of employment,the work environment being unsatisfactory or dangerous, and being sackedor made redundant. Those reporting at least one problem area proceeded tothe main interview which focused on a single problem in more depth. Themain interview included areas such as the advice taken (including awarenessand obstacles), impact of the problems, resolution and general attitudes tothe civil justice system.Where possible in Chapter 4 (The Experience of Problems), comparison hasbeen made with the LSRC research. However, because of the very differentcharacteristics of the interview subjects, little direct comparison is possible.For example, although both surveys talk about the prevalence of employmentrelated problems, the LSRC figure of five per cent of respondents reportingsuch a problem is drawn from a base of respondents experiencing at leastone of any number of problem areas rather than from a random sample ofemployed adults.The LSRC respondents came from a variety of circumstances including thosenot working or self-employed; data reported in the LSRC report such as thefinding that employment problems were more likely to be reported by theunemployed than those working, illustrates the difficulties in comparingfindings across the two surveys. Nevertheless, LSRC findings have beenreported where appropriate.12
Page 5 and 6: AcknowledgementsThis research was c
Page 7 and 8: 4.3 Types of problems experienced 1
Page 9 and 10: List of Tables and ChartsTable 2.1:
Page 12: Figure 5.2: Where respondents would
Page 15 and 16: including work and parents, and dis
Page 17 and 18: those aged 65 and over the average
Page 19 and 20: all respondents (21 per cent) said
Page 21 and 22: • to find out the main sources of
Page 23: • A variety of telephone help-lin
Page 27 and 28: which the survey covered. These exe
Page 30 and 31: 1.4 Comparisons with the first benc
Page 32 and 33: 2Awareness ofemployment rightsThis
Page 34 and 35: Figure 2.1: How well informed respo
Page 36 and 37: • being a trade union/staff assoc
Page 38 and 39: Figure 2.2: Whether respondents kno
Page 40 and 41: 2.4 Awareness of employers’ legal
Page 42 and 43: 2.4.1 DiscriminationThe Sex Discrim
Page 44 and 45: minimum number of weeks paid holida
Page 46 and 47: This fairly high awareness may refl
Page 48 and 49: Ordinary maternity leave: 88 per ce
Page 50 and 51: While respondents may be aware of t
Page 52 and 53: dependent children, had children un
Page 54 and 55: It is important to note that rights
Page 56 and 57: Table 2.5: continuedWhether experie
Page 58 and 59: 2.8 Summary2.8.1 How well informed
Page 60 and 61: • 51 per cent of respondents were
Page 62 and 63: 3Knowledge of specificemployment ri
Page 64 and 65: Figure 3.1: Estimate of the weekly
Page 66 and 67: Table 3.1 shows respondents who got
Page 68 and 69: Table 3.2: continuedHow well inform
Page 70 and 71: The median number of weeks cited by
Page 72 and 73: 3.2.4 Days off in a 14-day period a
Page 74 and 75:
Table 3.5: continuedEntitled to 2 d
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Figure 3.4: Which groups are covere
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Table 3.6 shows that:• A small pr
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experienced a problem in relation t
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Table 3.8: continuedWhether member
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Table 3.9 shows that respondents wh
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who had experienced a problem compa
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Table 3.11: continuedWhether experi
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Table 3.12 shows that 62 per cent o
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Respondents were asked about a moth
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3.5.1 At what point employees are l
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Table 3.16: continuedNMW: Anti-disc
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had the right to be accompanied was
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that deals with employment disputes
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3.6 Knowledge scoresPrevious sectio
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Table 3.19: continuedWhether member
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Almost half of respondents (49 per
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• When asked who could accompany
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• the number of hours or days you
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Table 4.1: continuedYes NoUnweighte
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• being older by one year, ie if
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Table 4.2 isolates all those who ha
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Figure 4.2 below lists the areas in
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Table 4.3: Whether advice/informati
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Figure 4.4: Advice or information s
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Consultation with a colleague at wo
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• Of those who found all that the
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• the employer was not willing to
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cent of all respondents, leaving th
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4.8.6 What respondent wishes they h
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Steps taken to resolve the problem
Page 136 and 137:
Sixty per cent of respondents in em
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Figure 4.10: Which problem do you t
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Table 4.9: continuedNumber of emplo
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4.10 Summary4.10.1 Experiencing a p
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problem. Almost two-thirds (63 per
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5Finding information andadviceThis
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When examining where respondents wo
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not trade union/staff association m
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‘And who do you think should be m
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information services were thought t
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Respondents were very evenly divide
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website/the Internet, 14 per cent w
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6Key findings byemployment rightThi
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• 30 per cent knew hardly anythin
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• Only two per cent of respondent
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• Eight per cent of respondents s
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• An ‘awareness deficit’ was
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an employee knew about the detail o
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• An ‘awareness deficit’ was
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• One per cent of respondents sai
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6.4.6 Age discrimination (legislati
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• sex discrimination law• unfai
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7.2 Which groups are most (and leas
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Groups emerge from the bivariate an
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8Appendix 1:Description of sampleIn
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Table A1.2: Family and household ch
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Table A1.4: Characteristics of resp
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Appendix 2: Regressionmethodology a
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qualifications etc.). The co-effici
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Table A2.1: General awareness, clas
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Table A2.2: continuedIndependent va
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department. 48 The following sub-se
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Table A2.5: continuedIndependent va
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Table A2.6: continuedCollinearity s
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8.1.14 Additional variables that we
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Table A2.9: Resolved satisfactorily
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Figure A3.1: Average number of hour
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Female 10 90 564Earnings Under £15
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Figure A3.4: Frequency of on-callEv
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10Appendix 4: List ofacronymsAcasBM
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The DTI EmploymentRelations Researc
Page 218 and 219:
No. 25How employers manage absence.
Page 220:
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