In July 2006, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI [1]) published a major new analysis of employment relations in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using data from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey (*UK0607019I* [2]). The 2004 survey included workplaces employing five to
Stress is now the second most common reported reason for illness, the UK Health and Safety Executive [1] (HSE) finds. A survey of 1,400 human resource professionals, by the law firm ASB Law [2] and the journal Human Resources [3] (published in March 2005), provides new information, although like
The Low Pay Commission (LPC) published its sixth annual report in February 2005. The report highlights the ways in which the national minimum wage (NMW), introduced in April 1999 (UK9904196F [1]), has become embedded in practice, and identifies new issues in the operation of a minimum wage system
Employment tribunals (ETs) adjudicate disputes arising between individual employers and employees, including those around unfair dismissal and sex and race discrimination (UK0403101T [1]). The Survey of Employment Tribunal Applications 2003 (SETA 2003), the fourth in a series going back to 1987
Several studies of the management of attendance at work have appeared since 1999, when the issue was examined by EIRO (UK9911141F [1]). This feature updates information on the extent of absence from work and policies for its management. [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles
It is widely argued that employment legislation raises firms’ labour costs and adds to their administrative burdens (UK0310102N [1]). The effects on small firms may be particularly acute for reasons including their limited administrative resources and their economic vulnerability. There are also
In May 2002, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) published a study, commissioned from the independent Policy Studies Institute, examining in detail the relationship between different forms of collective bargaining and workplace performance. The report, Collective bargaining and workplace
An earlier EIRO feature (UK9907215F [1]) examined strike trends from the 1960s to 1998. The present feature presents an updated analysis of industrial action in the UK. [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined/strikes-in-the-uk-withering-away
This feature looks at recent evidence on patterns of absence and at current management practice in attendance control. It does not review familiar facts (UK9705127F [1]). It is, for example, well-known that absence is relatively high among blue-collar workers, for fairly obvious reasons. Lists of
The Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (Amendment) Regulations 1999 [1] came into force on 28 July 1999 and introduced revised consultation requirements which apply in respect of redundancies and transfers taking place from 1 November 1999. [1] http://www