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Title:
Workplace Employee Relations Survey, 2004: Cross-Section Survey, 2004 and Panel Survey, 1998-2004; Wave 2
(WERS 2004; WERS5; WERS)

Subject Categories:
Workplace Employee Relations Survey - Major studies
Industrial relations - Employment and labour

Depositor(s):
Department of Trade and Industry. Employment Markets Analysis and Research

Principal Investigator(s):
Department of Trade and Industry. Employment Markets Analysis and Research
Forth, J., National Institute of Economic and Social Research
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
Policy Studies Institute

Data Collector(s):
National Centre for Social Research

Sponsor(s):
Department of Trade and Industry
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
Economic and Social Research Council
Policy Studies Institute

Other Acknowledgements:
The Policy Studies Institute contributed to the funding of the 2004 study with a grant from the Nuffield Foundation.

The Steering Committee for the 2004 study is drawn from representatives of the sponsoring bodies. The members of the Steering Committee are as follows: Grant Fitzner (succeeding Mark Beatson) and Bernard Carter (Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)); Andrew Wareing (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS)); Paul Rouse (succeeding David Guy) and Professor Keith Whitfield (Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)); and Malcolm Rigg (succeeding Professor Jim Skea) of the Policy Studies Institute (PSI). John McQueeney, Head of Research in the Employment Markets Analysis and Research (EMAR) section of the DTI, also attended a number of Steering Committee meetings and provided support to the DTI Research Team throughout the course of the study. A number of people assisted in the development of specific question areas, including: six specialist teams of academic experts co-ordinated by Professor Whitfield; academic researchers and lawyers who advised on changing aspects of employment relations legislation; and policy officials within the DTI. The sponsors and research team would like to thank the managers, employees and employee representatives who gave freely of their time to participate in this study. Without their co-operation, the study would not be possible.

Abstract:
The Workplace Employment Relations Survey, 2004 (also known as the Workplace Employment Relations Survey, WERS 2004, or WERS5) was a national survey of people at work. The survey was jointly sponsored by the DTI (in June 2007, DTI became the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR)), ACAS, the ESRC and the PSI. It follows in the footsteps of earlier surveys conducted in 1980, 1984, 1990 and 1998 The series was originally known as the Workplace Industrial Relations Survey, or WIRS - the name was changed in 1998 to better reflect the contemporary content of the series. The WIRS/WERS series from 1980 onwards is held at the UK Data Archive (UKDA) under GN 33176.

The purpose of each survey in the WERS series has been to provide large-scale, statistically reliable evidence about a broad range of industrial relations and employment practices across almost every sector of the economy in Great Britain. This evidence is collected with several objectives in mind. It aims to provide a mapping of employment relations practices in workplaces across Great Britain, monitor changes in those practices over time, inform policy development and permit an informed assessment of the effects of public policy, and bring about a greater understanding of employment relations as well as the labour market.

To that end, the cross-section element of WERS 2004 collected information from managers with responsibility for employment relations or personnel matters; trade union or employee representatives; and employees themselves. Therefore, it included the Cross-Section Survey of Managers (MQ), Cross-Section Survey of Employee Representatives (ERQ), and Cross-Section Survey of Employees (SEQ). The cross-section survey also included a Financial Performance Questionnaire (FPQ), that detailed financial performance of the establishment over the 12 months previous to the survey (access to the FPQ data, alongside region identifiers and industry codes for the Survey of Managers and panel data, was initially restricted until April 2007, when they were deposited as part of the second edition of the study). The panel element of WERS 2004 includes the Screening Questionnaire and the Survey of Managers (comprising the Basic Workforce Data Sheet and the Management Interview).

Structure of the WERS 2004 study:
Unlike WERS 98, SN 5294 includes both the cross-section and panel surveys conducted for WERS 2004. The panel element for 2004 forms Wave 2 of the 1998-2004 panel survey. Wave 1 comprised the cross-sectional managers' survey conducted for WERS 98, and is held separately under SN 3955. Therefore, users who need Wave 1 should also order SN 3955.

Further information about the survey is available from the WERS 2004 Information and Advice Service (WIAS) web site, and the BERR 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey and 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey web pages.

Edition history:
For the fourth edition (January 2008), two changes were made to the study. Firstly, a file containing information on the composition of occupations in Great Britain was deposited, which can be matched to the SEQ dataset. Secondly, a new version of the 2004 Panel data file (version 3) was deposited, which has been revised to include additional employment data for 88 cases (variable Xemps2004). Additional documentation has also been provided to cover both these files. A full edition history is given in the READ file (see link below).

WERS data and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Microdata Laboratory:
In workplaces where managers consented to the linking of WERS data with other data sources (variable MLINKDAT=Yes), ONS linked the Cross-Section and Panel data from WERS 2004 with longitudinal data on organisation performance collected as part of the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI). These linked data will only ever be available via the ONS Microdata Laboratory operated by the Business Data Linking Project at ONS. Users wishing to access the linked WERS-ABI data can therefore only do so at the Microdata Laboratory. While data from the Cross-Section FPQ has been available from UKDA/ESDS since April 2007, using the linked WERS-ABI data can allow users to fill gaps in the FPQ data, therefore increasing the number of observations available for analysis. Another advantage is that the ABI sometimes provides more timely data. For further information please see WIAS Technical Paper 1, Objective Data on Workplace Performance.


Main Topics:
The Cross-Section Survey of Managers (file xs04_mq) contains questions on recruitment and training, consultation and communication, employee representation, pay determination and payment systems, grievance and discipline, equal opportunities, work-life balance, health and safety, flexibility, and establishment performance.

The Cross-Section Survey of Employee Representatives (file xs04_erq) contains questions on structure of representation at the workplace, time spent on representative duties, means of communication with employees, incidence of negotiation and consultation over pay and other matters, involvement in redundancies, discipline and grievance matters, incidence of collective disputes and industrial action, relations with managers, and union recruitment.

The Cross-Section Survey of Employees (file xs04_seq) contains questions on working hours, job influence, job satisfaction, working arrangements, training and skills, information and consultation, employee representation, and pay.

The questionnaire used in Wave 2 of the 1998-2004 panel survey (file ps_9804pq) is based on the WERS 98 cross-section management questionnaire, but is much shorter and collects less detailed information about particular practices. It contains around one third of the questions that were present in the WERS 98 questionnaire. The topics covered in Wave 2 include recruitment and training, consultation and communication, employee representation, pay determination and payment systems, equal opportunities, work-life balance, health and safety, flexibility and establishment performance.

Coverage:
Dates of Fieldwork: February 2004-April 2005
Country: Great Britain
Spatial Units: No spatial units are included in the data, for reasons of anonymity. See documentation for details.
Observation Units: Individuals; Institutions/organisations
Kind of Data: Textual data; Numeric data; Individual (micro) level

Universe Sampled:
Location of Units of Observation:National
Population:Cross-section survey: all establishments in Britain with five or more employees and operating in Sections D-O of the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC2003). The panel element was conducted with managers from establishments that had taken part in the WERS 98 cross-section management survey.

Methodology:
Time Dimensions: Repeated cross-sectional study
Sampling Procedures: One-stage stratified or systematic random sample; Multi-stage stratified random sample
Number of Units: Survey of Employee Representatives (file xs04_erq): 984 cases. Survey of Managers (file xs04_mq): 2,295 cases. Survey of Employees (file xs04_seq): 22,451 cases. Panel survey (file ps9804_pq): panel sample (1,479) + screening sample (712) = total 2,191 cases.
Method of Data Collection: Face-to-face interview; Telephone interview; Self-completion;
Managers and employee representatives were interviewed face-to-face. Employees were surveyed using a self-completion form. The screening questionnaire for the panel survey was conducted by telephone.
Weighting: Weighting used. See documentation for details.

Language(s) of Written Materials:
Study Description: English
Study Documentation: English

Access:
Access Conditions: The depositor has specified that registration is required and standard conditions of use apply. The depositor may be informed about usage. See terms and conditions for further information.
Availability: ESDS Access and Preservation, UK Data Archive
Contact: Help desk: help@esds.ac.uk

Date of Release:
First Edition: 21 December 2005
Latest Edition: 14 January 2008 ( 4th Edition )

Copyright:
Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen’s Printer for Scotland

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