Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.
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 then Department of Trade and Industry, ACAS, the ESRC and the PSI. (In June 2007, DTI became the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and then in June 2009, merged with the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills to become the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).) WERS5 followed in the footsteps of earlier surveys conducted in 1980, 1984, 1990 and 1998, when 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 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 GOV.UK 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey webpages.Secure Access version of WERS:Users should note there is a Secure Access version of WERS which has more restrictive access conditions than this study made available under the standard End User Licence (EUL). SN 6712 includes both the cross-section and panel surveys conducted for WERS 98 and WERS 2004, and includes 1) Inter-Departmental Business Register reference numbers for businesses who have consented to the linking of WERS data to other data sources, and 2) anonymised postcodes. Prospective users will need to gain ONS Accredited Researcher status, complete an extra application form and demonstrate to the data owners exactly why they need access to the additional variables. Users are strongly advised to first obtain the standard EUL version of the data to see if they are sufficient for their research requirements.Edition history:For the fifth edition (January 2014), three additional data files, including revised weights with non-response adjustment and trade union recognition data, were deposited. The Introductory Note document has been updated accordingly. A full edition history is given in the READ file.
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.
One-stage stratified or systematic random sample
Multi-stage stratified random sample
Face-to-face interview
Telephone interview
Self-completion
Managers and employee representatives were interviewed face-to-face. Employees were surveyed us
