Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.
The Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS) is a national survey of the state of employment relations and working life inside British workplaces. The 1998, 2004 and 2011 surveys (WERS98, WERS 2004, WERS 2011) are the fourth, fifth and sixth in the series, respectively, earlier surveys having been carried out in 1980, 1984 and 1990. Prior to 1998, the series was known as the Workplace Industrial Relations Survey (WIRS), the name being changed in order to better reflect the content of the current survey. The UK Data Archive hold the WIRS/WERS series from 1980 onwards 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 of the labour market. To that end, the cross-section element of WERS98 and WERS 2004 collected information from managers with responsibility for employment relations or personnel matters; trade union or employee representatives; and employees themselves. Thus, the surveys included the Cross-Section Survey of Managers (MQ), the Cross-Section Survey of Employee Representatives (ERQ), and the Cross-Section Survey of Employees (SEQ). The cross-section surveys in 2004 also included a Financial Performance Questionnaire (FPQ), which examined 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 MQ and panel data, was initially restricted until April 2007, when they were deposited as part of the second edition of End User Licence (EUL) SN 5294.) 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). The 2011 WERS sample consisted of a panel sample containing all the workplaces that had taken part in the 2004 WERS and were still in existence in 2011, and a stratified random sample of establishments drawn from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) in August 2010 (the fresh cross-section sample). The key design innovation of the 2011 WERS was the integration of the two elements so that workplaces in the panel sample were eligible for all four components of WERS 2011. Weights were devised to enable the panel sample to be combined with the fresh sample to form a combined cross-sectionally representative sample. The WERS 2011 has four components: a Survey of Managers comprising the Employee Profile Questionnaire (EPQ) and the Management Questionnaire (MQ); a Survey of Worker Representatives (WRQ); a Survey of Employees (SEQ); and a Financial Performance Questionnaire (FPQ) which detailed the financial performance of trading sector establishments in the 12 months before the survey. Secure Access Dataset: The Secure Access version of the study includes both the cross-section and panel surveys conducted for WERS98 and 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 WERS98. The study also includes all the WERS 2011 data The Secure Access version includes additional variables not included in the EUL versions (see SNs 5294, 3955 and 7226). Extra variables that can be found in the Secure Access versions but not in the EUL versions relate to 1) Inter-Departmental Business Register reference numbers for businesses who have consented to the linking of WERS data to other data sources, 2) postcodes, and 3) in 2011 the Financial Performance Questionnaire data are available along with some other more detailed variables. Geographical references: postcodes The postcodes available in the 1998 data are pseudo-anonymised postcodes. The real postcodes were not available for this year due to the potential risk of identification of the observations. However, these replacement postcodes retain the inherent nested characteristics of real postcodes, and will allow researchers to aggregate observations to other geographic units, e.g. wards, super output areas, etc. The postcodes available in the 2004 and 2011 data are real postcodes. Linking to other business studies These data contain Inter-Departmental Business Register reference numbers. These are anonymous but unique reference numbers assigned to business organisations. Their inclusion allows researchers to combine different business survey sources together. Researchers may consider applying for other business data to assist their research. Additional data in 2011 The 2011 data includes an additional dataset, the Financial Performance Questionnaire, which details the financial performance of trading sector establishments in the 12 months before the survey. There are also region identifiers and the country in which the workplace is located can be identified. In addition industry classification is coded to below the section-level of the Standard Industrial Classification. Related UK Data Archive studies: The EUL version of the WERS Cross-Section Survey, 2004 and Panel Survey, 1998-2004; Wave 2 study is held under SN 5294. The EUL version of the WERS Cross-Section Survey 1998 is held under SN 3955. The EUL version of the WERS 2011 is held under SN 7226. Further details and links to these and other WERS studies available under a standard EUL can be found on the Workplace Employee Relations Survey list of datasets webpage. Related Websites: The WERS sponsors have established the 2011 Workplace Employment Relations Study: Information and Advice user support website for users of the WERS 2011 data. The site includes provision for users to contact the WERS research team with queries about the data. Further information about the WERS series is also provided on the gov.uk Workplace Employment Relations Study (WERS) webpage.For Secure Lab projects applying for access to this study as well as to SN 6697 Business Structure Database and/or SN 7683 Business Structure Database Longitudinal, only postcode-free versions of the data will be made available. Latest edition: For the fifth edition (August 2018), the pseudo-anonymised postcodes (NEW_PC) included in the data file 'wers2004_management_idbr_restricted' have been replaced with real postcodes (PCD2). The file contains only those cases where the respondent gave consent for data linkage (MLINKDAT=yes).
Main Topics:
Survey questions are similar but vary somewhat between years. The Cross-Section Survey of Managers across the various years has included questions on workplace characteristics, recruitment and training, consultation and communication, employee representation, pay determination and payment systems, grievance and discipline, collective disputes and procedures, equal opportunities, work-life balance, health and safety, workforce flexibility, establishment performance, workplace change, experience of the recession, and attitudes to work. The Cross-Section Survey of Employee Representatives 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 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 is based on the WERS98 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 WERS98 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 using a self-completion form. The screening questionnaire for the panel survey was conducted by telephone.
