The findings are based on interviews with around 3,200 workplace
managers and almost 1,000 employee representatives. Over 20,000
employees completed questionnaires. The survey was conducted in
2004 to provide comparisons with a similar survey conducted in
1998.
Flexible working
The survey shows a substantial increase in the availability of
flexible working and leave arrangements in British workplaces since
1998, including:
- homeworking (28%, up from 16% in 1998);
- term-time only working (28%, up from 14%);
- flexi-time (26%, up from 19%);
- job-sharing (41%, up from 31%);
- parental leave (73%, up from 38%); and
- paid paternity leave (92%, up from 48%).
Disputes at work
Managers in only 5% of workplaces reported some collective
dispute in the year prior to the survey (the figure was 6% in
1998); and 8% of workplaces had faced an employment tribunal claim
in the preceding year (again, this figure was 6% in 1998).
Managers in 22% of workplaces reported that one or more
employees had formally raised a matter through the individual
grievance procedure (21% in 1998).
Managers in 88% of workplaces reported that they had a formal
procedure for handling grievances, while 91% reported a formal
procedure for dealing with disciplinary issues or dismissals
(excluding redundancies).
There was no change in the incidence of grievance procedures
since 1998, but there was an increase in the incidence of
disciplinary procedures (85% in 1998).
Other findings
- the use of performance appraisals is on the increase, with 78%
of managers now using them (up from 73% in 1998);
- off-the-job training is also increasing, now seen in 84% of
workplaces (compared with 73% in 1998);
- more workplaces involve non-managerial staff in problem solving
or discussions about performance (21% in 2004 compared with 16% in
1998); and
- 83% of workplaces now have part-time employees, up from 79% in
1998.
Also, more workplaces now have equal opportunities polices (73%,
up from 64% in 1998), with policies on religion, sexual orientation
and age all featuring highly. However, there has been little change
in the proportion of workplaces where women are under-represented
in management (72%, compared with 73% in the previous survey).
Employment Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said: "Although we still
have work to do in some areas, today's findings show that the
modern workplace is moving in the right direction."
Today's 54-page publication details the first findings of the
survey, produced jointly by the DTI, Acas, the Economic and Social
Research Council and the Policy Studies Institute, with a fuller
picture being promised when the full report is published next
year.
