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WERS 2004 - Cross SectionThe Cross-Section Survey was based on a random sample of establishments in existence in 2004, and thus provided a snap-shot of employment relations at that time. The Survey took place at workplace level and contained five components:
Data was collected from around 2,300 managers, 1,000 employee representatives and 22,500 employees. Each dataset may be linked to another by means of a unique workplace identifier. Scope:The scope of the WERS 2004 Cross-Section extends to cover all workplaces with 5 or more employees, located in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and engaged in activities within Sections D (Manufacturing) to O (Other Community, Social and Personal Services) of the Standard Industrial Classification (2003). The survey covers both private and public sectors. The Cross-Section Survey covered 30 per cent of all establishments in Britain (a total of 697,000 establishments). Those outside the coverage of the survey comprised: establishments engaged in primary industries and private households with domestic staff (7 per cent of all workplaces); and establishments in Sections D-O of the Standard Industrial Classification (2003) with fewer than five employees (60 per cent of all workplaces). The principal change in the scope of WERS98 Cross-Section when compared with earlier surveys in the WERS series was the extension to cover workplaces with 5-9 employees. The 1998 survey had a minimum size-threshold of 10 employees, whilst earlier surveys in the series had a size-threshold of 25 employees. Sampling frame:The sample for the WERS 2004 Cross-Section Survey was taken from the Inter Departmental Business Register(IDBR), maintained by the Office of National Statistics. The IDBR also provided the sample for WERS 1998. It is the successor to the Census of Employment: the sampling frame used in the first three cross-section surveys in the WERS series. Dates of fieldwork:Fieldwork for the WERS 2004 Cross-Section began in February 2004 and came to a close in April 2005. The median management interview took place in July 2004. Further details:Further detail about each of the components of the WERS 2004 Cross-Section Survey, together with copies of the questionnaires and other documentation, can be found in later sections of this page by following these links:
Management InterviewThe management Interview in the WERS 2004 Cross-Section consisted of a face-to-face interview with the senior person at the workplace with day-to-day responsibility for industrial relations, employee relations or personnel matters. In some cases this would be a personnel specialist. In others, it would be a general manager or a person with a different functional specialty, such as finance. Interviews were conducted with managers in a total of 2,295 workplaces from an in-scope sample of 3,587 addresses, representing a response rate of 64 per cent. The conduct of the interview:A four-page self-completion Employee Profile Questionnaire (EPQ) was sent to the workplace in advance of each interview, to be used for the recording of workforce data that may require the respondent to consult workplace records (e.g. the detailed occupational breakdown of the workforce). The management Interview itself was conducted on-site by a trained interviewer, using Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) technology. Data from the EPQ was entered at the beginning of the interview. The average interview lasted 118 minutes. The EPQ and Management Questionnaire are available from the table of documentation at the bottom of this page, along with documentation that outlines the coding and editing of the resultant data. Core topics:The management interview covered a range of topics, from management attitudes to work organization, and from employee consultation to equal opportunities. The broad range of topics can be summarized as follows:
The principal changes from the WERS 1998 management questionnaire are as follows:
Further information:Download copies of the Employee Profile Questionnaire and the Management Questionnaire. Follow this link to access more general documentation about WERS 2004. Employee Representative interviewThe Employee Representative Interview in the WERS 2004 Cross-Section consisted of face-to-face interviews with a senior union representative and a senior non-union representative, where present. Eligible union representatives were the senior lay representative of the largest recognized union at the establishment or, if no unions were recognized, the largest non-recognized union. Eligible non-union representatives were either the senior non-union representative on the most wide-ranging joint consultative committee, or, if there was no committee at the workplace, the senior stand-alone non-union representative. A total of 1,203 eligible employees representatives were found to be present in 1,072 of the 2,295 workplaces that participated in the WERS 2004 Cross-Section Survey. Interviews were achieved with 984 of these employees representatives, representing a fieldwork response rate of 82 per cent. Of the 984 achieved interviews, 735 were conducted with a union representative and 249 with a non-union representative. The conduct of the interview:The presence of eligible employee representatives was established through questioning in the management Interview. At the end of this interview, the management respondent was asked if they would permit the interviewer to conduct short interviews with the senior union and non-union representatives and, if permission was granted, contact details were collected. The Employee Representative Interview was conducted on-site by the same interviewer, using Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) technology. Union employee representative interviews lasted for 52 minutes on average, whilst non-union employee representative interviews lasted an average of 43 minutes. The Worker Representative Questionnaire is available from the table of documentation at the bottom of this page, along with documentation that outlines the coding and editing of the resultant data. Topics covered in the questionnaire:
The principal changes from the 1998 worker representative interview are as follows:
Further information:Download a copy of the Employee Representative Questionnaire. Follow this link to access more general documentation about WERS 2004. Survey of EmployeesThe Survey of Employees in the WERS 2004 Cross-Section consisted of an eight-page self-completion questionnaire that was distributed to 25 randomly-selected employees in each workplace (or, to every employee in workplaces with between 5 and 24 employees). Permission to distribute the Survey of Employees Questionnaires was given by managers in 1,967 (86 per cent) of the 2,295 workplaces that participated in the WERS 2004 Cross-Section Survey, although managers appear to have actually distributed the questionnaires in 76 per cent of all workplaces. Around 37,000 questionnaires were distributed in these 1,733 workplaces. Some 22,451 were completed and returned, representing a fieldwork response rate of 60 per cent. The mean number of completed questionnaires returned in each workplace was 13, covering a mean of 29 per cent of the total workforce in each establishment. The survey design provides a nationally representative sample of employees in workplaces covered by the WERS 2004 Cross-Section. The conduct of the survey:In workplaces where managers permitted the Survey of Employees to take place, the interviewer conducting the management interview obtained a list (from the employer) of all employees at the establishment who were on the payroll at that time. The interviewer selected 25 employees at random from this list and left a named questionnaire for each selected employee, to be distributed by the manager. In workplaces with between 5 and 25 employees, a named questionnaire was left for each employee. Each questionnaire was to be placed in a sealed envelop upon completion. The completed questionnaires were either posted directly to the fieldwork office by the respondent, or collected at the workplace and returned in a single batch to the interviewer or by post. Topics covered in the questionnaire:
The principal changes from the 1998 employee questionnaire are as follows:
Further details:Download a copy of the Survey of Employees Questionnaire. Follow this link to access more general documentation about WERS 2004. Financial Performance QuestionnaireThe Financial Performance Questionnaire was a four-page self-completion questionnaire that was left with the management respondent at the end of the management interview. The questionnaire was to be completed either by the management respondent, or by another manager who was better placed to report on financial matters. The questionnaire was placed in 2,076 workplaces and 1,070 questionnaires were returned. When expressed as a proportion of those placed, this represented a response rate of 51 per cent, whilst the response rate expressed as a proportion of productive management interviews was 47 per cent. The Financial Performance Questionnaire was a new innovation in WERS 2004. Topics covered in the questionnaire:
Further details:Download a copy of the Financial Performance Questionnaire. Follow this link to access more general documentation about WERS 2004. Documentation for the Cross-Section SurveyEach file in the table below can be viewed using the Adobe Acrobat® Reader. Users without this software can download it free of charge from the Adobe web-site by following the pictorial link below the table. To view a document below, follow its hyperlink. To download the document, right-click on the hyperlink and this will give you the Save As option.
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