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The Employment Contract: From Collective Procedures to Individual Rights

Author

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  • William Brown
  • Simon Deakin
  • David Nash
  • Sarah Oxenbridge

Abstract

The article analyses the institutional basis and form of the employment contract in Britain using the 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey. It assesses the extent to which collective bargaining still regulates pay and non‐pay aspects of employment. While collective procedures have declined in importance, there has been an increase in legal governance of the employment relationship. Logistic regression analysis establishes that both contractual formalization and legal compliance are greater in larger organizations and where trade unions are present. Trade union activity is also associated with superior fringe benefits. Collective bargaining thus appears to facilitate both access to and improvement on statutory rights.

Suggested Citation

  • William Brown & Simon Deakin & David Nash & Sarah Oxenbridge, 2000. "The Employment Contract: From Collective Procedures to Individual Rights," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 38(4), pages 611-629, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:brjirl:v:38:y:2000:i:4:p:611-629
    DOI: 10.1111/1467-8543.00182
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jeremy Waddington & Colin Whitston, 1997. "Why Do People Join Unions in a Period of Membership Decline?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 35(4), pages 515-546, December.
    2. Paul Marginson, 1998. "The Survey Tradition in British Industrial Relations Research: an Assessment of the Contribution of Large-Scale Workplace and Enterprise Surveys," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 36(3), pages 361-388, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. William Brown & Paul Ryan, 2003. "The Irrelevance of Trade Union Recognition? A Comparison of Two Matched Companies," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 6(3), pages 383-408, September.
    2. S Oxenbridge & S Deakin & W Brown & C Pratten, 2001. "Collective Employee Representation and the Impact of Law: Initial Response to the Employment Relations Act 1999," Working Papers wp206, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.
    3. Chikako Oka, 2016. "Improving Working Conditions in Garment Supply Chains: The Role of Unions in Cambodia," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 54(3), pages 647-672, September.
    4. Weidenstedt, Linda, 2017. "It Takes Two to Empower: The Communicative Context of Empowerment Change in the Workplace," Ratio Working Papers 300, The Ratio Institute.
    5. Chikako Oka, 2016. "Improving working conditions in garment supply chains: The role of unions in Cambodia," Post-Print hal-02952169, HAL.
    6. Stephen Drinkwater & Peter Ingram, 2005. "Have Industrial Relations in the UK Really Improved?," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 19(2), pages 373-398, June.
    7. Seppo Honkapohja & Frank Westermann, 2009. "Pay-setting Systems in Europe: Ongoing Developments and Possible Reforms," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Seppo Honkapohja & Frank Westermann (ed.), Designing the European Model, chapter 3, pages 82-121, Palgrave Macmillan.
    8. Stephen Clibborn & Sally Hanna‐Osborne, 2023. "The employer perspective on wage law non‐compliance: State of the field and a framework for new understanding," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(4), pages 411-438, October.
    9. Gobbo, Simone Cristina de Oliveira & Mariano, Enzo Barberio & Gobbo Jr., José Alcides, 2021. "Combining social network and data envelopment analysis: A proposal for a Selection Employment Contracts Effectiveness index in healthcare network applications," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    10. Willman, Paul & Bryson, Alex, 2007. "Union organization in Great Britain," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 19762, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    11. W Brown & P Marginson & J Welsh, 2001. "The Management of Pay as the Influence of Collective Bargaining Diminishes," Working Papers wp213, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.
    12. Aristea Koukiadaki, 2010. "The establishment and operation of information and consultation of employees’ arrangements in a capability-based framework," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 31(3), pages 365-388, August.
    13. Stephen Clibborn & Chris F Wright, 2018. "Employer theft of temporary migrant workers’ wages in Australia: Why has the state failed to act?," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 29(2), pages 207-227, June.
    14. Alex J. Wood, 2015. "Networks of injustice and worker mobilisation at Walmart," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(4), pages 259-274, July.
    15. Peter Urwin & Franz Buscha & Paul L. Latreille, 2014. "Representation in UK Employment Tribunals: Analysis of the 2003 and 2008 Survey of Employment Tribunal Applications (SETA)," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 52(1), pages 158-184, March.
    16. John Forth, 2008. "Workplace Employee Representatives, 1980-2004," National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) Discussion Papers 317, National Institute of Economic and Social Research.
    17. James Arrowsmith & Paul Marginson, 2011. "Variable Pay and Collective Bargaining in British Retail Banking," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 49(1), pages 54-79, March.
    18. Addison, John T. & Siebert, W. Stanley, 2002. "Changes in Collective Bargaining in the U.K," IZA Discussion Papers 562, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Brown, W & Hudson, M & Deakin, S & Pratten, C, 2001. "The Limits of Statutory Trade Union Recognition," Working Papers wp199, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.
    20. Anna Pollert & Andy Charlwood, 2009. "The vulnerable worker in Britain and problems at work," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 23(2), pages 343-362, June.
    21. Mark Harcourt & Helen Lam & Richard Croucher, 2015. "The right-to-manage default rule," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3), pages 222-235, May.
    22. Zagelmeyer, Stefan, 2003. "Die Entwicklung kollektiver Verhandlungen in Großbritannien: ein historischer Überblick," Discussion Papers 17, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Labour and Regional Economics.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J53 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence
    • J41 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Labor Contracts
    • K31 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Labor Law

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