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The Employment Contract: From Collective Procedures To Individual Rights

Author

Listed:
  • 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. The paper shows that 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 formalisation and legal compliance are greater in larger organisations 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," Working Papers wp171, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.
    • Handle: RePEc:cbr:cbrwps:wp171
    Note: PRO-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    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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    Keywords

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    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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