Comparative Workplace Employment Relations

"This is a major contribution to the literature on comparative employment relations. While Britain and France are often posited as having strongly contrasting institutional systems, rigorous studies of these differences have been rare. Drawing on exceptionally rich representative workplace data, the authors provide a fascinating picture of the nature of firm structure, management organization, employee representation and human resource practices in the two countries and underline their implications for worker experiences of job quality and labour market security." (Duncan Gallie, Professor of Sociology, Nuffield College, Oxford) "One of the most stimulating comparative economic studies published in the recent years. The uniqueness of this volume is that it offers a comprehensive comparative analysis of all the dimensions of workplace management and organisation in the two countries. An important contribution to the literature on the varieties of capitalism." (Jerome Gautie, Professor of Economics, Institut des Sciences Sociales du Travail (ISST), Universite Paris 1) "This innovative comparative analysis of workplace employment relations in France and the UK identifies some similarities but also a number of important differences which, in some cases, challenges the stereotypical view of these countries' labour markets. It should therefore be required reading for policy makers in London, Paris and Brussels when developing national and EU labour market policies." (David Yeandle OBE, Director, Government Relations, European Employers Group) "This book is living proof that international comparison through carefully designed, comparable statistical surveys can really bring new and powerful insights. This illuminating work would not have been possible without the descriptive power of large samples, detailed questionnaires and the cooperation of skilled economists and sociologists. A brilliant opus!" (Thomas Coutrot, Economist, Research Directorate, French Ministry of Labour)

This comprehensive study provides a perceptive portrait of workplace employment relations in Britain and France using comparable data from two large-scale surveys: the British Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS) and the French Enquête Relations Professionnelles et Négociations d’Entreprise (REPONSE).

This comprehensive study provides a perceptive portrait of workplace employment relations in Britain and France using comparable data from two large-scale surveys: the British Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS) and the French Enquête Relations Professionnelles et Négociations d’Entreprise (REPONSE). These extensive linked employer-employee surveys provide nationally-representative data on private sector employment relations in all but the smallest workplaces, and offer a unique opportunity to compare and contrast workplace employment relations under two very different employment regimes. An insightful read for all academics and students of employment, the findings also have implications for practitioners and policy-makers keen to identify and promote “best practice”.