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.
The survey shows a substantial increase in the availability of flexible working and leave arrangements in British workplaces since 1998, including:
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).
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.
