WERS98 Data Dissemination Service
THE 1998 CROSS-SECTION SURVEY
The WERS98 Cross-Section Survey was designed to provide a substantial bank of data on the nature of workplace employment relations at the end of the 1990s. The Survey took place at workplace level and contained three components:
Main management interview: 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.
Worker representative interview, where present: A face-to-face interview with the most senior representative of the trade union with the largest number of members at the workplace, or with the most senior employee representative who sits on a workplace-level consultative committee
Survey of employees: Self-completion questionnaires distributed to a random selection of up to 25 employees in each workplace (new in WERS98).
Data was collected from around 2,000 managers, 1,000 worker representatives and 30,000 employees. Each dataset may be linked to another by means of a unique workplace identifier.
Further information about each of the three components may be obtained by following the links at the bottom of this page.
Scope:
The scope of the WERS98 Cross-Section extends to cover all workplaces with 10 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 1992 Standard Industrial Classification. The survey covers both private and public sectors.
Workplaces whose main activity lies within the following Sections of the 1992 Standard Industrial Classification are not covered by WERS98:
A Agriculture, Hunting and Forestry
B Fishing
C Mining and Quarrying
P Private households with employed persons
Q Extra-territorial organizations and bodies
The principal change in the scope of WERS98 Cross-Section when compared with earlier surveys in the WIRS series was the extension to cover workplaces with 10-24 employees. Each of the previous surveys operated a minimum size-threshold of 25 employees.
Sampling frame:
The sample for the WERS98 Cross-Section Survey was taken from the Inter Departmental Business Register (IDBR), maintained by the Office of National Statistics. The is the successor to the Census of Employment: the sampling frame used in each of the previous three cross-section surveys in the WIRS series.
Dates of fieldwork:
Fieldwork for the WERS98 Cross-Section began in October 1997 and came to a close in July 1998. The median management interview took place in February 1998.
Further details:
Greater detail about each of the three components of the WERS98 Cross-Section Survey, together with copies of the questionnaires and other documentation, can be obtained by following these links:
WERS98 Data Dissemination
Service
National Institute of Economic and Social
Research, 2 Dean Trench St, London SW1P 3HE
URL: http://www.niesr.ac.uk/niesr/wers98/
E-mail: wers98@niesr.ac.uk
This site is maintained by
Simon Kirby
Page last updated: 16 November 2001