Publications

This research indicates that the types of factors identified within models of safety culture are present in good practice organisations, although not all aspects were present in each organisation. Perhaps of more importance is the fact that the research revealed that safety culture theory largely ignores issues to do with the development of health and safety awareness and responsibilities in learners in the workplace and training locations. Given that these are among the most vulnerable individuals this omission needs to be addressed.

This publication was authored by Annette Cox before she joined IES.

This report presents the results of the 2006 Survey of the Profession, carried out on behalf of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS). The 2006 survey is the fourth survey carried out by the RCVS. The membership was also surveyed in 1998, 2000 and 2002. Throughout this report, where possible and appropriate, results are compared with those of previous surveys. The aim of these membership surveys is to provide RCVS, and other interested parties, with an evidence-based view of the veterinary profession and the changes taking place within it.

Good employment goes hand in hand with good service standards. For most public service users, contact with an employee is the service they receive. Employment practices that help employees excel are therefore vital to delivering world-class public services. The companies included in this report all saw good employment practice as a priority and sought to create environments where employees felt motivated, valued and involved. This report was based on research by IES. This publication is no longer available.

The aim of this study was to gain a clear view of the most common career paths for HR professionals and to understand how these were changing as new roles and structures appeared. It also aimed to gather views about the most successful routes to top HR positions and uncover the career aspirations of people management professionals.

Care to Learn is a UK government initiative that provides financial support for teenage parents who want to continue in, or return to learning. It helps with the cost of their childcare and travel. Teenage Pregnancy Co-ordinators (TPCs) were asked about the implementation and effectiveness of Care to Learn in their locality for the 2004/05 year. This report summarises the responses of 77 TPCs, or another relevant respondents (eg Connexions, Sure Start).

The main aims of the study were: to assess employees' general awareness of the scope of their employment rights; for selected topics, to establish employees' knowledge of specific employment rights provision (eg level of the National Minimum Wage(NMW), qualifying period for taking action on the grounds of unfair dismissal and discrimination cases, and rules for the award of costs in employment tribunal cases); to find out the main sources of information and professional advice about employment rights issues and, when employees have had a recent problem (eg in the past five years), where they sought advice and guidance and what they did to try and resolve the problem; and to identify the personal and employment characteristics that influence employees' levels of awareness, knowledge and preparedness to seek advice and take action to enforce their individual employment rights (including employment status).

This qualitative study explored the perceptions and subjective experiences of claimants who were involved in Race Relations Act Employment Tribunal cases. In-depth interviews with 40 race discrimination claimants were carried out between May 2005 and February 2006. The report draws out emergent themes about: the progress of cases; advice, guidance and representation; expectations and motivations; and issues of power.

This paper examines some of the issues involved in the effective career management of knowledge workers and specialists. We use the term 'knowledge workers' here for employees with professional or functional expertise necessary to delivery the products or services of the organisation, or to support the effective running of the organisation. We will often use the term 'specialist' to describe a person whose contribution to the business lies in doing high level professional or technical work themselves, rather than through managing other people who deliver this work. 'Specialists' in this sense are often at 'managerial levels' in the organisation but not in jobs which involve a lot of format management responsibilities.

As the population ages and employers increasingly seek to offer competitive terms and conditions in order to attract and retain key staff, interest in employers' policies on the provision of time off for eldercare - and other forms of care besides childcare - appears to be growing. This briefing reviews recent research on, and practice recommendations for, the growth of the caring population, and the implications for employers.