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. 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 formalization and legal compliance are greater in larger organizations 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. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd/London School of Economics 2000.

Purpose-This paper presents an account of the UK campaign for the voluntary Living Wage, an example of civil regulation. The purpose of this paper is to identify and characterize the actors involved in the campaign, describe methods used and examine direct and indirect consequences of the campaign. Design/methodology/approach-A mixed-method design is employed, reflecting the broadly framed purpose of the research. The research used semi-structured interviews with campaigners, union representatives and employers, observation of campaign activities and the creation of a database of Living Wage employers. Findings-The campaign originated in the community organizing movement, but has involved a broad range of labor market actors, both "new" and "old." A continuum of campaigning methods has been used, stretching from community mobilization to appeals to employer self-interest and corporate social responsibility. The campaign has recruited 3,000 employers, led to wage increases for thousands of workers and registered indirect effects by shaping the policies of governments, employers and unions. Originality/value-The research presents a novel account of the UK's distinctive Living Wage campaign, a notable example of the civil regulation of the labor market.

The late 20th century saw the rapid decline of collective bargaining, which had hitherto been the dominant means of regulation of employment in Britain. The article uses a comparison of the Workplace Employment Relations Surveys for 1998 and 2004 to assess how far this changed during the later period of economic growth and sympathetic labour legislation. Contrary to expectations, the data show that collective bargaining coverage has continued to fall, although much of this decline is concentrated in small firms in the private sector. The article goes on to analyse the recent change at sectoral level and examines evidence on the extent to which the character, as well as the extent, of collective bargaining had changed. The locus of management decision making has continued to move down organisations, both where collective bargaining occurs and also where unions are absent. Finally, the article evaluates how the perceptions of those involved in the bargaining process have shifted at a time of greatly diminished trade union influence.

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) practices are increasingly being viewed as an improved way of resolving workplace conflict. Much of the empirical literature focuses on the spread of ADR amongst US organizations with little evidence of such approaches having crossed the Atlantic. This article presents new survey evidence that examines the extent to which ADR has been adopted as a strategy to resolve different forms of conflict by Welsh firms in the UK. The factors that impact upon the diffusion of ADR are also analysed. The article finds that in contrast to earlier research, ADR is widespread amongst Welsh firms, irrespective of how broadly ADR is defined. The presence of institutional actors such as specialist HR managers and recognized trade unions are found to be positively associated with more private forms of ADR.