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The purpose of this paper, with an organisational focus, is to offer a novel examination of the association between workforce nationality composition and workplace flexibility practices (WFPs), an under-researched topic with high potential benefits at microeconomic and macroeconomic level.

British data are used, as the UK has experienced significant immigrant flows and has a relatively high level of labour market flexibility. The Workplace Employee Relations Survey 2011, sampling 2,500 British workplaces, offers for the first time data on workforce nationality. Via zero-inflated regressions, the number of non-UK nationals employed in a workplace is assessed against a wide range of numerical, functional and cost WFPs.

There are significant links between WFPs and the employment of non-UK nationals, and these are distinct for non-UK nationals from the European Economic Area (EEA) when compared to non-UK nationals from outside the EEA. The former are more likely to be in “good” employment, with job security, working from home, job autonomy and training. Yet, both types of non-UK nationals are more likely to be employed in workplaces making high use of causal contracts. The implications of these results are discussed.

The paper addresses the need to research migration from a relatively new perspective of WFPs while also taking into account the diversity of non-UK nationals. The topic is of importance to organisations, as well as to labour market and migration policymakers. Timely results are of value in view of heightened interest in migration.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices and workers' overall job satisfaction and their satisfaction with pay.

The paper uses British data from two different cross‐sectional datasets. It estimates probit models with overall job satisfaction and satisfaction with pay as subjective dependent variables.

After controlling for personal, job and firm characteristics, it is found that several HRM practices raise workers' overall job satisfaction and their satisfaction with pay. However, these effects are only significant for non‐union members. Satisfaction with pay is higher where performance‐related pay and seniority‐based reward systems are in place. A pay structure that is perceived to be unequal is associated with a substantial reduction in both non‐union members' overall job satisfaction and their satisfaction with pay. Although HRM practices can raise workers' job satisfaction, if workplace pay inequality widens as a consequence then non‐union members may experience reduced job satisfaction.

The data sets used in the analysis are cross‐sectional, presenting a snapshot of impacts of HRM practices on job satisfaction at a particular point in time. Dynamic effects are therefore not captured.

The paper adds to the empirical literature on effects of HRM practices, focussing on impacts on both overall job satisfaction and satisfaction with pay. A novel feature of the paper is the use of two separate data sets to develop complementary empirical results.

Recent economic recession has highlighted the role of labour market flexibility as a key factor of competitiveness of a country. Despite the fact that labour mobility can essentially be seen as part of labour market flexibility, there is notable research gap concerning spatial mobility and other facets of labour market flexibility. The purpose of this special issue is to fill these gaps.

The papers in the special issue represent various quantitative methods and databases, whereas mainly micro data (workplace, labour force or immigrant surveys, job search portal, etc.) is used. However, the type of labour market flexibility addressed is both micro- and macro-level.

It is demonstrated that labour occupational mobility is determined by the business cycle, numerical flexibility, occupational categories, and sector. Spatial mobility may have counterintuitive effects on individual occupational mobility depending on gender and it is related to various flexibilities in the workplace. It is also suggested that different types of flexibilities on a firm level are interdependent of each other.

The special issue adds to the labour market related knowledge by integrating labour market flexibility and mobility. Individually, both phenomena have been studied before, but not much research is devoted to their inter-linkages. The special issue also contributes by examining labour market flexibility and spatial mobility in the context of different countries, economic cycles, and institutional settings.

Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.