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Looks at the 2000 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference held at the University of Cardiff in Wales on 6/7 September 2000. Spotlights the 76 or so presentations within and shows that these are in many, differing, areas across management research from: retail finance; precarious jobs and decisions; methodological lessons from feminism; call centre experience and disability discrimination. These and all points east and west are covered and laid out in a simple, abstract style, including, where applicable, references, endnotes and bibliography in an easy‐to‐follow manner. Summarizes each paper and also gives conclusions where needed, in a comfortable modern format.

For most people, pensions as an issue has been mainly associated with retired people as a separate and deserving category of the population, intermittently attended to by government as a result of pressure group activity. Over the last few years, however, occupational pensions have attracted far more attention, and not only from those nearing the end of their economically active life. In the first place, the recurrent imposition of incomes policies has led negotiators to look more closely at benefits which do not fall under the standard pay heading. Some benefits—for example, increased holiday entitlements—are non‐monetary in character and take the form of a substitute for the extra cash which might otherwise have been available. Pensions, on the other hand, represent an area of potential improvement in financial terms, even if in deferred form. More generally, pensions are starting to be seen in the industrial relations world as a standard negotiable item—as part of the “total remuneration package”, to use a currently fashionable term.

I point out also that there are 1,800,000 more owner‐occupiers since 1979 — a policy fought tooth and nail by the Labour Party; that there has been a dramatic extension of share ownership as with British Telecom and an increase in the number of employee share option schemes.

This paper originates from a 30‐month study funded by the Leverhulme Trust on ‘Preparing Managers for Changes in Employee Relations’. The study consists of two linked empirical stages, the first consisting of in‐depth surveys of 45 establishments, with aggregated employment in excess of 100,000 employees. Each establishment has been subjected to a lengthy questionnaire, in‐depth follow‐up interviews with senior on‐site managers and in some cases, additional questionnaires administered to line managers. The second stage, commencing in April 1995, consists of in‐depth case studies of six of these organisations.

The purpose of this article is to assess the influence of different forms of organisational representation on the provision of work‐life balance employment policies.

The article uses on‐site semi‐structured interviews with employees, HR and line managers and trade union representatives in four case studies as well as survey responses from a total of 17 institutions in the financial services sector.

Employees do influence work‐life balance issues in the financial services sector, and work‐life balance initiatives had greater breadth, codification and quality where independent unions were recognised. In all cases however, the extent of departure from minimal statutory levels of provision was not great.

The nature of the study and its focus on Scotland may limit the generalisability of the findings into other sectors or regions.

In light of the evolving work‐life balance legislative framework, this article should be of practical interest to trade unions, practitioners and academics. It demonstrates that organisations and unions need to retain and develop a focus on work‐life balance applications.

The article indicates the prevalence of management control of the work‐life balance agenda and management's discretion in the operation of work‐life issues. Employees and their representatives accepted this control, and their private individualised responsibility for balancing work and life, without challenge. These results inform current understanding of how work‐life balance legislation, based on a voluntarist agenda, translates into practice.

The UK has operated a lightly regulated approach to help employees balance their work and domestic obligations, an approach which employers have welcomed and which they and Government consider to be successful. On the basis of empirical studies this paper challenges these assumptions and outcomes. Apart from definitional difficulties, seven major problems associated with current UK practice over work‐life balance are identified. The first problem concerns unevenness of adoption across different sectors and organisations. The second is a lack of formalisation of policies at organisational level, with largely untrained line mangers having discretion over policy application. Third, there is restricted employee voice over the introduction and implementation of policies. Fourth, policies are introduced primarily to meet business needs, rather than those of employees. Fifth, there is no evidence of reductions in working hours. Sixth, tangible and intangible work intrusions into domestic life have been identified. Finally, domestic responsibilities are still conducted primarily by women irrespective of their employment status. The researchers conclude that many employees continue to face difficulty in reconciling their work and domestic responsibilities.

Line managers and supervisors have a prime role in ensuring the success of performance outcomes under HRM. They are required to take on new people management roles, whether it be through a style which is “hard” and control centred or more “soft” and facilitative. Presents findings from an in‐depth study of 45 establishments. Highlights concerns over whether line managers and supervisors are sufficiently competent to take on demanding roles required under change programmes, and the difficulties in attempting to transfer an HR vision, which is senior management‐led, down to the line.

The paper presents findings from a case study organisation which has ostensibly adopted an empowerment programme. The findings indicate a rather different trajectory for empowerment than anticipated by most prescriptive accounts. Both employees and their empowered managers expressed high levels of discontent with the programme and its effects. Little sign of increased commitment was evident after the introduction of the initiative and management controls seemed to have tightened rather than loosened. The apparent failure of the empowerment initiative to raise morale and commitment is attributed to lack of resources allocated to the project, lack of management preparation; an unsympathetic cultural context; supremacy of operational issues, and weakened presence and authority. The paper concludes that empowerment projects are unlikely to engage the commitment of employees without addressing the major shortcomings identified above. Nevertheless, resultant work intensification might lead to increased physical productivity.

Alternative hypotheses for the personnel function are presented, based on findings from four case study organisations which have devolved personnel responsibilities from a designated personnel department to line managers. The views of line managers and employees are sought to assess the effects of these changes. The study finds that devolved responsibilities of personnel are formally geared to securing commitment from employees by promoting an integrative culture of employee management through line managers. In practice, though, we find little evidence that personnel has succeeded in catalysing such changes. The case study findings do not point to any clear evidence of a general increase in influence for personnel practitioners following devolution. Tensions exist between line managers and personnel and the function appears to be vulnerable to further contraction. The study concludes that prospects for personnel following devolution are at best uncertain.