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A distinction must be drawn between a dismissal on the one hand, and on the other a repudiation of a contract of employment as a result of a breach of a fundamental term of that contract. When such a repudiation has been accepted by the innocent party then a termination of employment takes place. Such termination does not constitute dismissal (see London v. James Laidlaw & Sons Ltd (1974) IRLR 136 and Gannon v. J. C. Firth (1976) IRLR 415 EAT).

The levels of unemployment experienced in the last decade have served to concentrate attention on the operation of the labour market. A major concern of recent assessments of the British labour market has been the apparent persistence of labour shortages, particularly skill shortages. An additional concern has been the need to improve labour market information, particularly at the local labour market level. This article seeks to assess the appropriateness of this emphasis by analysing the meaning and performance of the various measures of pressure of demand available for local labour markets at the occupational level. The conclusion of the analysis is that all the commonly used indicators of the pressure of demand have severe theoretical and practical weaknesses and that extreme care needs to be taken in the use of published labour market data. Furthermore, knowledge is needed concerning the interrelationships between the documented and non‐documented labour markets.

The provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 are, at least in general terms, likely to raise the status of health and safety as a subject area for joint discussion and decision making in the years to come. In the immediate short term the emphasis is likely to be on trying to bring about a reduction in industrial accidents, but beyond this stage attention is likely to be increasingly given to trying to cope with the effects of heretofore undetected or unknown exposure to toxic substancies at the workplace. Indeed there are already some signs of union‐management activity along these lines; the agreement to ban toluene diisocyanate (TDI) at Metal Box in printing industry being a notable example in this regard.

Between 1977–1985, total employment in one United Kingdom corporation, which initially had 20,000 employees with an overall trade union density of 65 per cent, fell by 45 per cent, while the union density fell by 13 per cent. Shop‐floor grades, which were more highly unionised were disproportionately affected by the employment reductions. The changes are charted for the eleven companies in the corporation and some relevant information on the companies offered.

In the existing literature on organisational change (with a strong emphasis on human resource management) the cases discussed are frequently at the opposite ends of a spectrum: a new plant or greenfield site situation or a brownfield site where change is sought in an older, established organisation. This paper reports the interim results of an on‐going investigation of a hybrid case study, which involves the building of a new factory on an existing site where the other on‐going businesses of the company are located.

The gradual shift from industrial to service economies which has been characteristic of all the western democracies for at least the last century has not been reflected in research on the services in a manner commensurate with the pace and importance of that shift. Although there are semantic and practical difficulties in defining exactly what is meant by services, one can discern a rough continuum running through most definitions and categorisations, with creating, altering, or combining material objects on one end of the continuum, and dealing with an individual's problems and needs through the use of a helping relationship on the other. Using this model, it is clear that the overwhelming majority of research studies into work attitudes, patterns, influences, productivity and so forth, have been towards the materials‐altering, or industrial, end of the continuum.

The reasons which influence any individual to choose one union over another in a situation where both have recruited members and obtained bargaining rights are investigated in a questionnaire‐based study conducted in three Scottish psychiatric establishments. Two views of why an individual nurse joins the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) as opposed to the Confederation of Health Service Employees (COHSE) or the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) or vice versa are given. In the first view the key influences are seen to be the personal values that individuals bring into the workplace. The second view stresses the influence of the historical patterns of organisations in the different parts of the nursing service.

This special “Anbar Abstracts” issue of the Health Manpower Management is split into five sections covering abstracts under the following headings: Management tools; Participation/roles; Types of change; Management Implementation.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Regulations which followed it gave trade union safety representatives the right to request management to establish a joint health and safety committee. While such committees have existed in Britain for a considerable number of years they have tended to be confined to large plants in the high and medium accident rate industries. One of the effects of the legislation has been to bring about a major increase in the number of committees, particularly among small firms and those in the traditionally low accident rate industries.