The Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS) spans over three decades of data collection. So far, six surveys have been carried out, in 1980, 1984, 1990, 1998 (prior to this date, the survey was known as the Workplace Industrial Relations Survey; WIRS), 2004 and 2011. WERS is jointly sponsored by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) and the UK Commission on Employment and Skills (UKCES).
The purpose of each survey has been to provide large-scale, statistically reliable evidence about a broad range of employment practices across almost every sector of the economy. This evidence is collected with several objectives in mind. It aims to provide a mapping of employment relations practices in workplaces across Great Britain, monitor changes in those practices over time, inform policy development and permit an informed assessment of the effects of public policy, and bring about a greater understanding of employment relations as well as of the labour market. To that end, WERS collects information from managers with responsibility for employment relations or personnel matters, employee representatives and employees themselves.