부산대학교 도서관

Recent employment law reforms in England precipitated a telephone survey of a stratified random sample of 5,120 employed people (1,000 respondents) that was intended to find their levels of awareness and knowledge of employment rights and their exercise of those rights. Survey results included the following: (1) nearly 70% of those questioned assess themselves as well-informed or very well-informed about employment rights in general; (2) of laws known by respondents, the most commonly cited related to working time, health and safety, and discrimination; (3) while women assessed their awareness/knowledge as higher than men, the latter were more likely to name an employment right; (4) levels of awareness peaked in the 36-45 age group and among those with the highest level of education; (5) levels of awareness/knowledge were highest among managers and professionals, and among permanent employees and trade union members; (6) 16% of respondents experienced problems at work in relation to employment rights in the previous five years; (7) non-whites were nearly twice as likely to report work problems; and (8) older respondents and those with a work contract were much less likely to report having experienced problems. Because of the relatively small numbers who had experienced infringements of their rights, only limited conclusions could be drawn about whether a lack of awareness/knowledge disenfranchises people in achieving their employment rights. (There are 185 figures and tables. Appended are a description of the research methodology; details of the achieved sample; scenarios; and the survey instrument.) (AJ)