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UK
6 October 2000
STE and BT
Company teleworking agreement
An agreement with the STE for Teleworking by managerial and professional grades in BT.
[print only]
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3 August 2000
Jean Eaglesham
published in 'Financial Times' newspaper
Companies snooping on staff face curbs
A legal clampdown on companies monitoring of phone calls, faxes and e-mails was proposed by the government yesterday, in a move that would bring private businesses under the scope of inception laws for the first time.
[visit the Financial Times website]
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August 2000
Margaret Bankart
Managing adaptability in Business teleworking
A part-time online course to help London individuals and businesses, plan implement and manage a teleworking programme, or improve current teleworking practices.
[download course flyer]
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August 2000
Cathy Murray, Small World Connections Ltd.
Diversity in the workforce-overcoming the barriers against disadvantaged people and preparing them for telework
Report of a project which helped prepare women returners, women prisoners and families with life-threatened children for telework. Since 1994 Small World have worked with a variety of disadvantaged groups in order to help them prosper from new technologies.
[download]
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August 2000
Cathy Murray, Small World Connections Ltd.
Telework NVQ level two materials
A list of the Small World Connections Ltd. Teleworking materials which cover the five mandatory modules and three of the optional modules of the level two telework National Vocational Qualification.
[download]
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2000
MSF union Research Department
Report for MSF Annual Conference 2000
Development of the Information Society
The report looks at the development of the Information Society. Information and communications technologies have both positive and negative characteristics. Our emphasis should be on creating an information Society for the people and citizens of Europe.
[download]
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1 May 2000
MSF union Research Department
Model Teleworking agreement
[download]
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23 March 2000
Alan Felstead, Nick Jewson, Annie Phizacklea & Sally Walters
ESRC, University of Leeds & University of Leicester
A Statistical Portrait of working at home in the U.K: Evidence from the labour force survey
It is frequently suggested that working at home will be the future of work for many people in the U.K Two images of this future dominate popular commentaries on the subject. The pessimistic outlook draws on the historical imagery of homeworking as exploitative, lowly paid and carried out by women seeking to combine work with childcare as well as those disadvantaged in the labour market such as ethnic minorities. The optimistic scenario, on the other hand, draws on futuristic images of increasing awathes of the workforce being able to work wherever and whenever they choose via the use of the Internet, the mobile phone and the PC. For these people, working at home is seen as an enriching and liberating experience.
This paper confronts these stereotypes with hard empirical evidence from the labour Force Survey (LFS) which has asked repondents questions about the location of their workplace since 1992. As a result, we now have the means to provide a national, up-to date picture of those reporting to work at home. However, the analysis of this data has so far been piecemeal and limited. This paper aims to correst this this deficiency by answering a series of frequently asked questions about the subject.
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12 September 1999
Barry Jones, Phil Taylor, Peter Bain (MSF, University of Stirling, University of Strathclyde):
Trade Unions and Call Centre Survey
The principal aims of the survey was to develop a fuller understanding of the experiences and attitudes of trade union members working in Financial sector call centres. Within the overall aim there were two specific objectives.
Firstly, the intention was to gain a greater understanding of the labour process, seeking from workers their perceptions of those aspects of work which engender the greatest levels of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Identification of the grievances, discontents and, conversely, those aspects of working in call centres that are regarded positively, was seen as important for the unions as they develop bargaining agendas and seek to represent their members' interests. (and where possible non-members) perceptions of the role, performance and effectiveness of their unions and staff associations.
Six locations were selected; First Direct (Leeds), Eagle Star (Newcastle), Scottish Widows (Edinburgh), Legal and General (Cardiff), Barclaycard (Liverpool) and Barclaycall (Coventry). The four trade unions represented were BIFU, UFS, MSF and UNIFI.
The research represents the first systematic attempt to conduct a national survey of attitudes to work and trade unionism amongst call centre workers.
[download]
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July 1999
MSF & Prudential
Prudential teleworking & working from home
A Teleworking agreement including Health and safety regulations, legal requirements, responsibilities
[download]
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1999
Amor Jones
MSF works
Women and working from home
With increasing flexibility in computer system developments, working from home becomes a more attractive option for certain employers and employees. The paper looks at women working from Home, Disadvantages of working from home, and guidelines fro Teleworking.
[download]
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1999
MSF & Royal Sun Alliance
Royal Sun Alliance call centre annualised hours
An agreement for all staff working in call centres put in to effect to provide flexibility for workers, also enabling the company to have the number of staff at work at the right time
[download]
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1999
RSA & MSF
Royal Sun Alliance working from home agreement
A ROYAL SUN ALLIANCE National agreement for Working from home.
Guidelines include: Equipment, Health and Safety, personal security, Personal contact, Control, Computer security.
[download]
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1999
Bill Walsh (MSF):
The Best of Both Worlds: Teleworking - a Trade Union Perspective
Modern computers and telecommunications make it possible to undertake a wide range of work away from the usual employment centres.
The report illustrates the many advantages for the individual as well as the wider community. However trade unionists are deeply suspicious of any extension of home-based working as there is a long and continuing history of exploitation of home workers. MSF believes that there is insufficient protection to prevent the exploitation of home based teleworkers. As such MSF has produced a checklist for negotiating home-based teleworking arrangements with employers.
[download]
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October 1999
Sue Fernie & David Metcalfe
London School of Economics
Payment systems, monitoring and performance in call centres
This paper takes as its setting the fastest growing occupation in the UK – computer telephony – and, using data from a postal survey, anaylyses the effects of performance related pay systems and forms of supervision on productivity, financial performance, pay levels and labour turnover. There are currently some 7,000 call centres employing over 2000,000 agents. According to the trade press, this number is rising by around 20% a year.
This occupation merits study because the possbilities for monitoring behaviour and measuring output are amazing to behold – the "Tyranny of the assembly line" is but a Sunday school picnic compared with the control that management can exersise in computer telephony. Indeed, the advertising brochure for a popular call centre software package is boldly titled TOTAL CONTROL MADE EASY.
This is One of the few studies to focus on private services in the UK. Even though that sector accounts for the bulk of employment and output.
[download]
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9 December 1998
Barry Jones (MSF):
Home-based Teleworking in the Insurance Industry
The insurance industry is characterised by large numbers of staff working for long periods on the telephone and/or on computers. This is all work which need not restricted to the office environment.
One of the challenges facing us is to use technology in ways which increase freedom for employees and improve the quality of our lives. It is important that this becomes a two-way street. Benefits in flexibility for employers must be balanced by benefits for employees.
[download]
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2 May 1998
Ian Templeman (MSF):
Royal Sun Alliance Report of Homeworkers Survey
In March 1998 a survey was sent to all RSA homeworker members, in response to a number of individual queries involving workloads and the number of hours that homeworkers were expected to work. It was clear from the replies that many members had been working excessively for long periods of time. The response to the survey highlighted a problem with the workloads of those members whose place of employment was their home.
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1996
MSF & Hallmark Insurance
Agreement between Hallmark Insurance Company Limited
An agreement for all field staff who have agreed to work form home, and remain employees of Hibernian.
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1996
Unify & Co-operative Bank
Teleworking agreement between Unify
(formerly BIFU) and Co-operative bank
A teleworking agreement intended to refer to any job where the work is performed at or from home instead of at or from co-operative bank premises for a significant proportion of contractual working hours. The contractual place of work is specified as the home address.
[print only]
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1996
CWU & British Telecom (BT)
Teleworking agreement between CWU & BT
Agreement between CWU & BT home workers.
[print only]
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27 March 1992
MSF & Prudential
Prudential outdoor specialist agreement
An agreement between Home service division and MSF finance union
[download]
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