Purpose – To examine the experience of agency employment for workers and employers' use of agency workers in Britain to evaluate competing claims made about this form of work. Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws on results from three recent representative surveys of employment in...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of contingent labour in the construction and civil engineering sector in the UK. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents the findings of a national postal survey of employment practices within the UK construction and civil...

Purpose – As a backdrop to the empirical contributions contained within this special section, this Guest Editorial aims to review the context of construction employment. It summarises the challenges inherent in construction work which have impeded the development of human resource management...

Presents a critical account of the implementation of the Management NVQ in three case study companies. Deals with two main themes: first, the way in which the candidates reacted to the management standards, reinterpreting their own roles and adopting the concept of a “real” manager, and...