ÌÇÐÄTV

Participant Information Leaflet for workplace representatives

(Health and safety representatives, union representatives, EDI representatives etc.)

Study Title:	Integrating diversity in social dialogue: strengthening EU labour market in digital age and green age (Integrate dialogue)
Investigator(s):	Prof. Trine Larsen, Dr. Emily Erickson (all ÌÇÐÄTV Institute for Employment Research)

A downloadable version of this leaflet is available here

Introduction

 You are invited to take part in a research study. Before you decide, you need to understand why the research is being done and what it would involve for you. Please take the time to read the following information carefully. Talk to others about the study if you wish.

Please ask us if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information. Take time to decide whether or not you wish to take part.

Who is organising and funding the study?

The study is funded via the EU Horizon programme. The study is being led by Fafo, Norway, where the University of ÌÇÐÄTV, the UK, is one of the project partners. Professor Trine Larsen leads together with Dr. Emily Erickson the UK part of the study as well as coordinates the work package 5.

What is the study about?

The study aims to investigate traditional and novel forms of social dialogue practices, worker representation and voice channels for non-standard workers across Europe. In this project, we will work with secondary survey data among non-standard workers and employers across Europe and with interviews with employers, non-standard workers, policy-makers, employers, trade unions, organisations representing non-standard workers in the UK, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Slovakia.

What would taking part involve?

This part of the study involves interviews with workplace representatives lasting about 45-60 minutes. We are keen to learn more about:

1. Workplace representatives’ experiences of companies’ reliance on non-standard workers such as zero-hour contracts, freelancers, platform workers, part-time or temporary workers and their implications for work organisation, wage and working conditions at the workplace more broadly
2. Challenges and opportunities associated with companies’ relying on non-standard workers at the workplace
3. The usage of digital tools for communication, coordination and social dialogue between workplace representatives vis a vis management and workers
4. the relationship between non-standard workers’ access to worker voice and representation and their involvement in developing company policies and practices

The interview will take place either online via MS teams or face-to-face depending on what you prefer.

The interview will be conducted in English.

The interview will be audio-recorded if you consent. Otherwise, the researcher will take notes during the interview.

 Do I have to take part?

No. Participation in this study is completely voluntary and choosing not to take part will not affect you in any way. You can also choose to withdraw your participation without giving a reason by contacting a member of the research team, up to a certain point. Further details about withdrawing from the study are provided later on in this document. 

What are the possible benefits of taking part in this study?

The knowledge gained from the project can provide new guidance for decision-makers, companies, and trade unions to develop novel social dialogue practices.

What are the possible disadvantages, side effects or risks, of taking part in this study?

Participating in this study carries minimal risk for you. Some questions may be uncomfortable to answer, but you have the option to skip those questions and continue in the study or withdraw from participation at any time without any consequences for you.

Will my taking part be kept confidential?

We will not report your name or anything that would make you personally identifiable in any outputs from the research and all best endeavours will be made to ensure that data in any publications is anonymised. All participants will be given a pseudonym for the purposes of reporting, and any identifying information will be removed to ensure confidentiality.

What will happen to the data collected about me?

As a publicly-funded organisation, The University of ÌÇÐÄTV have to ensure that it is in the public interest when we use personally-identifiable information from people who have agreed to take part in research. This means that when you agree to take part in a research study, such as this, we will use your data in the ways needed to conduct and analyse the research study.

We will be using information from you in order to undertake this study. For the purpose of data protection legislation, The University of ÌÇÐÄTV is the data controller for this project. The University of ÌÇÐÄTV is committed to protecting the rights of individuals in line with data protection legislation. The University of ÌÇÐÄTV will keep information about you for ten years after the study has finished. However, your contact details and audio-recordings will be safely deleted at the end of the project.

Research data will be pseudonymised as quickly as possible after data collection. This means all direct and indirect identifiers will be removed from the research data and will be replaced with a key which will be stored separately and securely to the research data to safeguard your identity.

Your rights to access, change or move your information are limited, as we need to manage your information in specific ways in order for the research to be reliable and accurate. The University of ÌÇÐÄTV has in place policies and procedures to keep your data safe.

This data may also be used for future research, including impact activities following review and approval by an independent Research Ethics Committee and subject to your consent at the outset of this research project.

For further information, please refer to The University of ÌÇÐÄTV Research Privacy Notice which is available here: /services/idc/dataprotection/privacynotices/researchprivacynoticeor by contacting the Legal and Compliance Team at GDPR@warwick.ac.uk.

What will happen if I don’t want to carry on being part of the study?

Participation in this study is entirely voluntary. Refusal to participate will not affect you in any way. If you agree to participate, you may nevertheless withdraw from the study at any time without affecting you in any way. You have the right to withdraw from the study completely and decline any further contact by study staff after you withdraw.

Please also note that it will not be possible to withdraw your interview data two weeks after the interview has been held as data analysis of pseudonymised will already have started.

To withdraw your data please contact the researcher who has conducted the interview or the Principal Investigator Trine Larsen at Trine.Larsen@warwick.ac.uk.

What will happen to the results of the study?

The results of the study will be regularly published in international scientific journals, primarily in English. We will announce this through the project's social media channels

Who has reviewed the study?

This study has been reviewed and approved by the University of ÌÇÐÄTV’s Humanities and Social Science Research Ethics Committee (HSSREC): HSSREC 296/25-26

Who should I contact if I want further information?

Trine P Larsen (Trine.Larsen@warwick.ac.uk) (Project lead) or Emily Erickson, Emily.Erickson@warwick.ac.uk (project co-lead)

Who should I contact if I wish to make a complaint?

Any complaint about the way you have been dealt with during the study or any possible harm you might have suffered will be addressed. Please address your complaint to the person below, who is a senior University of ÌÇÐÄTV official entirely independent of this study:

Head of Research Governance

Research & Impact Services

University House

University of ÌÇÐÄTV

Coventry

CV4 8UW

Email: researchgovernance@warwick.ac.uk

Tel: 02476 575733

If you wish to raise a complaint on how we have handled your personal data, you can contact our Data Protection Officer who will investigate the matter: DPO@warwick.ac.uk.

If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are processing your personal data in a way that is not lawful you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Thank you for taking the time to read this Participant Information Leaflet.