Keele Management School

I completed both my undergraduate degree and MA in History and Politics at the University of East Anglia and subsequently worked in the Inland Revenue, where I was active in the IRSF union (now the Public and Commercial Services Union, PCS). I then moved to Birmingham University, where I completed my PhD (examining German collective bargaining after unification) in 1999. Prior to joining the staff at Keele in September 2000, I worked both as a Research Assistant at the LSE and as a Lecturer in Industrial Relations at the University of Warwick.

I currently sit on the advisory board of Migrant Workers North West and the Regional Refugee Employment Group of the West Midlands Strategic Migration Partnership.

My main research interests relate to the employment of migrant workers, asylum seekers and refugees and to the regulation of work and the work-life balance of white collar-workers. I have recently completed work on the impact of migrant labour on the operation of the National Minimum Wage for the Low Pay Commission and co-ordinates the British Universities Industrial Relations Association's (BUIRA) study group on migrant workers and industrial relations. Working with Gary Daniels, I have undertaken research upon the work-life balance of Head Teachers (for the National Association of Head Teachers, NAHT) and Civil Servants for the PCS.

I also have research interests in comparative industrial relations, particularly research into racism and racial discrimination; German collective bargaining and trade unions; civil service industrial relations and pay determination in the UK.

• French, S (2007) I Sindacati, La Riforma Del Welfare E Il Terzo Settore In Germania In INAS (Ed.) Sindacati E Reti Di Welfare In Europa, (Rome, Edizioni Lavoro) Forthcoming.
• French, S. (2007) Submission of Evidence to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee on the Economic Impact of Immigration.
• Daniels, G. and French, S. (2007) The Civil Service 24-7 Survey 2006. Council Of Civil Service Unions submission to the Cabinet Office Review of Civil Service Staffing
• Daniels, G. and French, S. (2007) The PCS 24-7 Survey 2006. Report for the Public and Commercial Services Union.
• French, S. and Daniels, G. (2007) The NAHT Work-Life Balance Survey 2006. Report for the National Association of Head Teachers and submitted to the Workload Agreement Monitoring Group and the School Teachers Pay Review Body.
• French, S and Möhrke, J. (2007) The Impact of ‘New Arrivals’ on the North Staffordshire Labour Market’, Report to the Low Pay Commission. Available here.
• Daniels, G. and French, S. (2006) The Work-Life Balance Of Managers, Professionals And Head Teachers. Report for the National Association of Head Teachers and Submitted to the Price Waterhouse Coopers Inquiry on School Leadership commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills.
• Daniels, G. and French, S. (2006) The NAHT 24-7 Survey 2005. Report for the National Association of Head Teachers and Submitted to the Workload Agreement Monitoring Group and the School Teachers Pay Review Body.
• Daniels, G. and French, S (2006) The Growth of Work-Life Balance and Family-Friendly Policies and the Implications for Employment Relations, International Employment Relations Review, 12(2), Pp.9-19 French, S. and Daniels, G. (2006) The UK’s Work-Life Balance: The Limits of Employer Policies and Legal Regulation? European Industrial Relations Review, 387:25-29.
• French, S. and Daniels, G.(2005)The Work-Life Balance: Evidence from across the United Kingdom European Industrial Relations Review,380:27-29.
• Birsl, U., Solé, C., Bitzan, R., Parella, S. Alarcón, A., French, S. and Schmidt, J. (2004), Migración e Interculturalidad en Gran Breta?a, Espa?a y Alemania (Anthropos, Barcelona), pp. 383
• Birsl, U., Bitzan, R., Schmidt, J., Solé, C., Parella Rubio, S. and French, S. (2003), Migration und Interkulturalität in Großbritannien, Deutschland und Spanien: Fallstudien aus der Arbeitswelt, (Opladen, Leske & Budrich), pp. 421
• Marsden, D. and French, S. (2002) Performance Pay in the United Kingdom: The Case of the Inland Revenue Service in: M. Brown & J. Heywood, (Eds) Paying For Performance: An International Comparison, (New York, Sharpe M E Armonk), pp.115-147.
• French, S. (2002) Within and Beyond IG Metall: A Comment on Richard Hyman's Understanding European Trade Unionism, Historical Studies In Industrial Relations 14, pp. 135-138.
• French, S. (2001) Works Councils In Unified Germany: Still Loyal to the Trade Unions? International Journal Of Manpower, 22(6), pp.560-578.
• S. French (2001) ‘Works Councils in Unified Germany: Still Loyal To The Trade Unions?’ International Journal of Manpower, 22(6):560-578
• J. Arrowsmith, S. French, M Gilman, R Richardson (2001) ‘Performance Related Pay In Healthcare’, Journal of Health Services Research and Policy, 6(2):114-119
• S. French (2000) 'The Impact of Unification on German Industrial Relations' German Politics, 9(2):195-216