Key details
Professor Geoffrey White
Professor of Human Resource Management
Geoffrey White joined the University of Greenwich in January 1991 after a career in commercial industrial relations research. He was previously Head of Research Services at Incomes Data Services (IDS), the major pay and employment research company (now part of Thompson-Reuters) and the Managing Editor of Employment Services at Croner Publications (part of Wolters-Kluwer). He is now semi-retired and has a fractional contract with the university.
His previous positions have included:
- * Reader in Reward Management, University of Greenwich (1999-2003)
- * Professor of Human Resource Management, University of Greenwich (2003-present)
- * Business School Director of Research and Enterprise, University of Greenwich (2008–10)
- * Senior Advisor, Research (part-time), Universities and Colleges Employers Association (2010–2014).
His part-time secondments have included:
- * Low Pay Commission Secretariat, remuneration advisor 1998–03
- * Local Government Pay Commission as research adviser (2003)
- * Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), senior advisor research (2004–10).
Geoff has conducted four research projects for the Low Pay Commission and has conducted commissioned research for the Department of Health and the NHS Staff Council. He has also undertaken pay benchmarking consultancy for a number of local authorities and acted as an advisor to the Booth report on Police Pay and Conditions and to the Hutton Review of Executive Pay in the Public Sector.
He is co-author of the major CIPD text book on reward management and co-editor of Reward management: A critical text (now in its 2nd edition and about to be re-published as a 3rd edition).
He has also acted as referee for a wide range of employment and HR journals (e.g.BJIR, IRJ, Human Relations, HRMJ, Personnel Review, Employee Relations) and acted as an external reviewer for the ESRC and other research funders.
Recognition
- Visiting Professor at School of Business, Hong Kong Baptist University (2010-present)
- Interim Editor, International Journal of Employment Relations (2007–08)
- President, International Employment Relations Association (2005–08)
- Advisor to Hong Kong Government on minimum wage legislation (2010)
Research / Scholarly interests
Geoff's research has covered a range of employment relations areas, including reward management, public sector pay and employment relations and construction employment relations. After three secondments to the Low Pay Commission he was involved in research surrounding the impact of the UK national minimum wage. He was also a seconded adviser to the Local Government Pay Commission.
His research around reward management is widely acknowledged and he is often asked to referee journal articles in this field. In particular, his work has helped to dispel myths about public sector pay. His expertise in reward management has been utilised in secondments to the Low Pay Commission, the Local Government Pay Commission and the UCEA.
His most recent research has been concerned with the challenges facing early career researchers in higher education in Europe and the role that employers and unions can play to assist in overcoming these challenges.
Key funded projects
Supporting early career researchers in Higher Education in Europe: The Role of Employers and Trade Unions.
Project funded by the EU DGV Industrial Relations and Social Dialogue Fund (Project VS/2013/0399). The project partners were the European Federation of Education Employers (EFEE), European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE) and the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA). Research conducted in 2014 and report published 2015. A literature review and six country case studies are also available on-line.
The aim of this research project was to improve expertise in industrial relations in the higher education sector and to promote the exchange of information and experience among EFEE and ETUCE members. In order to get insight in the challenges faced by ECRs and to collect examples of good practice on supporting ECRs, a literature research and in-depth interviews in six very diverse European countries (Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Italy, Romania, and the United Kingdom) were conducted.
Based on the case studies and literature review several challenges for ECRs were identified, including: the use of fixed-term contracts and job security issues; workload and job content; career transition stages and ECR expectations; awareness of alternative employment opportunities; geographical and inter-sectoral mobility; and mentoring and the role of line managers. Furthermore it became clear in our research that the level of social dialogue within higher education in the six countries varies significantly; from Cyprus where a formal platform for social dialogue in higher education does not exist to well-developed negotiation and consultation The impact of minimum wages on the youth labour market: an international literature review for the low pay commission.
Recent publications
Book section
White, Geoffrey and , (2016), Encylopedia of Human Resource Management. Edward Elgar. In: , , In: Stewart Johnstone, Adrian Wilkinson (eds.), Encylopedia of Human Resource Management. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK (1st) . ISBN: 9781783475452 (doi: ) NB Item availability restricted.
Monograph
Moore, Sian , Antunes, Bethania, White, Geoffrey, Tailby, Stephanie , Newsome, Kirsty (2017), Non-Standard Contracts and the National Living Wage: A Report for the Low Pay Commission. University of Greenwich. In: , , , . University of Greenwich, (doi: ).