About us
The Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change’s (CERIC) central objective is to contribute to contemporary, national and international debates surrounding the changing dynamic and the future of work, employment and labour markets, through high-quality research, teaching and knowledge transfer.
Our work draws on the expertise of scholars at Leeds University Business School and members of the Faculty of Social Sciences who address societal issues with research that has direct practitioner application and policy relevance.
A distinctive element of the work of CERIC is the understanding of employment processes and outcomes within a broader regulatory and structural context.
We aim to create a vibrant research environment incorporating established, doctoral as well as visiting researchers.
CERIC's research explores the modernisation of employment relations, and how processes of organisational restructuring and innovation shape patterns of continuity and change in employment relations. It evaluates the consequences of such change for different stakeholders and is committed to developing new strategic and policy-relevant visions.
CERIC projects have attracted external funding from a range of sources including the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), European Union Horizon 2020, Hans Böckler Foundation, Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) as well as the TUC, Worldwide Universities Network and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.
Colleagues in CERIC have extensive experience of working with organisational and representative bodies on applied research projects. This research regularly informs worldwide policymaking in government, with researchers inputting into contemporary strategy and policy debates and publishing in leading international journals.
Our Culture and Values
In CERIC we value collegiality, collaboration, knowledge creation and sharing, as well as fostering good practice through our research and in our research culture. To this end we actively engage in a series of activities over the academic year.
CERIC Seminar Series: Guest speakers join us here in Leeds to discuss their latest research. The sessions, which include a Q&A, are held monthly. Meetings are conducted in a hybrid format.
CERIC Discussion & Reading Group: Staff and PGRs join together in these sessions to discuss shared readings. By putting time in our diaries to discuss, share and think, we carve out that valuable time, and engage with a wide range of works.
Conferences
We organise and attend conferences on a regular basis, including but not limited to the annual conference of the British Universities Industrial Relations Association (BUIRA), Disrupting Technology Conference, and the International Labour Process Conference (ILPC).
International connections
CERIC researchers have backgrounds in employment relations, human resource management (HRM), economics, sociology and political science.We collaborate with colleagues around the world.
Established partnerships and international links:
- University of Melbourne (Australia)
- University of Sydney (Australia)
- University of Wollongong (Australia)
- Athabasca University (Canada)
- East China University of Political Science and Public Administration (China)
- Northwest Agriculture & Forestry University (China)
- University of Cyprus (Cyprus)
- Aalborg University (Denmark)
- University of Helsinki (Finland)
- University of Jyväskylä (Finland)
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (Finland)
- University of Turku (Finland)
- University of Tübingen (Germany)
- Free University Berlin (Germany)
- University of Milan (Italy)
- University of Padua (Italy)
- Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro (Italy)
- Sapienza University of Rome (Italy)
- Mejiro University (Japan)
- Olabisi Onabanjo University (Nigeria)
- Central European Labour Studies Institute (Slovakia)
- University Rovira i Virgili (Spain)
- University of Colombo (Sri Lanka)
- Karlstad University (Sweden)
- Middle East Technical University (Ankara, Turkey)
- Florida International University (USA)
- Pennsylvania State University (USA)
Teaching
The Centre's current flagship teaching programmes include:
- BA Human Resource Management (CIPD accredited)
- BA Management and the Human Resource (CIPD accredited)
- MSc Human Resource Management (CIPD accredited)
- MSc Management Consulting (CMI accredited)
- MSc Data Analytics and HRM (CIPD accredited)
From September 2026
- MSc AI for Business (in collaboration with Analytics, Technology and Operations)
Useful links
- International Labour Process Conference, 2026
- Disrupting Technology, University of Leeds, 2025
- Disrupting Technology, University of Leeds, 2020
- Universal Basic Income, University of Leeds, 2018
- 66th Annual Conference of the British Universities Industrial Relations Association (BUIRA), Leeds, 2016
- 9th Biennial Gender, Work and Organization Conference, Keele University, 2016
- Publish or Perish Citation Analysis - view the citation rankings of CERIC authors
- American Sociological Association
- British Sociological Association
- British Universities Industrial Relations Association (BUIRA)
- Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
- International Sociological Association
- Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA)
- Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing, Griffith University, Australia
- Work, Employment and Society
- Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS)
- Confederation of British Industry
- Dept for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (EMAR)
- European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
- Government Equalities Office
- Low Pay Commission
- Trades Union Congress
- Unionlearn
- The Work Foundation
Find us
Centre for Employment Relations Innovation and Change (CERIC)
Leeds University Business School
Maurice Keyworth Building
University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT
United Kingdom