This report describes and analyzes the principal findings of a research project into contemporary employment relations in maintained secondary schools in England and Wales. The report identifies problems and issues relating to staff management of current concern to school personnel and to local education authorities (LEAs), and further identifies approaches adopted by a sample of headteachers to the management and employment of staff in their schools, within the framework of policies and procedures established by their LEAs. The following topics emerged as themes central to the study: headteacher management, staff planning, the organization of trade unions and professional associations in the school, maintenance of staff discipline, individual and collective grievances, and headteacher training. The conclusion that headteachers should break away from their traditional authoritarian roles suggests the generation of administrative procedures that enhance shared decision-making. (JAM)