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This UK report identifies and analyses available research on basic skills in the workplace and presents an overview of the field. The definition of 'basic skills' used by the Basic Skills Agency (BSA) is 'the ability to read, write and speak in English, and to use mathematics at a level necessary to function and progress at work and in society in general'. There are also more complicated issues associated with key skills and information and communications technology (ICT) skills, which are of particular importance in the workplace. The review encompasses academic research, documentation of academic knowledge in publications for professional audiences, and evaluative or reflective accounts of successful practice, from both the UK and other English-speaking countries. The findings include empirical and theoretical research, using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The report is intended to inform: policy concerned with the expansion of workplace basic skills as part of the UK government's basic skills strategy; practice by established and new providers of workplace basic skills; decisions about future research priorities. The report's introduction acts as a guide to the review and explains how to get the best use from it. Part A is a thematic guide to the field and it includes detailed references to the publications listed in Part B.