6102.0.55.001 - Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods, Jun 2005  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 26/08/2004   
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INTRODUCTION

20.8.1 This survey provides information about the locations where people work (such as their own home or employer's premises) and the job characteristics and working arrangements of people who work at home. The Locations of Work Survey was first conducted in 2000, and will be conducted on an irregular basis. It replaces the Survey of Persons Employed at Home conducted in 1989, 1992 and 1995.

20.8.2 Data from the survey are relevant to a wide range of policies and programs, including trends in work performed away from the employer's workplace, working conditions, gender equity in the workforce, labour market planning and assistance (e.g. access to child care by working parents), changes in workplace arrangements, and the effects of technology. Information on locations of work will be used to monitor trends in workplace locations.

20.8.3 This section describes only those aspects of the methodology that are unique to this survey, and hence should be used in conjunction with the overview part of this chapter, which outlines the survey methodology used in supplementary surveys.


SURVEY OUTPUT

20.8.4 Data from the survey have previously been published in Persons Employed at Home, Australia (Cat. no. 6275.0), now renamed Locations of Work, Australia (Cat. no. 6275.0). More detailed data are available on request.

20.8.5 Data from the survey relate to persons aged 15 to 69. The main population of interest is employed persons who work at home. The survey defines employed persons who work at home as: persons who, in the reference week, mainly or only worked at their own home or at the home of another person (excluding the home of their employer or client), and employees who had an arrangement with their employer to work some hours at home, in their main or second job, in the reference week. Estimates are produced on an original basis only (i.e. not seasonally adjusted) and include:

Socio-demographic informationSex, age, marital status, relationship in household, family, geographic region, birthplace and year of arrival in Australia.
.
Employed personsStatus in employment, full-time/part-time status, hours worked, all types of locations of work and main type of location of work. Note: if the person is a multiple job holder, information is collected in relation to both jobs.
.
Employed persons who work at homeOccupation, industry, superannuation coverage, workers' compensation coverage, basis of payment (e.g. fixed salary, wage, commission, piece rate etc.), main basis of payment, and information technology used in work at home. Note: if the person is a multiple job holder, information is collected in relation to job(s) in which person works at home.
.
Employees who work at homeProvision of paid sick leave, provision of paid holiday leave and trade union membership. Note: if multiple job holder information is collected in relation to employee job(s) in which person works at home.
.
20.8.6 Data collected in the survey are compiled according to concepts and definitions outlined in Chapter 4 (employment characteristics), Chapter 12 (trade union membership) and Chapter 15 (socio-demographic information and industry).


SCOPE

20.8.7 The scope of this survey is restricted to persons aged 15-69. The standard scope restrictions for supplementary surveys outlined in the overview part ofChapter 20 also apply to this survey.


DATA COMPARABILITY OVER TIME

20.8.8 In order to provide a high degree of consistency and comparability over time, changes to survey methods, survey concepts, data item definitions, frequency of collection, and analysis methods are made as infrequently as possible. The survey was redeveloped for the June 2000 collection, as a result of client requirements and a desire to better meet the statistical requirements of the ILO convention on home work. Changes to the survey scope and sample size mean that the standard errors for the surveys differ over time. The 2000 survey considerably expanded the scope of the survey. Changes affecting the Labour Force Survey may also affect this survey. Such changes are outlined in Chapter 19 and are not repeated here.

1989Initial survey conducted (April) - data published in Persons Employed at Home, Australia (Cat. no. 6275.0).
Persons employed at home defined as persons who usually worked more hours at home than elsewhere, in their main or second job. Farmers, ASCO unit groups 1401 (farmers and farm managers) and 8201 (farm hands and assistants) were excluded.
.
1992Survey conducted (March).
.
1995Survey conducted (September).
Sample restricted to seven-eighths of the Labour Force Survey sample.
.
2000Survey redeveloped (Locations of Work) and conducted in June.
Persons living in remote and sparsely settled areas excluded from scope.
Persons employed at home redefined as people who, in the reference week, mainly or only work at home or in the home of another person (not employer's or client's home) or work at own home or in the home of another person as part of their formal working arrangements. Note: 'persons employed at home' as defined in the 1989, 1992 and 1995 surveys are not identifiable in the 2000 survey.


FURTHER INFORMATION

20.8.9 For further details contact the Assistant Director, Monthly and Multi-purpose Population Surveys Section, on Canberra (02) 6252 6660.



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