APPENDIX 1 FORM OF EMPLOYMENT
OVERVIEW
The November 2008 Forms of Employment Survey (FOES), was redeveloped to better capture information of independent contractors, other business operators and employees.
This change, has resulted in a break in series for employees, and users need to exercise caution when comparing data about employees prior to the 2008 publication with previous releases as data about this population group have changed.
The data items 'Status in employment' and 'Employment type in main job' presented in the 2007 Forms of Employment publication are no longer presented in this publication, however are available on request, and have been replaced with 'Form of employment in main job'.
FORM OF EMPLOYMENT
The following provides an outline of how people are classified in the new 'Form of employment in main job' data item.
People are classified as employees, owner managers of incorporated enterprises (OMIEs) and owner managers of unincorporated enterprises (OMUEs) based on their responses to questions in the monthly Labour Force survey (LFS).
Employees from the LFS are people who:
- work for a public or private employer; and
- receive remuneration in wages, salary, or are paid a retainer fee by their employer and worker on a commission basis, or for tips or piece-rates or payment in kind; or
- operate their own incorporated enterprise with or without hiring employees.
Owner managers of incorporated enterprises from the LFS are people who:
- work in their own incorporated enterprise, that is, a business entity in which is registered as a separate legal entity to its members or owners (also known as a limited liability company).
Owner managers of unincorporated enterprises from the LFS are people who:
- operate their own unincorporated enterprise, that is, a business entity in which the owner and the business are legally inseparable, so that the owner is liable for any business debts that are incurred. This category includes those engaged independently in a trade or profession.
These people from the LFS are then asked questions in the FOES to identify key characteristics of employees, independent contractors and other business operators. The responses to these questions are then used to determine how people are classified as employees, independent contractors and other business operators in the 'Form of employment' data item.
These questions are:
"Do you work as an independent contractor in your job?"
"Do you receive a pay slip/advice?"
"Do you/Does your business invoice or bill clients/employers?"
"Excluding wages and salary, are you able to make drawings from your employer/business?"
The following decision table, shows how people are classified in the 'Form of employment' data item.
COMPARISON WITH EMPLOYMENT TYPE
The following table, shows a comparison of the data items 'Employment type in main job' and 'Form of employment in main job'.
Employed Persons, Form of employment in main job - By employment type in main job - By sex |
|
 | | EMPLOYEES (excluding OMIEs) | | | |
| | With
paid leave entitlements | Without
paid leave entitlements | Total | Owner managers of incorporated enterprises | Owner managers of unincorporated enterprises | Total |
| Form of employment in main job | '000 | '000 | '000 | '000 | '000 | '000 |
Males |
|
| Employees | 3 510.2 | 890.5 | 4 400.7 | 7.9 | 21.4 | 4 430.0 |
| With paid leave entitlements | 3 510.2 | - | 3 510.2 | *4.3 | *3.8 | 3 518.2 |
| Without paid leave entitlements | - | 890.5 | 890.5 | *3.6 | 17.7 | 911.8 |
| Independent contractors | 14.1 | 64.0 | 78.1 | 217.1 | 476.8 | 772.1 |
| Business operators | - | - | - | 277.6 | 323.9 | 601.5 |
| Total | 3 524.3 | 954.5 | 4 478.8 | 502.7 | 822.2 | 5 803.6 |
Females |
|
| Employees | 3 020.7 | 1 191.8 | 4 212.5 | 7.5 | 10.9 | 4 230.9 |
| With paid leave entitlements | 3 020.7 | - | 3 020.7 | *3.6 | *3.3 | 3 027.6 |
| Without paid leave entitlements | - | 1 191.8 | 1 191.8 | *3.9 | 7.6 | 1 203.3 |
| Independent contractors | *6.3 | 31.4 | 37.7 | 50.0 | 169.3 | 256.9 |
| Business operators | - | - | - | 133.7 | 239.8 | 373.5 |
| Total | 3 027.0 | 1 223.2 | 4 250.2 | 191.2 | 420.0 | 4 861.3 |
Persons |
|
| Employees | 6 530.9 | 2 082.3 | 8 613.2 | 15.4 | 32.3 | 8 660.9 |
| With paid leave entitlements | 6 530.9 | - | 6 530.9 | 7.9 | *7.0 | 6 545.9 |
| Without paid leave entitlements | - | 2 082.3 | 2 082.3 | 7.5 | 25.3 | 2 115.1 |
| Independent contractors | 20.4 | 95.4 | 115.8 | 267.1 | 646.1 | 1 029.0 |
| Business operators | - | - | - | 411.3 | 563.7 | 975.0 |
| Total | 6 551.2 | 2 177.7 | 8 728.9 | 693.9 | 1 242.1 | 10 664.9 |
|
| * estimate has a relative standard error of 25% to 50% and should be used with caution |
| - nil or rounded to zero (including null cells) |
The table shows, there were 115,800 employees (excluding OMIEs) from 'Employment type' who were further defined as independent contractors in 'Form of employment' (comprising 78,100 men and 37,700 women). Similarly there were 47,700 owner managers (15,400 OMIEs and 32,300 OMUEs) from 'Employment type' who were further defined as employees in 'Form of employment'.
Of OMIEs, in 'Employment type', 59% were further defined as business operators in 'Form of employment' and a further 38% of OMIEs were further defined as independent contractors. By comparison, under half (45%) of OMUEs in 'Employment type' were further defined as business operators in 'Form of employment', and a further 52% were further defined as independent contractors.
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