Working Arrangements

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

OVERVIEW

The Working Arrangements survey collects information about the characteristics and working arrangements of employees.

PURPOSE

Data from this survey are used to examine the differing working arrangements of employees, including the flexibility of working arrangements and shift work.

SCOPE

SCOPE - Labour Force Survey

The Labour Force Survey includes all persons aged 15 and over except:

• members of the permanent defence forces;
• certain diplomatic personnel of overseas governments, customarily excluded from census and estimated populations;
• overseas residents in Australia; and
• members of non-Australian defence forces (and their dependants) stationed in Australia.

From July 1993 Jervis Bay Territory is also excluded from the scope of the survey. Before July 1993 it was included in estimates for the Australian Capital Territory.

SCOPE - Working Arrangements Survey

The scope of this survey was the same as that used for the Labour Force Survey (above), except that it was restricted to persons who were employees in their main job excluding persons who worked solely for payment in kind and students who were at boarding schools, patients in hospitals, residents of homes (e.g. retirement homes, homes for the handicapped), and inmates of prisons and persons still attending school.

In August 1997 and November 2000, persons still attending school were also excluded.

From July 1997, all supplementary surveys excluded persons in remote and sparsely settled areas of Australia. The exclusion of these persons has only a minor effect on estimates for individual States or Territories.

COVERAGE - Labour Force Survey

In the Labour Force Survey, coverage rules are applied which aim to ensure that each person is associated with only one dwelling, and hence has only one chance of selection. The chance of a person being enumerated at two separate dwellings in the one survey is considered to be negligible.

Persons who are away from their usual residence for six weeks or less at the time of interview are enumerated at their usual residence (relevant information may be obtained from other usual residents present at the time of the survey).

DATA DETAIL

Conceptual framework

The Working Arrangements survey provides information on the characteristics and working arrangements of employees in their main job; such as flexibility of working arrangements and shift work. It also includes data in absences from work of more than three hours over a two week period by employees and the reason for such absences.

The survey is restricted to civilians usually resident in Australia aged 15 and over who were employees in their main job. Persons who worked solely for payment in kind, or without pay in a family business and unpaid voluntary workers are excluded from the survey. Persons aged 15 to 19 years attending school are also excluded from the survey.

Main outputs

Results of the Working Arrangements survey including tables and analysis are released in Publication format -

SELECTED WORKING ARRANGEMENTS

1. Full-time and part-time employees, time series

2. Full-time and part-time status, permanent and casual status

3. Trade Union membership

4. Whether had children under 12 years

EMPLOYEES' PATTERN OF HOURS WORKED

5. Flexibility of start and finish times

6. Ability to work extra hours in order to take time off

EMPLOYEES ENTITLED TO TAKE ROSTERED DAYS OFF

7. Whether can choose when a rostered day off is to be taken

EMPLOYEES WHO USUALLY WORK OVERTIME

8. Hours of overtime usually worked and method of payment for most recent overtime worked by occupation

EMPLOYEES WHO WORKED SHIFT WORK IN THE LAST FOUR WEEKS

9. Type of shift work by selected characteristics

PART-TIME EMPLOYEES

10. Main reason for working part-time and relationship in household

EMPLOYEES WITH CHILDREN AGED UNDER 12 YEARS

11. Whether used formal child-care by selected working arrangements

EMPLOYEES WITH AN ABSENCE FROM WORK IN PREVIOUS TWO WEEKS

12. Main reason for absence, type of leave taken, whether paid and number of whole days off, time series

13. Whether had children aged under 12 years by main reason for absence, type of leave taken, whether paid and number of whole days off

POPULATIONS

State or territory of usual residence

Classifications

Demographics: State, Area, Region, Sex, Marital Status, Relationship in Household, Period of Arrival and Age.

Country of Birth: The Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC).

Occupation: Australian Standard Classification of Occupations Second Edition (ASCO SE).

Industry: Australia and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC).

Other concepts (summary)

Not applicable

GEOGRAPHIC DETAIL
Australia
New South Wales
Victoria
Queensland
South Australia
Western Australia
Tasmania
Northern Territory
ACT
Part of State Metropolitan
Part of State Extra-Metropolitan

Comments and/or Other Regions

Not all data available for all areas.

COLLECTION FREQUENCY
Other

Frequency comments

Collected in August 1993, August 1995, August 1997 and November 2000.

COLLECTION HISTORY

Two yearly from August 1993 to August 1997 then collected in November 2000 and November 2003.

DATA AVAILABILITY
Yes

Data availability comments