Final report of the task force for evaluating the 2004 LFS ad hoc module on work organisation and working time arrangements.
Date: 2006-12-08
Institutions: Eurostat
Subjects: EU statistics, arrangement of working time, employment statistics, organisation of work, social survey

ISSN 1725-065X

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Final report of the task force 
for evaluating the 2004 LFS 
ad hoc module on work 
organisation and working
time arrangements

THEME
Population
and social
conditions

 
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Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2006

ISBN 92-79-02559-7
ISSN 1725-065X

© European Communities, 2006

Table of contents

Introduction.........................................................................................................................................................3

Executive.summary.............................................................................................................................................3

General.description.of.the.ad.hoc.module..........................................................................................................5

Problems.encountered.in.the.implementation.of.the.survey...............................................................................7

Quality................................................................................................................................................................

Presentation.of.the.results..................................................................................................................................9

Other.issues........................................................................................................................................................

Annexes..............................................................................................................................................................3



Introduction

The.Task.Force.on.Evaluation.of.the.004.LFS.Ad.Hoc.Module.on.Work.Organisation.and.Working.Time.Ar-
rangements.met.once.in.November.005..Besides.staff.from.Eurostat.and.DG.EMPL.the.Task.Force.consisted.
of.experts.from.INSEE.(FR),.ISTAT.(IT),.the.Statistical.Office.of.Hungary.(HU),.Statistics.Finland.(FI).and.
the.ONS.(UK).

The.following.report.serves.two.main.purposes..The.first.and.the.main.objective.is.to.assess.the.implementation.
of.the.ad.hoc.module.in.004.and.make.recommendations.for.the.benefit.of.future.repetitions.of.the.module..A.
second.objective.of.the.report.is.to.assess.the.quality.of.the.data.that.were.collected.in.004.

The.material.for.this.report.are.quality.reports.delivered.from.3.of.the.participating.countries.describing.the.
operation.and.providing.quality.estimates.of.the.ad.hoc.module..These.quality.reports.supplement.quality.re-
ports.on.the.core.LFS.in.004.that.all.but.two.Member.States.delivered..Besides,.ten.Member.States.delivered.
final.reports.in.accordance.with.grants.they.had.received.in.order.to.implement.the.ad.hoc.module..Following.
the.Task.Force.in.November,.further.enquiries.were.made.due.to.some.irregularities.in.the.data.sets.(Annex.6)

The.report.closely.follows.the.discussions.of.the.Task.Force.meeting.in.November.and.benefits.from.the.prior.
analysis.and.contributions.of.each.of.the.Task.Force.members..In.addition,.the.expert.from.Italy.undertook.a.
separate.analysis.of.columns.09.and.0,.which.is.included.in.Annex.4.and.the.expert.from.DG.EMPL.made.
a.separate.analysis.of.the.use.of.columns.6.and.7,.which.is.included.in.Annex.5.

The.report.is.organised.in.six.main.sections..The.first.section.contains.the.executive.summary.with.the.main.
findings. and. the.Task. Force. recommendation. for. future. implementations. of. the. module. or. ad. hoc. modules.
in. general..The. second. section. describes. the. ad. hoc. module. in. general. terms. and. deals. with. quality. issues.
not.covered.in.other.sections..The.third.section.looks.at.the.implementation.of.the.ad.hoc.module,.going.into.
details.for.each.of.the..characteristics.of.the.ad.hoc.module..The.fourth.section.summarises.quality.aspects.
of.the.ad.hoc.module,.using.the.standard.format.for.quality.that.has.been.developed.in.Eurostat..It.also.deals.
with.comparability.across.countries.and.with.the.previous.ad.hoc.module.conducted.in.00..The.fifth.section.
makes.suggestions.such.as.how.best.to.present.statistics.from.the.ad.hoc.module.while.the.sixth.final.last.sec-
tion.covers.two.remaining.issues.on.the.relationship.between.the.ad.hoc.module.and.the.core.questionnaire.and.
on.quality.reports.

3

Executive summary

Main findings

The.ad.hoc.module.004.on.work.organisation.and.working.time.arrangements.was.introduced.into.EU.legisla-
tion.in.February.003,.replacing.a.planned.module.on.transition.from.school.to.working.life..Previously.an.ad.
hoc.module.on.the.same.subject,.albeit.with.a.different.title,.had.been.conducted.with.the.EU-LFS.in.00.

The.implementation.of.the.ad.hoc.module.constituted.a.considerable.improvement.compared.to.the.00.mo-
dule,.providing.valuable.information.with.regard.to.the.work.organisation.and.working.time.arrangements.in.
the.participating.countries.

There. were,. however,. some. problems. on. which. this. report. necessarily. focuses..Although. experiences. from.
the.previous.module.were.taken.into.account,.the.time.and.resources.needed.for.the.preparation.of.the.ad.hoc.
module. 004. were. underestimated..The. most. serious. consequences. were. inadequate. documentation;. errors.
and.ambiguities.in.the.implementation.Regulation,.especially.with.regard.to.filters;.insufficient.account.taken.
of.continuity.with.the.00.ad.hoc.module.and.uselessness.of.one.variable.(column.0)..From.the.side.of.the.
Member.States,.errors.in.the.implementation.in.some.countries.have.prevented.the.construction.of.EU.aggre-
gates,.and.therefore.reduced.the.value.of.the.ad.hoc.module.

Recommendation for future repetitions

The.Task.Force.considered.that.the.lessons.drawn.from.the.implementation.of.the.004.ad.hoc.module.on.work.
organisation.and.working.time.arrangements.could.be.presented.in.two.main.headings:.general.recommenda-
tions.and.specific.recommendations.

General recommendations

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

The Task Force is of the opinion that three years are too short a period for repeating an ad hoc module. 
The very nature of ad hoc modules is to observe structural phenomena, which only change slowly.

The Task Force recommends that a model questionnaire may be prepared in case of repetition of the 
2004 ad hoc module. Besides enhancing comparability, this would also give better indication of the ac-
tual burden of the planned module.

The Task Force recommends that subjective variables should be avoided if possible. Even if such que-
stions may be easy to ask, they tend to be difficult to interpret, not the least in the multi-cultural settings 
of the EU. If such questions cannot be avoided then great care has to be taken in constructing and for-
mulating the questions.

The Task Force considers that the placement of the ad hoc module in the questionnaire and its connec-
tion with the core questions may affect results and comparability over time, as well as between coun-
tries. Thus there is additional need to carefully prepare modules which are closely linked to the core 
questionnaire.

The Task Force recommends that greater care should be taken to maintain comparability with previous 
ad hoc modules when repeating a subject. Small and seemingly innocuous changes may cause full in-
comparability. It is thus better to repeat questions exactly in the same way as before, rather than tinker 
with them in order to make them “better”.

The Task Force recommends improvements to the Quality Report Standard Form for ad hoc modules 
(see below).

The Task Force recommends that the survey organisations improve the interviewer training, as written 
instructions may not be sufficient.

The Task Force recommends that when preparing an ad hoc module, it should be tested and analysed 
what could be hidden behind an “other” category in the various countries.

.

.Commission.Regulation.(EC).No.66/000.of.4.July.000.(OJ.No.L.87/5).

4

•	

The Task Force recommends that greater attention should be made to the definition and implementation 
of filters. The routing of questions have to be thought out, as well as the target groups. This is also of 
great importance, when filters are constructed from variables in the core questionnaire.

Specific recommendations

The.Task.Force.made.the.following.recommendations.for.the.revision.of.the.variables.defined.in.the.004.ad.
hoc.module:

Col..04.(core).

The.definition.of.shift.work.should.be.clarified.and.reformulated.in.order.to.enhance.com-
parability.

Cols..09,.0... The.Task.Force.does.not.recommend.to.change.the.filter.for.column.09..The.Task.Force,.
however,.recommends.that.col..0.be.limited.to.self-employed.without.employees.or.self-
employed.in.local.units.with.3.persons.or.less.

Col..6..

Cols..7,.8.

Col..0.

Cols..,..

The.variable.on.working.time.flexibility.should.be.clarified..The.various.categories.may.
have.been.misallocated.due.to.misunderstanding.of.the.respondents.as.a.result.of.difficul-
ties.in.surveying.contractual.situations...

It.is.apparent.that.both.annualised.contracts.and.on-call.work.are.rare.phenomena.in.most.
of.the.Member.States,.and.thus.relatively.little.known..If.the.respondents.do.not.know.what.
is.asked.about,.they.may.give.an.incorrect.answer.if.they.try.to.translate.the.question.in.to.
something.they.know..This.could.lead.to.overestimation..The.Task.Force.therefore.recom-
mends.that.if.a.satisfactory.solution.were.not.found.in.the.Member.State,.these.variables.
should.be.left.out.in.future.implementations.of.the.ad.hoc.module.

The.Task.Force.recommends.that.this.variable.should.be.dropped..If.not,.it.should.be.sim-
plified,. taking. the. approach. of. general. possibility. rather. than. what. actually. happened. in.
reference.week..It.is,.e.g.,.of.interest.to.know.if.a.person.with.fixed.start/end.of.the.working.
day.has.nevertheless.the.possibility.or.flexibility.of.taking.hours/days.off.

Depending.on.the.analysis,.these.variables.could.be.reconsidered..While.most.of.the.Task.
Force. members. consider. the. subjective. perspective. important. to. analyse. shift. work. and.
atypical.working.time.arrangements,.one.Task.Force.member.finds.the.variable.of.little.or.
no.value..The.Task.Force.nevertheless.agrees.that.the.concept.of.“convenience”.should.be.
very.well.explained.to.the.respondent.and.the.questions.formulated.in.a.way.to.enhance.
comparability.of.the.results.

5

General description of the ad hoc module

The.ad.hoc.module.on.work.organisation.and.working.time.arrangements.(hereafter.referred.to.simply.as.the.
ahm004).was.defined.in.Commission.Regulation.(EC).No.47/003.of.0.February.003..The.subject.was.
also.studied.in.an.ad.hoc.module.in.00.(ahm00).3.The.ahm00.title.was,.however,.different:.“Length.and.
patterns.of.working.time”.

Participating.countries.were.all.the.EU-5.Member.States,.the.three.EFTA.countries.as.well.as.Bulgaria.and.
Romania.of.the.Candidate.Countries.

Of.the.30.participating.countries,.5.conducted.the.ahm004.in.the.spring,.while.Estonia,.France,.Luxem-
bourg,.Malta.and.the.Netherlands.spread.the.reference.week.over.the.whole.year.

Every.employed.respondent.in.the.respective.survey.period.(quarter.or.all.quarters.of.the.year).constituted.the.
sub-sample.for.the.ahm004.except.in.France,.Malta,.the.Netherlands,.Austria,.Sweden.and.Norway..France.
restricted.the.sample.to.the.last.(sixth).wave.of.the.survey.in.each.quarter,.the.Netherlands.restricted.the.sub-
sample.to.the.first.wave.interviews.in.each.quarter,.Malta.restricted.the.sub-sample.to.a.quarter.of.the.first.wave.
interviews.in.each.quarter,.Austria.to.telephone.interviews.and.Norway.to.non-proxy.interviews.(6-74.years).
only..Sweden.limited.the.sub-sample.to.waves.5.to.7.and.to.the.5-74.years.old.only..These.countries,.not.using.
the.full.core.sample,.all.provided.special.weights.for.the.sub-samples.

Participation. in. the. ahm004. was. compulsory. in. the. Czech. Republic,. Spain,. France,. Italy,. Cyprus,. Malta,.
Portugal. and. Slovakia,. but. voluntary. in. Denmark,. Germany,. Estonia,. Latvia,. Lithuania,. Hungary,.Austria,.
Slovenia,.Finland,.Sweden,.United.Kingdom,.Bulgaria,.Romania.and.Norway..Information.is.missing.from.the.
remaining.countries.

The.study.group.in.ahm004.consisted.of.employed.persons,.the.self-employed.(.characteristics),.employees.
(9.characteristics).and.unpaid.family.workers.(½.characteristic)..These.groups.were.identified.from.the.core.
questionnaire,.which.also.contributed.for.filtering.purposes.variables.relating.to.shift.work,.atypical.work,.full-
time/part-time.distinction,.work.at.home.and.number.of.persons.working.at.the.local.unit.

Due.to.the.close.relation.of.the.ahm004.subject.matter.to.the.core.LFS,.especially.the.parts.relating.to.working.
hours,.shift.work.and.atypical.work.(optional),.4.of.the.participating.countries.integrated.the.ad.hoc.module.
questions.in.the.core.questionnaire.(Austria,.Bulgaria,.Cyprus,.Czech.Republic,.Germany,.Denmark,.Estonia,.
Italy,.Lithuania,.Malta,.Portugal,.Slovenia,.Slovakia.and.United.Kingdom).while.8.countries.kept.the.ad.hoc.
module.separate.from.the.core.(Spain,.France,.Hungary,.Latvia,.Finland,.Sweden,.Romania.and.Norway)..In-
formation.is.missing.from.eight.countries.

In.preparing.the.module,.eight.countries.conducted.a.pilot.survey.(Denmark,.France,.Italy,.Cyprus,.Hungary,.
United.Kingdom,.Bulgaria.and.Romania),.while.five.other.(Czech.Republic,.Slovenia,.Slovakia,.Finland.and.
Sweden).tested.the.ad.hoc.module.in.a.laboratory.or.on.staff..No.information.is.available.for.the.7.other.par-
ticipating.countries.

Burden

The.burden.of.an.ad.hoc.module.is.a.function.of.many.factors,.both.subjective.and.objective.

Subjective.factors.can.be.relevancy.of.the.questions.to.the.situation.of.the.respondent,.or.sensitivity.of.the.
questions..It.is.not.possible.to.assess.these.factors.in.this.report.

Objective.factors.are.more.readily.estimated;.usually.simply.by.measuring.the.average.number.of.minutes.the.
respondent.is.subjected.to.questioning..This.single.measurement.depends,.however,.on.the.aggregate.of.other.
factors.like.the.number.of.questions.put.to.the.respondent,.the.clarity.of.the.questions.and.the.ease.of.answering.
(such.as.the.number.of.categories).

.
3.

.OJ.L.35/5.
.Commission.Regulation.(EC).No.578/000.of.9.July.000.(OJ.No.L.8/39).

6

The.ad.hoc.modules.also.differ.in.the.size.of.the.study.group..Thus.the.total.burden.of.an.ad.hoc.module.for.the.
LFS.sample.population.can.be.estimated.by.the.sum.of.the.time.spent.with.each.responding.individual.divided.
by.the.total.number.of.respondents.in.the.core.LFS.

The.quality.report.asked.for.the.average.number.of.minutes.in.administering.the.ahm004..As.it.was.not.clear.
which.denominator.should.have.been.used,.the.results.are.not.reliable..The.thirteen.replying.countries.gave.a.
range.of..5.to.5.minutes.

Lacking.reliable.estimates.of.the.time,.the.average.number.of.questions.responded.to.is.also.a.good.burden.esti-
mate..This.information.is.not.available.for.the.ahm004..On.the.other.hand,.the.number.of.variables.responded.
to.is.available.which.gives.some.indication.of.the.relative.burden..It.must,.however,.be.remembered.that.in.most.
of.the.participating.countries.more.than.one.question.was.needed.to.arrive.at.one.variable.

Table..shows.the.number.of.variables.with.valid.response.per.participating.respondent.and.the.number.of.
variables.with.valid.response.for.all.respondents,.in.the.quarter(s).during.which.the.ad.hoc.module.was.admi-
nistered.

Table 1. Average number of valid responses per participating respondent and total (annual) sample respon-
dents aged 15+

Per participating respondent¹

Per all annual respondents aged 15+

EU-25
BE
CZ
DK
DE
EE
GR
ES
FR
IE
IT
CY
LV
LT
LU
HU
MT
NL
AT
PL
PT
SI
SK
FI
SE
UK
BG
RO
IS²
NO²
CH

4.43
5.46
5.77
5.89
2.54
5.93
3.95
4.70
4.15
4.36
4.02
5.39
5.55
4.10
5.41
4.71
5.89
5.90
5.64
5.09
4.72
4.08
5.82
5.22
5.12
5.04
5.01
4.70
.
6.09
4.89

0.75
0.82
0.87
1.07
1.28
3.63
0.56
0.65
0.42
0.74
0.53
1.25
0.84
0.65
3.20
0.62
0.43
1.30
0.36
0.65
0.79
0.71
0.77
0.76
0.41
0.85
0.64
0.71
.
0.91
3.61

¹.The.participating.respondents.are.the.self-employed,.employees.and.those.unpaid.family.workers.who.work.usually.or.sometimes.atypical.hours..
².Age.group.6-74

7

 
Problems encountered in the implementation of the survey

With the exception of four MS, most indicated that they faced some issues implementing the module. Com-
ments ranged from those that related generally to the module to more question specific observations. 

The general comments can be summarised as follows:

•	

•	

•	

Questionnaire  length:  a  number  of  MS  expressed  concern  about  the  impact  this  module  had  on  the 
overall length of the LFS questionnaire.  General request to keep length to a minimum size in order to 
maximise survey quality (e.g. response).

Question wording: the variable specifications in some instances resulted in a number of very long que-
stions (in terms of number of words).  There was a general request for this to be avoided. Both inter-
viewers and respondents reported difficulties with a number of questions due to their complexity.

Comparability: request to limit changes to repeated modules in order to aid comparisons. 

In.addition,.a.certain.number.of.terms.within.the.regulation.were.not.recognised.by.MS.–.i.e..their.employment.
laws.did.not.recognise.the.concept,.for.example,.of.annualised.hours.contracts.–.and.there.was.no.guidance.on.
how.to.deal.with.such.a.situation..

Most.MS.did.not.undertake.pre-interview.testing.–.either.a.pilot.or.laboratory.tests.–.which.may.partly.explain.
some.of.the.problems.encountered.in.the.field...In.particular,.problems.with.comprehension.of.terms.(both.from.
interviewer.and.respondent).may.have.been.identified.if.testing.had.been.done.

Documentation and filters

A.recurring.theme.when.studying.the.survey.implementation.was.the.dissatisfaction.of.many.countries.with.the.
explanatory.notes..These.were.seen.as.lacking.in.detail.and.in.precision,.especially.with.regard.to.columns.6.
and.9.to...For.future.reference,.this.report.makes.some.rectifications.by.publishing.the.frequently.asked.
questions.together.with.the.explanatory.notes.in.annex..

The.Regulation.itself.is.also.an.important.piece.of.documentation..The.Regulation.specified.the.variables,.re-
sponse.categories.and.the.target.groups.for.each.variable.(filters)..The.specification.of.the.filters.proved.to.be.
prone.to.ambiguities.and.errors,.causing.confusion.among.the.Member.States,.especially.at.the.processing.sta-
ge..For.the.core.questionnaire.the.category.“Not.applicable”.is.always.defined.precisely.by.listing.the.variables.
and.values.leading.to.this.state..This.was.not.the.case.in.Commission.Regulation.(EC).No.47/003,.encoura-
ging.some.participating.countries.to.apply.their.own.interpretation.of.what.cases.were.“not.applicable”.

Col. 209 Control over own work methods and schedule; 
Col. 210 Work for a single customer

It.seems.evident.that.in.col..09.the.“when”.had.a.definitional.problem,.with.a.definite.seasonal.aspect.to.it,.
which.should.have.been.clarified..Likewise.there.are.certain.occupational.groups,.e.g..farmers,.which.were.
reported.to.have.difficulty.in.answering.the.questions.in.a.comparable.way.with.other.groups.

The.Task.Force.also.noted.that.for.achieving.good.results,.more.than.one.question.would.be.needed.for.col..09.

The.filter.for.Col..0.caused.some.processing.errors.(Col.6=.or.Col.6=.and.Col.34/35<0),.as.several.
countries.solved.the.filter.from.left.to.right.instead.of.first.the.“and”.operator.and.then.the.“or”.operator.as.
intended.(i.e..Col.6=.or.(Col.6=.and.Col.34/35<0))..In.addition,.the.reference.to.Col.34/35.did.not.rhyme.
with.the.structure.of.that.variable,.which.refers.to.<..rather.than.<0.

Finally,.the.concern.may.be.justified.that.the.two.variables.are.not.sufficient.in.order.to.achieve.the.object.of.the.
variables,.i.e..to.describe.the.similarity.of.the.self-employed.to.the.conditions.of.the.employee.(dependency).

The.Netherlands.had.suggested.to.Eurostat.that.a.“don’t.know”.category.should.be.added.to.col..09..The.Task.
Force.did.not.agree.with.this.

8

Italy.suggested.that.the.target.population.for.the..variables.should.be.confined.to.an.even.smaller.sub-group.
of.self-employed.with.0.to..employees..Analysis.of.the.results.broken.down.by.size.of.local.unit,.taking.into.
account.the.NACE.and.ISCO.classification.(cf..Annex.4),.supports.this.view.with.regard.to.column.0.

Col. 211/212 Overtime hours in the reference week 
Col. 213/214 Paid overtime hours in the reference week

From.006.paid.and.unpaid.overtime.will.be.incorporated.in.the.core.questionnaire..The.definition.will.differ.
from.that.of.the.ad.hoc.module,.which.asked.for.total.overtime.and.thereof.paid.overtime..This.could.cause.pro-
blems.of.comparability.with.the.ad.hoc.module,.if.the.Member.States.change.the.actual.questions..Similarly,.
comparability.between.countries.can.be.adversely.affected.if.Member.States.use.different.approach.to.arrive.
at.paid.and.unpaid.overtime..The.Task.Force.thus.recommends.that.the.Task.Force.on.the.EU-LFS.explanatory.
notes.takes.note.of.this.for.clarification.of.the.variables.

The.text.for.variable./.did.not.make.it.sufficiently.clear.that.employees.with.no.overtime.should.be.co-
ded.with.00,.causing.considerable.effort.in.the.post-processing.of.the.data.files..Taking.both.variables.together.
it.could.be.interpreted.that.persons.with.no.overtime.should.only.have.been.coded.as.00.in.the.variable.on.paid.
overtime..

Col. 215 Shift work patterns

There. seem. to. be. different. national. practices. and. conventions. with. regard. to. shift. work. patterns..Thus. the.
preferred.method.of.asking.should.be.referral.to.the.national.system.and.then.trans-code.the.result.into.the.
EU.system,.instead.of.directly.translating.the.EU.categories.into.the.national.questionnaire,.which.may.cause.
confusion.for.the.respondents.

In.preparing.the.004.ad.hoc.module,.the.preparatory.Task.Force.in.00.recommended.that.the.words.“ac-
cording.to.a.certain.rotation.pattern”.would.be.added.to.the.text.specifying.that.shift.work.consists.of.a.work.
organization. where. different. groups. of. workers. succeed. each. other.4.The. intention. of. this. insertion. was. to.
exclude.persons.in.a.“fixed.shift.arrangement”.from.being.considered.as.working.shift.work5..Accordingly,.the.
modality.“fixed.shift”.was.deleted.from.the.list.of.response.categories.in.col..5.

This.definition.was.implemented.differently.if.at.all.in.the.participating.countries..Most.countries.ask.about.shift.
work.(col..04).without.mentioning.“fixed.shift.arrangements”..It.means.that.workers.in.fixed.shifts.may.either.
consider.or.not.consider.themselves.as.shift-workers..Some.countries.included.the.deleted.response.category.5.
on.fixed.shift.arrangements,.while.others.followed.the.list.of.categories,.but.coded.“fixed.shifts”.as.“other”.

If.the.question.on.shift.work.is.asked.in.a.“spontaneous”.way,.the.workers.on.“fixed.shifts”.may.answer.positi-
vely,.which.would.necessitate.a.different.question.or.questions.than.simply.“do.you.work.shifts?”.

A.shift.worker.can.work.in.a.continuous.or.in.a.-shift.system.for.instance,.and.have.fixed.working.hours;.a.shift.
worker.can.always.work.in.the.same.shift.but.this.shift.can.have.various.time.hours.in.a.week.or.in.a.month.

Finally,.the.possibility.of.working.“fixed.shifts”.within.an.otherwise.rotating.shift.working.environment.is.a.
form.of.flexibility,.in.which.the.employer.can.accommodate.personal.situation.by.assigning.the.worker.always.
to.same.hours.

The.Task.Force.concluded.that.it.is.necessary.to.reformulate.or.better.explain.the.concept.behind.the.shift.work.
variable..This.should.be.within.the.scope.of.the.current.Task.Force.on.the.EU-LFS.explanatory.notes.

Eurostat.had.asked.Member.States,.which.had.kept.code.5,.to.send.this.code.in.the.micro.data.to.Eurostat..The.
Task.Force.concluded.that.this.code.should.be.recoded.to.category.6,.“other”..The.code.should.not.be.used.to.
correct.col..04.“shift.work”.

4 

5.

 The explanatory notes to the ad hoc module in 2004: “A persons is working shift (C204) when her/his work consists of a work organisation where dif-
ferent groups of workers succeed each other according to a certain rotation pattern at the same work site to perform the same operations” [emphasis 
in the original].
.See.WG.EMPL,.September.00,.Doc..E/EMPL/6/00..The.purpose.of.the.shift.work.variable.is.defined.in.this.document.as.“to.identify.the.
specific.problem.related.to.the.rotation.of.the.working.hours”.

9

Col. 216 Variable working hours

The.participating.countries.raised.concerns.with.regard.to.this.variable..Response.categories.were.often.con-
fusing. for. respondents,. e.g.. unsure. of. their. working. time. arrangement..There. were. also. perhaps. too. many.
response.categories.

It. was. suggested. that. division. into. 8. categories,. whereof. one. (fixed. start/end). is. by. far. the. most. common.
(63.4%.on.the.average),.is.perhaps.too.fine.a.division.

It.was.suggested.that.some.of.the.uncertainty.or.confusion.with.the.variable.is.due.to.the.fact.that.the.variable.
collects.information.about.the.contractual.situation,.which.may.not.be.known.by.the.respondent.

At.the.request.of.the.Task.Force,.DG.Employment.analysed.columns.6.and.7.(see.Annex.5)..The.DG.
concluded.that.“[f]rom.the.user’.point.of.view,.the.proposed.classification.of.variable.working.hours.(column.
6).gives.a.good.scope.for.the.statistical.analysis.on.traditional.versus.flexitime.schemes..The.variables.ap-
pear.to.be.meaningful.and.clearly.interpretable.in.the.view.of.European.situation.in.working.organizations.and.
working.time.arrangements.”.

Col. 217 Annualised working hours

In.some.countries.the.concept.of.annualised.contract.was.not.known..It.can.be.suggested.that.in.such.circu-
mstances.the.Member.States.would.have.to.be.very.careful.in.implementing.the.question,.formulate.it.with.
specific.examples,.or.leave.the.question.out..In.any.event,.the.“European”.concept.should.not.be.asked.but.the.
closest.corresponding.actual.contractual.situation.in.the.country.

Several. questions. may. be. needed. in. order. to. conclude. that. a. person. has. a. contract. of. annualised. working.
hours.

For. the. interpretation. of. the. variable. and. col.. 6,. it. was. suggested. that. it. could. be. said. that. “annualised.
working.hours”.are.more.driven.by.the.interests.of.production,.while.“working.time.banking”.is.more.driven.
by.workers’.interests.

For.future.repetitions.of.the.module,.Italy.proposed.to.use.an.alternative.approach.to.collect.information.on.va-
riable.working.hours,.concerning.who.drives.working.time.flexibility,.either.the.employer.or.the.employee..This.
approach,.based.on.actual.rather.than.contractual.situation,.would.allow.a.straight.interpretation.of.results.

With.regard.to.column.7,.DG.Employment.concluded.that.“[t]he.question.of.annualized.working.hours.is.
an.important.one.from.the.point.of.view.of.working.time.developments,.but.may.be.less.significant.for.the.
analytical.exercises,.as.these.working.arrangements.are.still.rare.”

Col. 218 On-call work

Like.the.annual.hours.contracts,.the.concept.of.on-call.work.was.not.clear.in.the.explanatory.notes.and.not.
widely.known.in.many.countries..In.those.circumstances.the.same.suggestion.applies.as.for.col..7.above.

Col. 219 Working time pattern of part-timers compared with full-time

The.Task.Force.did.not.consider.this.variable.to.have.been.problematic.

Col. 220 Possibility to work variable hours in the reference week

This.variable.caused.great.difficulties.in.the.field,.and.the.results.may.not.be.so.easily.interpreted.

Five.countries.(DE,.IT,.FI,.SE.and.UK).were.exempt.from.implementing.the.variable.by.way.of.derogation..
Four.other.participating.countries.did.not.administer.the.question.and.three.more.countries.suffered.from.non-
response.of.more.than.80%.

The.variable.needs.a.complicated.question.structure..In.the.French.LFS,.e.g.,.it.had.to.be.built.with.6.different.
questions.

0

Filters.were.specified.for.individual.categories,.which.caused.additional.confusion.and.should.in.general.be.
avoided.

When.initially.creating.the.variable,.the.residual.category.“person.chose.and.worked.usual.hours.even.if.they.
could.have.chosen.variable.hours”.was.overlooked.

On.the.average,.7%.of.the.responses.were.coded.as.“Other”,.0%.with.no-answer,.while.the.residual.8%.were.
divided.into.6.categories.

In.order.to.overcome.some.of.the.inherent.difficulties.in.presenting.the.results,.this.variable.could.be.collapsed.
into.two.main.classes:.persons.for.whom.it.was.possible.to.work.variable.hours.and.those.for.whom.this.was.
impossible.

Cols. 221 and 222 Convenience of working time arrangements on personal life situation 

The.perception.of.“convenience”.is.not.only.subjective,.but.also.relative,.e.g..if.the.life.situation.were.changed.
to.fit.work,.the.answer.can.be.“convenient”..In.some.jobs,.certain.working.time.arrangements.are.the.(virtual-
ly).only.available.(e.g..many.nursing.jobs)..The.“convenience.threshold”.of.such.jobs.could.be.different.from.
other.occupations..Comparing.the.results.between.occupations.and.even.countries.should.thus.be.done.very.
carefully.

Column..was.especially.difficult.in.implementation.and.interpretation,.e.g..person.working.at.night.during.
the.weekend,.it.can.be.convenient.for.this.person.to.work.during.the.weekend.but.not.at.night,.while.another.
person.may.find.both.inconvenient.

As.Col...was.for.reasons.of.convenience.separated.from.Col..,.the.variable.excluded.persons.working.
shifts..This.is.unfortunate.as.not.all.shift.workers.work.nights.or.weekends,.while.some.do..Asking.about.the.
convenience.of.shift.work.on.the.personal.life.situation.is.thus.different.from.asking.about.convenience.of.the.
time.when.worked.

Many.of.the.participating.countries.did.not.notice.that.strict.application.of.the.filter.for.Col...(Cols..05,.
06,. 07,. 08. =. ,. . and. Col.. 04=3,. 9. and. Col.. 8=0,9). includes. the. self-employed. and. unpaid. family.
workers.who.usually.or.sometimes.working.during.evenings,.nights.or.weekends..This.causes.the.results.only.
to.be.comparable.at.EU.level.with.regard.to.employees..In.addition,.the.filter.did.not.allow.for.Col..04.or.Col..
8.to.be.blank,.which.caused.some.extra.efforts.in.the.post-processing.phase..

Quality

Eurostat.has.promulgated.the.concept.of.quality.as.consisting.of.6.main.factors:.relevancy,.accuracy,.timeliness.
and. punctuality,. accessibility. and. clarity,. comparability. and. consistency..The. following. is. a. brief. summary.
from.the.quality.reports.of.these.quality.items..Consistency.of.the.data.could.not.be.checked,.as.there.exist.no.
other.sources.on.European.wide.level.with.regard.to.the.subject.of.the.ad.hoc.module.

Relevancy and non-response

Non-response.and.availability.of.the.variables.can.be.classified.into.four.main.categories:...unit.non-response.
in.the.core.survey,...unit.non-response.in.the.ad.hoc.module,.3..non-response.to.individual.variables.in.the.ad.
hoc.module.and.4..non-collection.of.individual.variables.due.to.derogation.in.the.Regulation..In.the.context.
of.the.Labour.Force.Survey.and.the.ahm004,.categories..to.4.can.all.be.lumped.together.as.non-response.
item.

Table..gives.a.detailed.view.of.the.various.types.of.non-response.both.for.the.ad.hoc.module.and.the.related.
optional.module.on.shift.work.and.atypical.work.patterns..The.table.shows.that.columns.0.“Possibility.to.
work.variable.hours.in.the.reference.week”.and..“Convenience.of.working.time.arrangements.for.personal.
life.situation.(evening,.night.or.weekend.work)”.are.especially.problematic..Column.7.“Annualised.working.
hours”.is.also.problematic.as.four.participating.countries.did.not.cover.this.variable.in.addition.to.Germany.
which.had.derogation.



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T

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Accuracy
Most.of.the.participating.countries.provided.information.about.the.relative.standard.error.(coefficient.of.va-
riation).for.overtime.hours.and.paid.overtime.hours.in.the.ahm004.and.the.number.of.shift.workers.in.the.
optional.module.on.atypical.working.hours.

Table.3.shows.this.information..It.has.been.reformulated.in.terms.of.confidence.limits.for.the.statistics.in.que-
stion,.in.order.to.provide.better.clarity.to.the.reader.

Table 3. Estimates and confidence limits for selected number of statistics in the ad hoc module 2004

Average number of
overtime hours¹

Average number of
paid overtime hours¹

Total number of
persons working shifts (CORE)

BE
CZ
DK
DE
EE
EL
ES
FR
IE
IT
CY
LV
LT
LU
HU
MT
NL
AT
PL
PT
SI
SK
FI
SE
UK
BG
RO
IS
NO
CH

-
10.9 ±0.3
  8.4 ±1.0
  8.3 ±0.1
  9.4 ±0.8
-
  3.7 ±0.3
-
-
  6.9 ±0.1
  8.5 ±0.7
11.7 ±1.2
11.0 ±1.7
-
-
  9.7 ±2.4
-
  9.0 ±0.6
-
  9.6 ±0.7
15.3 ±0.8
11.0 ±0.5
  7.8 ±0.4
-
-
  9.5 ±0.9
11.6 ±0.6
-
-
-

-
10.6 ±0.5
7.9 ±0.9 
7.9 ±0.3 
8.6 ±1.3 
-
3.8 ±0.3 
-
-
6.5 ±0.2 
8.0 ±0.6 
11.7 ±1.0
11.2 ±1.3
-
9.6 ±0.6 
9.7 ±2.6 
-
8.7 ±0.8 
-
9.5 ±1.3 
8.6 ±0.7 
11.5 ±0.3
7.6 ±0.5 
-
-
9.6 ±1.3 
11.1 ±0.4
-
-
 -

-
1,099.6 ±  29.3
      143.0 ±  15.1
4,723.0 ±  81.9
            90.8 ±  21.7
-
2,541.9 ±109.6
-
-
2,992.6 ±  73.3
            23.9 ±      2.6
      198.5 ±  32.1
      139.3 ±  14.7
-
      653.3 ±  20.1
            21.9 ±      0.6
-
      549.5 ±  35.7
-
      636.8 ±  38.7
      245.9 ±      4.2
      504.1 ±  17.8
      490.3 ±  14.4
-
-
      556.2 ±  27.4
1,339.3 ±  68.3
-
-
-

¹.Only.those.who.worked.(paid.or.unpaid).overtime.in.the.reference.week.

Note:.as.the.countries.did.not.all.calculate.the.coefficient.of.variation.on.exactly.the.same.population.(all.employees,.all.working.overtime,.all.
working.paid.overtime).the.confidence.limits.have.been.recalculated.to.apply.to.the.averages.above.

Timeliness and punctuality
According.to.Commission.Regulation.(EC).No.46/003.of.0.February.003.on.a.multi-annual.program.of.
ad.hoc.modules.004-006,.the.deadline.for.the.transmission.of.results.of.the.ahm004.was.3.March.005..
Of.the.30.participating.countries,.5.delivered.the.data.on.time.while.5.countries.transmitted.the.data.files.the.
day.after.and.up.to.50.days.later.

Several.countries.(6).sent.revisions.after.the.initial.transmission..Initial.validation.of.the.data.sets.was.finished.
in.October.005..Ten.participating.countries.never.affirmed.the.validity.of.the.first.results..Due.to.the.work.of.
the.Task.Force.a.second.round.of.validation.was.initiated.in.December.with.revised.files.from.thirteen.coun-
tries6.transmitted.in.January.and.February.006..

Dissemination.of.the.results,.on.the.Eurostat.web-site.or.in.Statistics.in.Focus,.is.envisaged.in.Spring.006.

6.

.As.of.4.February.006.

3

Accessibility and clarity

The.data.from.the.ad.hoc.module.will.be.published.in.Statistics.in.Focus.(3.issues).during.the.year.006..It.will.
as.well.be.published.free.of.charge.on.the.public.web-site.of.Eurostat.

In.addition,.members.of.the.public.can.request.customised.frequency.tables.and.limited.cross-tabulation.sets.
directly.from.Eurostat.without.charge.

All.data.published.on.the.Eurostat.web-site.have.meta-data.attached.to.it.in.the.standard.format.of.the.IMF.
(SDDS).

Comparability between Member States

The.common.conceptual.basis.of.the.survey.allows.good.international.comparison.on.work.organization.and.
working.time.arrangements..It.can.be.assumed.that.there.aren’t.severe.conceptual.differences.among.the.coun-
tries,.though.different.implementations.of.similar.concepts.may.occur.

There.are.nevertheless.areas.necessary.to.be.enquired.further,.being.the.main.causes.for.the.differences..These.
include.three.main.types.of.divergences:.relatively.high.non-response,.different.answering.patterns.from.the.
rest.(outliers).and.high.incidence.of.the.“other”.category.in.the.four.variables.(Cols..5,.6,.9.and.0).
where.this.category.captures.non-specified.cases7..All.the.participating.countries,.which.showed.some.irregu-
larity.in.any.of.these.three.areas,.were.asked.to.clarify.the.situation.or.to.send.revised.files.with.corrected.data.
if.the.differences.were.due.to.errors.

In.all,.9.participating.countries.were.asked.for.additional.information..All.but.five.replied.and.eleven8.have.
transmitted.corrected.data.files..For.better.understanding.of.the.data.the.country.answers.are.given.in.Annex.6.

When.examining.the.results.of.the.enquiry,.the.responses.fall.into.one.or.more.of.the.following.categories:

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

The results represent the actual situation in the country.

The incidence of the phenomenon in the country is so insignificant that in the judgment of the participa-
ting country it was useless to administer the question or to implement the category.

Due to programming errors, part of the eligible respondents did not receive the question or the response 
category was skipped.

Due to errors in administering filters, part of the eligible respondents did not receive the question.

As the filter question could not be transmitted directly from the core to the ad hoc module a substitute 
filter question proved to be inconsistent with the core question.

The national questionnaire does not allow itself to be fully transcoded into the European module, thus 
certain (national) categories must be returned as no answer for the ahm2004.

In.some.cases.the.Task.Force.does.not.recommend.that.the.country.results.be.published.due.to.incomparability.

Comparability with previous ad hoc module 2001

The.ad.hoc.modules.00.and.004.are.not.fully.comparable.despite.their.similar.subject..Some.variables.were.
excluded.entirely.from.the.004.module,.and.most.of.the.remaining.variables.were.changed..The.comparability.
of.each.variable.that.was.included.in.some.form.in.both.modules.is.evaluated.below..However,.this.evaluation.
is.based.on.the.original.variables.alone..In.order.to.assess.comparability.more.deeply,.the.questionnaires.and.
instructions.used.in.each.member.state.should.be.reviewed.

7.
8.

.The.definition.of.“outliers”.and.“high.incidence”.of.“other”.was.arbitrary.and.based.purely.on.“eyeballing”.the.results..
.By.4.February.006.

4

Control over own work methods and schedule

Ahm.00:.Col..09
.=.Determines.own.work.methods.and.schedule
0.=.Subordinate.relationship

Ahm004:.Col..09
.=.person.can.determine.how.to.do.the.work
.=.person.can.determine.when.to.do.the.work
3.=.person.can.determine.how.and.when.to.do.the.work
0.=.person.cannot.determine.how.or.when.to.do.the.work

The.target.group.of.this.variable.was.altered:.employees.were.included.in.00.and.not.in.004,.but.this.is.not.
a.problem.if.the.analysis.is.limited.to.the.self-employed.with.less.than.0.workers.in.the.local.unit..Comparabi-
lity.is.limited.more.seriously.by.using.separate.codes.for.‘how’.and.‘when’.in.the.004.module..This.was.done.
because.it.is.possible.to.be.independent.in.only.one.of.the.two.aspects..The.final.results.could.be.comparable.
on.the.level.has at least some control over methods or schedule / has no control at all..However,.comparability.
depends.on.the.actual.questionnaires.and.instructions.used,.and.further.information.on.them.is.required.before.
making.any.comparisons.

Work for single firm or customer

Ahm2001: Col. 210
1 = works regularly for 1 firm or customer
0 = works regularly for > 1 firm or customer

Ahm2004: Col. 210
1 = works regularly for 1 client or customer
0 = works regularly for > 1 client or customer

The. target. group. was. altered. the. same. way. as. in. col.. 09:. employees. and. self-employed. with. 0. or. more.
workers. in. the. local. unit. were. excluded. in. 004.. By. harmonising. the. target,. group. comparability. could. be.
achieved.(if.questionnaires.are.not.very.different).

Overtime hours in ref. week and paid overtime hours in ref. week

Ahm2001: Col. 212/213, Col. 214/215
… Number of overtime hours in the reference week
… Number of paid overtime hours in the reference week … Number of paid overtime hours in the reference week

Ahm2004: Col. 211/212, Col. 213/214
… Number of overtime hours in the reference week

These.variables.should.be.fully.comparable.

Shift work patterns

Ahm00:.Col..6
.=.continuous.shift.work,.usually.4-shift.system
.=.semi-continuous.shift.work,.usually.3-shift.system

Ahm004:.Col..5
.=.continuous.shift.work,.usually.4-shift.system
.=.semi-continuous.shift.work,.usually.3-shift.system

3.=.-shift.system:.double.day.shift
4.=.sometimes.night,.sometimes.day.shift
5.=.fixed.assignment.to.a.given.shift
6.=.other

3.=.-shift.system:.double.day.shift
4.=.sometimes.night,.sometimes.day.shift

6.=.other

Code.5.(fixed.shift).was.excluded.in.004.because.it.was.considered.to.be.inconsistent.with.the.definition.of.
shift.work..Due.to.some.comments.from.the.Member.States.it.was.added.afterwards.to.the.data,.but.only.a.
few.countries.made.use.of.it..Otherwise.the.variables.are.identical,.so.by.combining.codes.5.and.6.in.the.00.
module.they.should.be.more.or.less.comparable.

Variable working times

Ahm2001: Col. 217, Col. 218
Col. 
217

1 = fixed start and end of a working day
2 = annualized hours contract
3 = working time banking

Ahm2004: Col. 216, Col. 217
Col. 
216

1 = fixed start and end of a working day
2 = staggered working hours
3 = working time banking with possibility only to 
take hours off

5

4 = working times by mutual agreement

5 = determines own work schedule

Col. 
218

6 = other
1 = can use credit hours to take full days or 
weeks off
0 = cannot use credit hours to take full days or 
weeks off

Col. 
217

4 = working time banking with possibility to take 
full days off
5 = start and end of working day varying by indi-
vidual agreement
6 = determines own work schedule
1 = person has annualised hours contract

0 = person has not an annualised hours contract

The.variables.were.changed.considerably..Col..7.was.problematic.in.00.because.the.categories.were.not.
mutually.exclusive:.the.variable.included.both.daily.working.schedule.and.more.long-term.arrangements..It.is.
possible.to.derive.some.comparable.information.from.these.variables.(e.g..fixed start and end / other),.but.it.
would.require.further.information.about.the.questionnaires.used.

On-call.work

Ahm2001: Col. 219
1 = a minimum number of hours is agreed…
2 = reports to work only when called
0 = other

Ahm2004: Col. 218
1 = person reports to work only when called
0 = other

In.00.on-call.work.was.included.in.the.same.variable.with.min-max.contracts,.and.therefore.the.results.are.
not.comparable..In.addition.the.target.group.was.changed;.shift.workers.were.excluded.in.004..Judging.from.
the.Finnish.LFS..(8.%.of.on-call.workers.working.shifts).leaving.the.shift.workers.out.may.significantly.limit.
the.results.even.if.this.type.of.work.may.be.considered.inconsistent.with.the.definition.of.shift.work.

Reason / convenience of this working time arrangement

Ahm004:.Col..
.=.shift.work.is.convenient.for.personal.life.situation

.=.on-call.work.is.convenient.for.personal.life.situation

0.=.shift.work.or.on-call.work.is.not.convenient.for.personal.
life.situation

Ahm00:.Col..0,.Col..
Col..
0

.=.shift.work.was.the.type.of.job.the.person.was.
looking.for.(personal.initiative)
.=.shift.work.was.not.the.type.of.job.person.was.
looking. for. but. no. similar. job. available. without.
shift. work. (similar. within. this. occupation. or. in-
dustry)
. =. these. working. time. arrangements. were. the.
type.of.job.the.person.was.looking.for.(personal.
initiative)
.=.these.working.time.arrangements.were.not.the.
type.of.job.person.was.looking.for.but.no.similar.
job.available.with.ordinary.working.time.arrange-
ments.(similar.within.this.occupation.or.industry)

Col..


In.00.the.initial.reason.for.choosing.a.certain.working.time.arrangement.was.asked.of.employees.who.do.
shift.work.(Col..0).and.those.who.have.an.annualised.hours,.min-max.or.zero-hours.contract.or.working.time.
banking.(Col..)..It.was.seen.as.problematic.in.many.ways..Firstly,.different.working.time.arrangements.in.
Col...were.not.mutually.exclusive.and.therefore.some.information.was.lost.by.combining.them.in.the.same.
variable..Secondly,.for.those.who.had.started.working.several.years.ago.it.was.difficult.to.remember.the.reason..
Thirdly,.asking.the.initial.reason.did.not.tell.anything.about.the.person’s.current.situation,.it.was.not.even.possi-
ble.to.know.whether.the.variables.referred.to.the.current.job..Therefore.it.was.decided.to.change.the.viewpoint.
in.004.and.ask.about.the.convenience.referring.to.the.person’s.current.situation..Because.of.the.considerable.
changes,.the.variables.are.not.comparable.

6

Presentation of the results

Generally speaking, a starting point for the interpretation of results of 2004 ad hoc module may be the con-
ceptual framework outlined in Doc. E1/EMPL/26/2002 “Ad hoc module 2004 on the work organization and 
working time arrangement”, which includes the conclusions of the 2002 task force evaluating the 2001 ad hoc 
module.

The interpretation of results should consider labour market flexibilization in relation to both production orga-
nization and its effects on labour supply. As a matter of facts, the spreading of new forms of employment and 
of working time flexibility is related to economic changes, and changes in the production processes are brou-
ght by increased economic competition. Looking at the other side of the medal, these changes have relevant 
implications on working conditions, social protection, retirement schemes, reconciliation between work and 
family life. The interpretation of ahm2004 results should also take into account ahm2001 results, whenever 
comparability occurs.

In following paragraphs the ad hoc module variables are clustered in six groups of subjects. For each group 
indicators, break down variables useful for interpretation of results are presented.

Discussion  should  concern  the  general  framework  (i.e.  the  six  groups),  in  addition  to  indicators  and  break 
down  variables.  However,  the  detail  at  which  data  should  be  presented  and  the  extension  of  tables  and/or 
graphs depend on the user to whom information is addressed and on the form of dissemination. The general 
proposal presented so forth should therefore be adapted accordingly.

1. Employment relationship (Col. 209, 210)

These two variables aim at assessing borderline cases of own-account workers who supply their own personal 
services to another business although they do not have an employment contract.

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

These two variables should be presented together in a cross-tabulation.

Incidence on total self-employment.

Possible breaking down by economic activity and/or occupation (detail to be decided) for self-em-
ployed who cannot determine how or when to do the work or have only one customer.

Maybe keep separated self-employed with and without employees.

Maybe draw up self-employed who cannot determine how or when to do the work or have only one 
customer near to employees with temporary job or work contract of limited duration (non standard 
form of employment on the side of paid work).

2001-2004 differences.

2. Overtime (Col. 211_212, 213_214)

Possible indicators:

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

Employees who performed overtime per 100 employees.

Employees who performed overtime broken down by paid/unpaid overtime.

All overtime was unpaid.

Overtime was partially paid.

All overtime was paid.

Average overtime hours per employee.

Average overtime hours per employee who performed overtime.

Incidence of paid (or unpaid) overtime hours out of total overtime hours.

7

Possible break down variables:

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

Economic activity.

Occupation.

Gender.

Part-time/full-time (?)

Other (?)

2001-2004 differences.

3. Shift work patterns (Col. 215)

Shift workers by shift-work pattern per 100 employees.

Possible break down variables:

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

Economic activity.

Gender.

Core/non-core hours.

Other (?)

2001-2004 differences.

4. Working time arrangements (Col. 216, 217, 218)

Employees by working time arrangement per 100 employees:

•	

•	

Fixed start/end.

Staggered working hours.

•	 Working time banking, hours off.

•	 Working time banking, days off.

•	

•	

•	

•	

Mutual agreement.

No formal boundaries.

Annualized hours.

On-call work.

Possible break down variables:

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

Economic activity.

Occupation.

Gender.

Core/non-core hours.

Part-time/full-time (?)

Other (?)

2001-2004 differences.

8

5. Working time pattern of part-timers (Col. 219)

Part-timers by part-time patterns per 100 employees.

Possible break down variables:

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

Gender.

Age (young/adult/old).

Reason for working part-time.

Need for care facilities.

Core/non core hours.

Other (?)

6 Convenience of working time arrangements for personal life situation (Col. 
221, 222)

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

Shift workers.

On-call workers.

Evening workers.

Night workers.

Saturday workers.

Sunday workers.

All workers in non core hours for whom their working time arrangement is convenient for personal 
life situation per 100 workers with the same working time arrangement.

Possible break down variables:

•	

•	

•	

Gender.

Age (young/adult/old).

Other (?)

Other issues

Module integration

In.the.Quality.Report.some.confusion.related.to.the.meaning.of.“integration.of.the.module.in.the.questionnai-
re”..Some.of.the.answers.in.the.Quality.Reports.may.not.be.valid.due.to.this..The.issue,.however,.is.the.question.
of.whether.the.ad.hoc.module.is.implemented.in.a.separate.block.or.if.the.individual.questions.are.integrated.
into.the.route.of.the.core.questionnaire.as.logical.follow.up.of.core.questions.

Italy.implemented.the.ad.hoc.module.by.integrating.the.ad.hoc.questions.in.the.core.part.on.working.hours..
No.undesired.effects.on.the.core.questions.were.detected;.the.overall.ad.hoc.module.response.was.higher.than.
on.the.average..In.view.of.ISTAT.this.method.helped.preventing.annoyance.and.confusion.of.the.respondents,.
which.a.separated.block.of.questions.at.the.end.of.the.questionnaire.would.have.produced.

Integration.of.the.ad.hoc.module.in.the.core.questionnaire.is,.however,.not.practicable.in.case.of.paper.que-
stionnaires..Hungary.reported.that. implementing.the. module. separately. necessitated.some. of. the. core.que-
stions.to.be.asked.again,.sometimes.producing.different.results..The.view.of.HCSO.was.that.in.these.cases,.the.
ad.hoc.module.produced.more.reliable.results,.which.has.caused.them.to.make.some.subsequent.changes.to.
the.core.questionnaire.

9

In.a.CAI.instrument,.answers.to.core.questions.can.be.transferred.to.the.ad.hoc.module.in.automated.filters..
Thus.inconsistencies.can.be.avoided..By.this.method,.however,.there.is.an.increased.risk.of.programming.er-
rors,.which.causes.eligible.respondent.groups.to.be.bypassed.in.the.course.of.the.interview.

As.both.inconsistencies.and.routing.errors.occurred.for.some.countries.in.the.application.of.the.ahm004,.this.
turned.out.to.be.real.dangers,.which.must.be.paid.attention.to.in.the.future.implementation.of.an.ad.hoc.module.
of.this.type.

In.general,.the.Task.Force.does.not.recommend.integration.of.an.ad.hoc.module.in.the.questionnaire..When.the.
subject,.however,.is.closely.related.to.the.core.business.of.the.LFS,.then.such.integration.could.be.envisaged,.
provided.there.is.no.adverse.affect.on.the.core.questions,.no.time.series.disturbing.

Pre-tests.are.thus.recommended,.but.the.Task.Force.acknowledges.that.it.could.be.difficult.to.measure.effects.
of.the.ad.hoc.module.questions.on.the.core.questions.in.a.small.pilot.study..Such.pre-tests.are.also.important.
when.the.ad.hoc.module.is.separate.from.the.core.module,.both.in.order.to.overcome.problems.of.inconsistency.
and.to.prevent.routing.errors.if.the.variables.from.the.core.questionnaire.are.used.to.identify.the.target.group.
for.variables.of.the.ad.hoc.module.

The Quality Reports

The.form.for.the.ad.hoc.module.Quality.Report.can.be.improved:

•	

•	

•	

Better estimation of response burden and costs. More precise estimates can be suggested, such as a 
simple count of questions or estimation of average routes through the questionnaire.

A quality report should also include a description (table) of the trans-coding from national variables 
to Eurostat variables.

As special training of interviewers on the subject and implementation of the ad hoc module can affect 
the results, an item relating to interviewer training or special instructions in lieu of training should be 
added to Quality Reporting.

0

.

.

.

.

.

Annexes



Annex 1 

Explanatory notes

Definition  of  variables  and  response  categories  of  the  2004  ad  hoc  module  on  work  organisation  and 
working time arrangements (rev. Sept. 03)

No.control.over.when.and.how.to.do.the.work.this.variable.helps.to.determine.which.elements.of.the.self-em-
ployed.are.similar.to.the.conditions.of.an.employee..There.are.three.elements.to.take.into.account:.is.it.laid.
down.what.is.to.be.done,.the.way.in.which.it.is.done.and.the.time.when.it.is.done..

–  The first element is not within the discretion of the self-employed because the customer determines the 

output or product or a mission statement determines the objectives. 

–  Therefore only how and when are observed in this variable. (C209=0): the employed person can not deter-

mine when (when to start and finish work and when to take breaks) and how to do the work.

–  The working times are within the discretion of the self-employed even when a deadline is agreed or when 

the harvest season is given ex ante.

Overtime (C211_212) includes all hours worked, paid or unpaid, in excess of normal hours, which are the 
number of hours fixed in each country by or in pursuance of laws, regulations, collective agreements or em-
ployment contract… or where not so fixed, the number of hours in excess of which any time worked is remu-
nerated at overtime rates or forms an exception to the recognised rules or custom of the establishment or of the 
process concerned (Reduction of hours of work recommendation (n° 116), ILO, 1962). Hours compensated 
at long term in hours or days off are excluded, for example, in the case of working time banking or working 
time reduction when the number of usual weekly working hours is above the number of hours according to the 
contract but these additional hours are compensated in extra days off.

A person is working shift (C204) when her/his work consists of a work organisation where different groups of 
workers succeed each other according to a certain rotation pattern at the same work site to perform the same 
operations (Council directive 93/104/EC concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time).

–  Continuous.shift.work.(C5=):.covers.7.days,.4.hours/day

–  Semi-continuous.shift.work.(C5=):.covers.5.weekdays,.4.hours/day

–  Double.day.(C5=3):.early.morning.and.late.afternoon

Fixed.start/end.of.the.working.day.(C6=):.a.regular.(not.necessarily.constant).long-term.pattern.of.fixed.
daily.working.times.without.the.possibility.to.start.or.end.the.working.day.later/earlier.

Staggered.working.hours.(C6=).(≠ fixed.start/end.of.the.working.day):.workers.may.start.earlier.and.finish.
later.outside.a.range.of.hours.according.to.regulation.or.collective.agreement.when.presence.is.compulsory..
But.there.is.no.account.systems.of.credit.and.debit.hours.allowing.employees.to.take.time.off.-.this.being.the.
case.of.working.time.banking..The.number.of.hours.worked.each.day.is.equal.to.the.contractual.number.

Working.time.banking.(≠.fixed.start/end.of.the.working.day):.a.system.of.accumulation.and.settlement.of.debit.
and.credit.hours.around.the.standard.number.of.weekly.or.monthly.working.hours..Over.a.longer.period,.the.
average.number.of.working.hours.is.equal.to.the.number.of.contractually.agreed.working.hours..Working.time.
banking.(“horaire.à.la.carte,.Arbeitszeitkonten”).should.not.be.interpreted.as.an.arrangement.of.total.autonomy.
when.to.start.and.finish.work.

Start/end.of.the.working.day.varying.by.mutual.agreement.(C6=5):.the.start.and.end.of.the.working.day.
usually.vary.daily.or.weekly.and.they.are.individually.agreed.with.the.employer..This.is.a.residual.category.and.
it.applies.only.when.the.regulations.in.the.cases..-.4.do.not.apply.



Other:.(C6=7):.this.includes.the.frequent.case.of.a.fixed.start.of.the.day.until.the.work.is.finished.because.no.
category.is.specified.which.precisely.matches.this.case.

Annualised hours contract (C217): only the annual number of hours, for example 1600 hours, is specified but 
the distribution of the weekly number of hours worked varies throughout the year. [Alternative contracts that 
are not annualised hours, usually specify a weekly number of hours]. This number of weekly working hours is 
usually determined by the employer dependent on production or service needs. 

On-call work (or “zero hours” contract; C218): on-call work is an open-ended contract without a guarantee for 
a fixed number of hours, workers are called into work and report to work at a short notice only when needed. 
[Although the employer has no obligation to provide work, a minimum number of hours may be agreed in 
some cases between the employer and the worker.] On-call workers can be scheduled to work for several days 
or weeks in a row but they do not have a regular schedule. This situation is different from stand-by hours when 
the person “on duty” is waiting for an emergency call.

Working time patterns of part-timers (C219)

Part-time employed persons should compare their own schedule with a full-time equivalent schedule in their 
job.  If  no  equivalent  full-time  schedule  exists,  the  personal  schedule  should  be  compared  with  a  five  days 
schedule of normal working hours.

Possibility to work variable hours in the reference week (C220):

This variable should capture all situations when somebody has taken hours or days off independently when 
they are compensated. Therefore, it is not a simple copy of the information about the reasons why somebody 
has worked less in the reference week than usually. For example, a person may have taken a half day off but 
the total working hours may be longer in the reference week than usually due to overtime. The information of 
C220 refers to the half day off (C220=3)

Two different sets of categories are distinguished: categories 1 or 5 in the case of working time banking and 
categories 2, 3 or 6 else. 

-. Reduction.of.credit.hours.(category.):.there.is.no.lower.limit.for.the.reduction.of.hours

-. Has.taken.a.few.hours.off.(category.):.the.occurrence.should.be.identified.independently.of.a.balance.by.

additional.hours.later.in.the.reference.week

-. Has.taken.0,5.or.≥..day.off.(category.3):.this.category.is.distinct.from.the.previous.categories.because.it.

covers.the.case.of.holidays,.including.special.leave..

-. Reduction.of.credit.hours.or.a.few.hours.off.and.having.taken.days.off.(category.4).is.a.combination.when.
a.reduction.of.the.working.hours.occurred.(category.).simultaneously.with.a.short.leave.of.half.a.day,.a.
full.day….in.the.reference.week.(categories..and.3)

-. Wanted.to.take.credit.hours.but.not.possible.(category.5):.the.negative.case.of.category.

-. Wanted.to.take.hours,.0,5.or.≥ .day.off.(category.6):.the.negative.case.of.categories..or.3

-. The.residual.category.7.applies.only.when.situations.-6.have.not.occurred.in.the.reference.week..There-
fore,.when.only.a.situation.of.leave.initiated.by.the.employed.(lay-off).or.“force.majeure”.(strike,.bad.wea-
ther….-.beyond.individual.control).occurred.or.when.only.extra.hours.were.performed,.then.this.person.in.
classified.in.this.category..

3

Convenience of shift work and on-call work for personal life situation (C221) 
Response possibilities:

Dependent on:

9

2

1

1 (*)

(*) applies when both 
shift work and on-call 
work  are  convenient

0

0

0

2

Shift work (V204)

On-call work (V218)

3

3

1

1

0

1

0

1

The  zero  code  oc-
curs when V204=3 or 
V218=0  or  when  one 
or  both  arrangemen-
ts  are  not  convenient

Convenience of working time arrangements for personal life situation (C222)

Response possibilities

Dependent on:

Evening work 
(C205)

Night work 
(C206)

Saturday work 
(C207)

Sunday work 
(C208)

3

3

1,2

1,2

1,2

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

1,2

1,2

9 (does not 
apply)

3 (*)

3 (*)

3 (*)

3 (***)

3 (***)

3 (***)

3

1,2

3

…

1,2

…

1,2

1 (*)

1 (*)

1 (*)

1 (**)

1 (**)

1 (**)

(*)  this  code  applies  unambiguously 
to a single arrangement
(**) this code refers to more than one 
arrangement  and  applies  when  all 
these arrangements are convenient
(***)  this  code  refers  to  more  than 
one arrangement and applies when at 
least  one  arrangement  is  not  conve-
nient

4

Annex 2

Answers to questions

Column 209 (OWNMTSCH)

Concepts and definitions

..The.identification.criterion.is.related.with.subordination.when.performing.the.work..Can.the.self-employed.
person.decide.how.to.do.the.work?.Or:.is.there.another.person.giving.instructions.how.the.work.should.be.
carried.out.and.does.this.other.person.monitor.or.control.the.self-employed.worker.while.(s)he.is.working.
and.can.this.other.person.penalise.shortcomings?.These.aspects.go.beyond.the.tools.(hardware.and.software).
provided.to.the.self-employed.person.but,.the.supply.of.tools.and.premises.are.an.element.but.not.a.sufficient.
element.in.the.subordinated.relationship..(For.example,.when.a.self-employed.consultant.works.in.your.offi-
ce.to.help.you.design.the.questionnaire,.this.consultant.may.use.your.hardware.and.software.but.he.may.keep.
full.control.over.the.work)..Examples.of.economically.dependent.workers.who.seem.to.be.self-employed.
because.they.do.not.have.an.employment.contract:.taxi.or.truck.drivers,.sales.representatives,.outworkers.in.
the.clothing.industry,.etc.

. For.example:.civil.engineer.making.projects.of.buildings.(he.works.as.self-employed,.he.works.for.a.private.
company.that.gives.him.project.work)..He.is.a.part.of.working.team.of.this.company.=.his.working.place.is.
in.this.company,.this.company.gives.him.PC.hardware.and.software.needed.for.his.work.(does.it.mean.the.
company.influences.his.working.methods?),.the.company.determines.his.working.time..Does.this.person.
determine.“how.to.do.the.work”.or.not?.Tools.and.premises.are.not.sufficient.conditions.to.consider.the.
position.of.this.engineer.as.subordinate;.code.‘’.seems.to.apply.

Please also refer to annex 1 entitled “Explanatory notes”.
Please also refer to annex 4 for an analysis of C209.

Column 210 (SINGCUST)

Filter

..The. filter. is. ambiguous. because. of. missing. parentheses. (cf.. Regulation. 47/003. of. 0. February. 003):.

C6=.or.(C6=.and.C34_35.<.0).

..There.is.a.loss.when.strictly.taking.C34_35<0,.because.of.the.existing.code.4.“Do.not.know.but.less.than.

.persons”..To.avoid.this.loss.it.should.have.been.written:.C6=.or.(C6=.and.C34_35.<=.0).

Coding

..There.is.an.error.in.the.English.description.of.code.‘0’.(cf..Regulation.47/003.of.0.February.003)..It.

should.have.been:.“Works.regularly.for.more.than.one.client.or.customer”.

Please also refer to annex 4 for an analysis of C210.

5

Column 211_212 (OVERTHOR)

Coding

..Code.‘00’.must.be.used.for.a.person.who.did.not.make.any.overtime.(i.e..zero.overtime.hour.made).

Calculation of weighted hours

..For.each.individual.separately.(i.e..record.by.record.or.line.by.line),.the.number.of.overtime.hours.she/he.

made.is.multiplied.by.her/his.weighting.coefficient..

. The.sum.of.all.these.individual.results.provides.the.total.volume.of.overtime.hours.made.by.the.population.

Please also refer to annex 1 entitled “Explanatory notes”.

Column 213_214 (POVERTOR)

Filter

..The.filter.is.implicitly.the.same.as.for.C_.(i.e..C6=3).because.C3_4.refers.to.C_.

Calculation of weighted hours

..For.each.individual.separately.(i.e..record.by.record.or.line.by.line),.the.number.of.paid.overtime.hours.she/he.

made.is.multiplied.by.her/his.weighting.coefficient.

. The.sum.of.all.these.individual.results.provides.the.total.volume.of.paid.overtime.hours.made.by.the.population.

Column 215 (SHIFTPAT)

Coding

..Code.‘3’:.a.“double.day-shift”.consists.of.a.shift.starting.in.the.morning,.immediately.followed.by.a.nd.shift.

that.day;.the.sum.of.both.shifts.covers.a.very.long.day.

..Code.‘4’:.a.day/night.shift.(for.example.in.car.manufacturing.but.also.in.services).consists.of.two.clearly.

separated.shifts.

..C5.was.initially.planned.not.to.consist.of.the.description.of.work.organization.seen.from.the.firm’s.pers-
pective,.but.to.consist.of.the.description.of.work.organization.for.the.respondents.themselves..C5.concer-
ns.the.pattern.of.the.individual.employee.

Concepts and definitions

..One.should.consider.that.“night”.work.is.work.done.during.the.sleeping.hours,.which.are.difficult.to.strictly.
precise.because.of.different.country.cultures..One.should.consider.that.working.between.9h00.and.4h00.
is.more.evening.work.than.night.work.

..Shift.involves.different.groups.of.workers.(according.to.the.explanatory.notes).

. NB:.any..part-timers.who.would.share.their.jobs.do.not.work.shift.

..There.is.a.big.problem.in.defining.and.classifying.(particularly.in.a.harmonised.way).“persons.working.fixed.

shifts”..This.must.still.be.studied.and.discussed.before.any.decision.to.be.taken.

Please also refer to annex 1 entitled “Explanatory notes”.

6

Column 216 (VARWKHRS)

Coding

..C6. refers. to. a. contractual. arrangement. or. pattern..Any. form. of. overtime. should. not. be. taken. into. ac-

count.

..Code.‘’:.shift.work.is.independent.from.the.working.time.arrangement..Therefore,.a.fixed.start/end.of.the.
working.day.(code.‘’).does.not.mean.a.constant.start/end.of.the.working.day..There.may.be.a.certain.pattern.
in.the.case.of.shift.work.or.part-time.work..However,.the.start./end.of.each.working.day.can.be.fixed.(not.
flexible).in.the.case.of.shift.work..These.persons.may.have.no.possibility.to.start.one.hour.earlier.or.later,.
they.need.to.start.on.the.fixed.time.

..Code.‘’:.the.hours.of.the.morning.or.the.afternoon.shift.are.usually.fixed.because.there.is.an.established.
rotation.pattern.and.the.different.shifts.depend.on.each.other..Staggered.working.hours.allow.employees.to.
start/finish.their.day.at.different.times.ensuring.an.appropriate.staff.coverage.and.presence.during.peak.or.
core.hours..People.are.working.outside.the.times.that.working.hours.should.normally.fall.in.their.enterprise/
local.unit.

Please also refer to annex 1 entitled “Explanatory notes”.

Column 217 (ANNWKHRS)

Coding

..The.possibility.of.sub-annual.(for.example,.half-yearly).limits.for.the.number.of.hours.is.not.provided.in.the.
coding..Therefore.a.6-monthly.contract.(in.our.example).is.coded.as.‘0’..An.exception.for.a.yearly.contract.
could.be.a.teacher.term-time.contract.(because.teachers.do.not.work.during.Summer.holidays).

. NB:.an.annualised.hours.contract.is.not.dependent.on.a.permanent.or.fixed-term.contract..Code.‘’.refers.to.
the.current.employment.situation,.independent.of.a.possible.other.job.during.the.holiday.months..The.hours.
specified.in.the.contract.refer.to.a.year.or.to.term-time.(about.0.months).in.the.case.of.teachers.(this.indeed.
excludes.half.year.substitutes.due.to.the.illness.of.a.teacher).

Concepts and definitions

..Annualised.hours.are.restrictively.defined,.i.e..the.total.number.of.hours.per.year.is.set.by.contract..It.does.
not.include.a.monthly.set.number.of.hours.(although.this.could.be.considered.as.annualised.hours)..A.spe-
cification.of.weekly.hours.is.excluded.

Please.also.refer.to.annex..entitled.“Explanatory.notes”.

Column 218 (ONCALLWK)

Coding

..If,.for.instance,.a.person.has.an.open-ended.contract.without.a.guarantee.for.a.fixed.number.of.hours,.but.
works.as.a.stand-by.employee.(not.paid.during.stand-by.time),.this.person.should.be.coded.‘’..Reason:.even.
if.there.is.a.contract,.there.is.not.a.fixed.number.of.hours,.this.is.why.one.do.not.consider.that.this.person.is.
“on.duty”.with.a.“stand-by.time”.strictly.speaking.

Please also refer to annex 1 entitled “Explanatory notes”.

7

Column 219 (WKTPPTFT)

Coding

..Code.‘5’.refers.to.a.regular.pattern.over.a.longer.period.although.some.deviations.are.possible.(e.g..when.a.

part-time.colleague.takes.holidays).

Please also refer to annex 1 entitled “Explanatory notes”.

Column 220 (VARHRSRW)

Coding

..Code.‘3’.also.covers.special.leaves.(legal.or.contractual).such.as:.sick.leave,.leave.to.care.for.children,.study.

leave,.paid.or.unpaid.leave,.leave.defined.by.employment.law.for.wedding.or.funeral,.etc..

..Code.‘7’.also.covers.persons.who.voluntarily.chose.not.to.ask.for.or.who.did.not.want.to.take.(and.conse-

quently.did.not.take).any.time.off,.whether.they.could.have.done.it.or.not.

..Codes.‘’.and.‘6’.are.not.exclusive:.a.person.may.have.taken.some.hours.off.(code.‘’),.but.she/he.actually.

wanted.to.take.more.than.a.few.hours.and.could.not.do.so.(code.‘6’).

. Solution.proposed:.the.variable.domain.being.the.“possibility.to.work.variable.hours.in.the.reference.week”,.

it.is.suggested.to.code.‘’.such.a.person.

Concepts and definitions

..C0.captures.different.situations.when.somebody.has.taken.hours.off.or.wanted.to.take.hours.off.but.could.
not.do.it..This.is.independent.of.the.requirement.to.compensate.these.hours.later.or.of.a.reduced.pay..This.is.
independent.of.the.reason..Codes.‘’.to.‘6’.apply.in.the.case.of.hours.off.on.the.initiative.of.the.employee..
Code.‘7’.applies.in.situations.of.leave.initiated.by.the.employer.

Please.also.refer.to.annex..entitled.“Explanatory.notes”.

Column 221 (WKT1PERS)

Coding

. Persons for who shift work or on-call work would be indifferent for personal life situation should be coded 

‘Blank’.

Filter

..Shift.work.(C04=).and.on-call.work.(C8=).can.be.grouped,.here,.without.it.changes.something.to.their.
independent.nature..The.purpose.of.C.is.to.know.whether.shift.work.or.on-call.work.is.convenient.or.
not.

Column 222 (WKT2PERS)

Coding

. There is a coherence problem in modalities (cf. Regulation 247/2003 of 10 February 2003): French ‘0’ = 

English ‘3’. Eurostat used the English version: ‘0’ was converted into ‘3’.

. Persons for who evening, at night or week-end work would be indifferent for personal life situation should 

be coded ‘Blank’.

. The following problem was not taken into account: for instance, a person can work both in the evening and 
during the week-end, finding one “convenient” but the other one “not convenient”. Due to such a situation 

8

of possible opposite answers relating to different schedules (evening work, at night work, Saturday work, 
Sunday work), the grouping of C205, C206, C207 and C208 may lead to a higher level of non-answers than 
expected.

. Solution.proposed.when.possible.to.recover.the.information:.code.“convenient”.if.no.schedule.is.not.con-
venient.and.at.least.one.schedule.is.convenient;.code.“not.convenient”.if.at.least.one.schedule.is.not.conve-
nient;.code.“no.answer”.if.there.was.no.answer.relating.to.any.schedule.

Filter

..Some.countries.have.forgotten.to.take.into.account.the.self-employed.persons.

. Should.a.Module.Regulation.be.more.explicit.in.the.module.filter.specifications.by.reminding.the.filters.

relating.to.the.used.core.variables.themselves?

..For.more.exactitude,.Eurostat.changed.the.filter.by.adding.the.“Blank”.modality.to.C04.and.C8.

General

Code “Not applicable”

..For.any.variable,.the.“Not.applicable”.modality.reflects.the.non-filter.situation.and.cannot.be.interpreted.in.

any.other.way.

Code “I don’t know”

..In.the.absence.of.significant.difference.between.“I.don’t.know”.and.“No.answer”,.and.due.the.scarcity.of.

such.a.proposed.modality,.it.was.asked.to.recode.the.few.“I.don’t.know”.as.“No.answer”.

Core variables used as filters

..Should.a.Module.Regulation.be.more.explicit.in.the.module.filter.specifications.by.reminding.the.filters.

relating.to.the.used.core.variables.themselves?

Ad hoc module construction

..It.should.be.paid.more.attention.to.each.variable.construction,.definition.and.filter.

..For.a.single.variable,.one.should.pay.attention.to.have.exclusive.codes.(e.g..C0).

..For.a.single.variable,.it.should.be.avoided.to.group.several.aspects.which.could.lead.to.opposite.answers.(e.g..

C).

..It.should.also.be.more.taken.into.account.possible.comparisons.with.previous.modules.on.the.same.theme.

Optional variables

..If.a.variable.has.not.been.surveyed,.code.“No.answer”.should.be.used.where.there.should.be.answers.and.

code.“Not.applicable”.should.be.used.for.the.rest.

9

Annex 3

Specification of the 2004 ad hoc module on
“work organisation and working time arrangements”

NB:. all.Member.States.and.regions.are.concerned.

NB:.

the.data.are.collected.only.for.the.main.job.

NB3:.

the.variables.on.shift.work,.evening.work,.Saturday.and.Sunday,.work.which.appear.as.columns.04.
to.08.in.the.“Annex.to.the.Commission.Regulation.(EC).No.575/000.concerning.the.codification.
to.be.used.for.data.transmission.from.00.onwards”.must.be.surveyed.in.004.for.the.same.reference.
period.as.the.ad.hoc.module.referred.to.in.Article..of.the.“Commission.Regulation.(EC).No.47/003.
of.0.February.003.adopting.the.specification.of.the.004.ad.hoc.module.on.work.organisation.and.
working.time.arrangements.provided.by.Council.Regulation.(EC).No.577/98”.

NB4:.

the.text.and.filters.have.been.corrected.in.order.to.achieve.better.clarity..

Var. name
OWNMTSCH

Column Code

09

Description
Control over own work methods and schedule
- Optional for Germany -

Filters/Remarks

C6.=.,



3

0

9

Person.can.determine.how.to.do.the.work
Person.can.determine.when.to.do.the.work
Person. can. determine. when. and. how. to. do. the.
work
Person.can.not.determine.how.or.when.to.do.the.
work
Not.applicable.(C6.=.3,4,9,blank)

SINGCUST

0

Blank No.answer

Work for single customer
- optional for Germany -

C6.=..or.(C6.=.
and.C34/35=0-0,.4)


0

9

Works.regularly.for.just.one.client.or.customer
Works.regularly.for.more.than.one.client.or.cu-
stomer
Not.applicable.(C6.≠..and.(C6.≠..or.C34/35.
=.,,3,5,99,blank))

Blank No.answer

OVERTHOR /

Overtime hours in the reference week

C6.=.3

00

No.overtime

0-98 Number.of.overtime.hours

30

99

Not.applicable.(C6.=.,,4,9,blank)

Blank No.answer

POVERTOR 3/4

Paid overtime hours in the reference week

C6.=.3

00

No.paid.overtime.or.no.overtime.(C/.=.00) NB:

0-98 Number.of.paid.overtime.hours

C3/4.≤.C/

99

Not.applicable.(C6=,,4,9,blank)

Blank No.answer

Var. name

Column Code

Description

Filters

SHIFTPAT

5

Shift work patterns

C04.=.




3
4
6
9

Continuous.shift.work,.usually.four-shift.system
Semi-continuous. shift. work,. usually. three-shift.
system
Two-shift.system:.double.day-shift
Sometimes.night,.sometimes.day-shift
Other.type.of.shift
Not.applicable.(C04.=.3,9,blank)

Blank No.answer

VARWKHRS

6

Variable working hours

C6.=.3

Fixed.start.and.end.of.a.working.day


Staggered.working.hours,.banded.start/end
3 Working. time. banking. with. possibility. only. to.

take.hours.off

4 Working.time.banking.with.possibility.to.take.full.

days.off.(besides.taking.hours.off)
Start. and. end. of. working. day. varying. by. indivi-
dual.agreement
Determines.own.work.schedule.(no.formal.boun-
daries)
Other
Not.applicable.(C6.=.,,4,9,blank)

5

6

7
9

ANNWKHRS

7

Annualised working hours
- optional for Germany -

C26 = 3 and C216 ≠ 6

Blank No.answer


0
9

Person.has.an.annualised.hours.contract
Person.has.not.an.annualised.hours.contract
Not.applicable.(C6.=.,,4,9,blank.or.(C6.=.3.
and.C6.=.6))

Blank No.answer

3

ONCALLWK

8

On-call work
- optional for Germany and Portugal -

C26 = 3 and C204 ≠ 1


0
9

Person.reports.to.work.only.when.called
Other
Not.applicable.(C6.=.,,4,9,blank.or.(C6.=.3.
and.C04.=.))

Blank No.answer

WKTPPTFT

9

Working time pattern of “part-timers”
compared with “full-timers”

C46.=.-8



3
4
5
6
9

Less.hours.per.day
Half.a.day.less.per.week
Less.days.per.week
Less.hours.per.day.and.less.days.per.week
One.week.in.two
Other
Not.applicable.(C46.=.,9,blank)

Blank No.answer

Var. name Column Code

VARHRSRW 0

Description
Possibility to work variable hours in the
reference week
- optional for Germany, Italy, Finland, Sweden
and the United Kingdom -

Filters
C24 = 1 and C26 = 3
and C58 ≠ 1
and C216 = 1-4





3

4

5

6

7

9

[C6. =. 3,. 4]. person. has. reduced. her/his. credit.
hours
[C216  ≠  3,4]  person  has  taken  a  few  hours  off 
(without the need to take holidays)
[C216 ≠ 4] person has taken half a day, one or more 
days off
Person.has.reduced.her/his.credit.hours.balance.or.has.
taken.a.few.hours.off.and.has.also.taken.half.a.day,.
one.or.more.days.off.(on.different.days.of.the.week)
[C6.=.3,.4].person.wanted.to.take.credit.hours.
but.could.not.do.so.(and.has.not.taken.holidays)
[C216  ≠  3,  4]  person  wanted  to  take  a  few  hours, 
half a day, one or more days off but could not do so
Other.(hours.actually.worked.≥.contractual,.lay-off.
etc.)
Not. applicable. (C4. =. ,3,4,5,9. or. C6. =.
,,4,9,blank.or.C58.=..or.C6.=.5,6,7,9,blank)

Blank No.answer

WKT1PERS



Convenience of working time arrangements
for personal life situation
- optional for Germany -

C04.=..or.C8.=.

3



0

Shift.work.is.convenient.for.personal.life.situation
On-call.work.is.convenient.for.personal.life.situation
Shift. work. or. on-call. work. is. not. convenient. for.
personal.life.situation
Not. applicable. (C04. =. 3,9,blank. and. C8. =.
0,9,blank)
Blank No.answer

9

WKT2PERS



Convenience of working time arrangements
for personal life situation
- optional for Germany -

C05,. C06,. C07,.
C08.=.,
and.C04.=.3,9,blank

 Work.in.the.evening,.at.night.or.during.weekend.is.

and.C8.=.0,9,blank

convenient.for.personal.life.situation

3 Work.in.the.evening,.at.night.or.during.weekend.is.

9

not.convenient.for.personal.life.situation
Not. applicable. ((C05. =. 3,9,blank. and. C06.
=. 3,9,blank. and. C07. =. 3,9,blank. and. C08. =.
3,9,blank).or.C04.=..or.C8.=.)

Blank No.answer

SHIFTWK

04

Shift work

C6.=.3


3
9

Person.works.shifts
Person does no work shifts
Not applicable (C26 = 1,2,4,9,blank)

Blank No answer

33

Annex 4 

An analysis of variables “Control over own work method and schedule”
and “Work for single customer”

Nicola.Massarelli.(ISTAT)

Here.follow.some.comments.on..specific.aspects:.

•	

•	

Should these variables be addressed only to self-employed working in small local units (e.g. max 2-3 
workers)? 

Did these variables cause particular problems to farmers? Comments on this specific aspect are based on 
NACE and ISCO information. As it was predictable, the analysis on NACE A-B (agriculture) and ISCO 
6+92 (skilled agricultural & fishery workers + unskilled agricultural, fishery & related labourers) lead to 
same conclusions.

Col 209 “Control over own work method and schedule”:

..

..

3..

4..

The. incidence. of. no. answers. for. NACE.A-B. (all. countries. except. DE9. and. NL0). is. 0.8%,. less. than.
general.average.for.all.NACE.codes,.which.is..5%..0.8%.is.also.the.incidence.of.no.answer.for.ISCO.
6+9.

Considering.single.countries,.the.incidence.of.no.answers.for.NACE.A-B.and.for.ISCO.6+9.is.relati-
vely.high.for.BE,.EE,.IE.and.UK..Nevertheless,.it.seems.to.be.a.problem.specifically.related.to.NACE.
A-B.and.to.ISCO.6+9.only.for.EE..As.a.matter.of.facts,.BE,.IE.and.UK.have.a.high.incidence.of.no.
answers.for.all.NACE.and.ISCO.codes..

Considering.all.countries.(except.DE.and.NL),.the.incidence.of.“When&How”.is.higher.for.NACE.A-B.
(89.3%).and.ISCO.6+9.(89.8%).than.for.other.sectors.or.occupations..

The.incidence.of.“When&How”.is.higher.for.NACE.A-B.than.for.other.sectors.in.all.countries.except.
BE,. DK,. EE,. LT,. MT,. NO..The. incidence. of. “When&How”. is. higher. for. ISCO. 6+9. than. for. other.
occupations.in.all.countries.except.BE,.EE,.LT,.MT,.NO..MT.shows.very.high.incidence.of.“Cannot.
determine”.(47.7%,).both.for.NACE.A-B.and.for.ISCO.6+9.

These.results.suggest.that.col..09.doesn’t.present.any.specific.problem.in.relation.with.NACE.A-B.and.ISCO.
6+9,.maybe.except.for.EE.

5..

Considering.the.number.of.persons.working.at.the.local.unit.(all.countries.except.DE.and.NL),.the.inci-
dence.of.no.answers.is.rather.stable.and.lower.than.%.up.to.9.persons,.whereas.it.gets.higher.for.larger.
local.units,.especially.for.those.with.0.persons.or.more.

6..

.No.answers.are..5%.for.self-employed.without.employees.

For.the.future.the.possibility.to.limit.the.range.of.this.variable.to.self-employed.without.employees.+.self-
employed.with.employees.in.local.units.with.no.more.than.9.workers.may.be.considered,.although.there’s.no.
strong.evidence.for.restricting.col..09.filter.

9.
.All.cases.for.which.col..09.was.applicable.have.been.coded.as.“no.answer”.
0. .All.cases.for.which.col..09.was.applicable.have.been.coded.as.“When&How”.

34

Col 210 “Work for single customer”:

7..

8..

9..

Col..0.had.a.worse.performance.than.col..09..Actually,.the.overall.incidence.of.no.answers.(all.coun-
tries.except.DE).for.this.variable.is.7.0%.

Similarly.to.col..09,.the.incidence.of.no.answers.for.NACE.A-B.(all.countries.except.DE).is.5.3%,.less.
than.general.average.for.all.NACE.codes..The.incidence.of.no.answers.for.ISCO.6+9.is.even.lower.
(4.3%).

Considering.single.countries,.the.incidence.of.no.answers.for.NACE.A-B.and.for.ISCO.6+9.is.par-
ticularly.high.for.several.countries:.BE,.EE,.IE,.LV,.IS..Nevertheless,.all.these.countries.have.a.high.
incidence.of.no.answers.for.all.NACE.and.ISCO.codes..BE,.EE,.LV.and.IS.coded.as.“no.answer”.all.
self-employed.without.employees.

0.. NO.and.BG.have.an.incidence.of.no.answers.for.NACE.A-B.(45.%.the.former,..9%.the.latter).and.
ISCO.6+9.(NO.44.9%;.BG..8%).much.higher.than.for.other.NACE.and.ISCO.codes..For.CH.the.
incidence.of.no.answer.for.NACE.A-B.and.ISCO.6+9.is.more.than.double.of.Total..

Generally.speaking,.col..0.seems.to.be.problematic.for.several.countries..In.all.these.countries.it.is.even.more.
problematic.for.the.agricultural.sector.(i.e.,.the.incidence.of.no.answers.is.higher.than.in.other.sectors).and.for.
agricultural.occupations.(i.e.,.the.incidence.of.no.answers.is.higher.than.in.other.occupations).

.. Considering.the.number.of.persons.working.at.the.local.unit.(all.countries.except.DE,.BE,.EE,.LV,.IS,.
IE,.NL.and.UK),.the.incidence.of.self-employed.working.for..client.or.customer.is.quite.high.(5.3%).
for.self-employed.without.employees..Nevertheless,.considering.self-employed.with.employees.in.the.
different.local.unit.dimensions,.the.incidence.ranges.from.7.%.to.0.5%.in.local.units.with.up.to.9.
workers;.on.the.other.hand,.the.incidence.is.very.low.(.%).in.local.units.with.0.workers.

.. Over.90%.(90.4%).of.self-employed.working.for..client.or.customer.has.no.employees..Self-employed.
without.employees.+.self-employed.with.employees.working.in.local.units.of.3.persons.or.less.include.
96.0%.of.self-employed.working.for..client.or.customer.

3.. Apart.from.DE,.IE,.NL,.UK,.BE,.EE,.LV.and.IS,.self-employed.without.employees.+.self-employed.with.
employees.working.in.local.units.of.3.persons.or.less.include.at.least.87.6%.(in.CH).of.self-employed.
working. for. . client. or. customer..Anyway,. only. 3. countries. include. less. than. 90%. of. self-employed.
working.for..client.or.customer.(DK,.MT,.CH),.whereas.4.(among.which.is.FR).include.more.than.99%.
of.cases.

4.. Excluding.UK,.IE.and.NL,.self-employed.working.for.single.customer.in.local.units.with.4-0.workers.

are.76,000,.just.3.8%.of.all.4,63,000.self-employed.working.for.single.customer.

For.the.future,.these.results.suggest.that.the.range.of.this.variable.may.be.limited.with.no.harm.at.self-employed.
without.employees.+.self-employed.in.local.units.with.up.to.3.workers.

. .All.cases.for.which.col..0.was.applicable.have.been.coded.as.“no.answer”.
. .BE,.EE,.LV,.IS.didn’t.ask.col.0.to.self-employed.without.employees;.for.UK,.IE.and.NL,.data.for.self-employed.with.employees.working.in.local
.

.units.with.up.to.0.persons.can’t.be.broken.down.by.size.of.local.unit..

35

Annex 5

Background

Variable working hours from a user perspective

The subject of working time has been important to the work of the International Labour Organization13. The 
Council Directive14 laid down minimum safety and health requirements for the organization of working time: 
they apply to minimum periods of daily rest, weekly rest and annual leave, to breaks and maximum weekly 
working time, and to certain aspects of night work, shift work and patterns of work. 

The  gradual  broad  socio-economic  trends:  globalization,  intensification  of  competition,  development  in  in-
formation and communications technologies, and new patterns of consumer demand for goods and services 
in the ‘24-hour economy’ have had an enormous impact on working time. From the perspective of the enter-
prise, strategies such as new methods of flexible production and a much more flexible organization of work, 
including working time appeared. From the perspective of employees, various developments have shaped their 
needs and preferences in relation to working life, with changes reflected in a variety of working time arrange-
ments: conventional full-time, permanent, weekday work; and the duration and/or timing of work: part-time, 
flexi-time, time banking accounts, working “on call”, and the averaging of working time over periods.

The modernization of  the Community legislation on working time has been then necessary with a view to 
responding better to new realities and demands from both employers and workers and provide the resources 
to meet the growth and employment objectives in the context of the Lisbon strategy with the reconciliation of 
work and family life as essential elements for achieving its objectives. 

As well as aiming to create more and better jobs, policymakers across the 25 countries of the new European 
Union are increasingly faced with the pressing issues of balance work-life commitments: flexibility at work, 
pension reform, time management, and labour market restructuring. 

Different aspects of flexibility can be expressed by four dimensions: quantitative and qualitative cross-tabula-
ted with external and internal flexibility. The qualitative internal flexibility includes working time (overtime, 
weekend work, varying work hours...).

European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions15 carried out the EU-wide sur-
vey on working time and work-life balance and finds that both companies and employees profit from flexible 
working time: higher degree of job satisfaction, better adaptation of working hours to the workload and lower 
absenteeism.

In the chapter on flexibility security and quality in work of the Employment in Europe 2003 report, there are 
examined different flexible working time arrangements using data from the 2001 ad hoc module to the Labour 
Force Survey.

2004 ad hoc module variables

In the view of world socio-economic changes, policy trends, performed research, the 2004 ad–hoc module on 
work organization and working time arrangements amounts to a good source of knowledge and statistical data 
on work organization and working time arrangements.

The work organization developments, e.g. in order to cope with trends and policy strategies presented above, 
imply  increasing  role  of  work-life  balance,  work  flexibility,  including  a  quantitative  internal  dimension  of 
flexibility – variable working hours (column 216 of the EU-LFS survey) and annualized working hours (co-
lumn 217). 

3. .ILO’s.first.Convention,.the.Hours.of.Work.(Industry).Convention,.99.(No..).
4. .Council.Directive.93/04/EC.of.3.November.993.concerning.certain.aspects.of.the.organisation.of.working.time.
. “Proposal.for.a.Directive.of.the.European.Parliament.and.of.the.Council.amending.the.Directive.003/88/EC.of.the.European.Parliament.and.of.the.
Council.of.4.November.003.concerning.certain.aspects.of.the.organisation.of.working.time”.adopted.by.the.European.Commission.on..September.
004,.COM(004)607.final.
.Amended.proposal.for.a.Directive.of.the.European.Parliament.and.of.the.Council.amending.Directive.003/88/EC.concerning.certain.aspects.of.the.
organisation.of.working.time.COM.(005)46.final.of.3.05.005.

5..European.Foundation.for.the.Improvement.of.Living.and.Working.Conditions.is.a.European.Union.body.set.up.to.contribute.to.the.planning.and....

design.of.better.living.and.working.conditions.in.Europe,.with.one.of.its.themes.being.work-life.balance.

36

Variable working hours

The Employment in Europe 2003 report analysed average usual working hours and overtime hours, the actual 
timing work and the extent of work outside the core working hours, working time distribution and the extent 
of flexible working hours and working time arrangements.

The 2004 ad hoc module question on variable working hours introduces more insight in the nature and formal 
side of the flexible time arrangements if such exist, indicating the employees’ choice over working hours, their 
rights to influence the length and scheduling of their working hours. The question 216 covers several options 
of variable working hours for employees – from the most rigid fixed start and end of the working day and stag-
gered working hours to the most flexible own work schedule. 

The proposed variable working hours schedules are reflected in the ILO’s series on working time and work 
organization16, for example:

•	

•	

•	

Under staggered working hours schemes, workers or groups of workers start and finish work at slightly 
different times, fixed by the worker or the employer. Thus an employee has some opportunity to fix the 
hours, but then they remain unchanged.

Flexitime allows workers to vary their starting and ending times and, even the number of hours that they 
work in a particular week, in general with “core” hours established. 

The  working  time  banking  involves  keeping  track  of  hours  worked  in  order  to  build  up  “credits”  or 
accumulate “deficits” in hours worked over the longer periods than in case of flexitime, with the rules 
how the excess hours accumulated in the time banking account can be spent. In this matter the 2004 ad 
hoc module distinction between possibilities of taking hours off only or days off (besides hours off) is 
relevant. 

Annualized working hours

ILO.distinguishes.the.annualized.working.hours.(column.7).and.hours-averaging.schemes.that.allow.varia-
tions.in.weekly.hours.of.work,.while.requiring.that.a.fixed.annual.total.or.a.weekly.average.of.working.hours.
be.reached,.with.some.respects.or.restrictions.concerning:.minimum.and.maximum.limits.on.daily.and.weekly.
hours,.no.overtime.premium,.notice.periods.for.changes.in.schedules,.reference.periods,.conditions.for.the.
payment.of.overtime..

Advantages.and.disadvantages.of.these.schemes.for.the.employer.and.for.the.employee,.the.need.for.negotia-
tion.make.the.annualized.working.hours.an.interesting.concept,.but.still.rarely.applied..

Other schedules

Distinguished.by.ILO.compressed.workweeks.involve.working.hours.being.scheduled.over.fewer.than.normal.
working.days.and.result.in.longer.working.days,.but.fewer.days.being.worked.each.week..Though.an.interesting.
concept,.compressed.workweeks.are.rarer.even.than.annualized.working.hours..

Conclusion 

From.the.user’.point.of.view,.the.proposed.classification.of.variable.working.hours.(column.6).gives.a.good.
scope.for.the.statistical.analysis.on.traditional.versus.flexitime.schemes..The.variables.appear.to.be.meaningful.
and.clearly.interpretable.in.the.view.of.European.situation.in.working.organizations.and.working.time.arran-
gements..

The.question.of.annualized.working.hours.is.an.important.one.from.the.point.of.view.of.working.time.develop-
ments,.but.may.be.less.significant.for.the.analytical.exercises,.as.these.working.arrangements.are.still.rare..

6. ILO’s.aspects.of.working.time.and.work.organization:.working.time.and.health,.overtime,.rest.periods,.part-time.work,.night.work,.paid.annual.leave,.
negotiating. working. time,. shift. work,. staggered. hours. schemes,. weekend. work,. working. time. family. measures,. annualized. hours. schemes,. com-
pressed.workweeks,.flexitime.and.“time.banking.schemes”,.on-call.work.and.“zero.hours”.contract,.right.to.influence.working.time,.work-sharing.
and.job-sharing,.working.time.and.productivity,.multiple.job-holding.

37

Annex 6

Non-response, outliers and high prevalence of “other”

The.following.is.a.collection.of.answers.to.a.special.enquiry.to.the.participating.countries.in.December.005.
with. regard. to. certain. irregularities. in. the. data. sets,. such. as. high. non-response,. distribution. of. categories.
markedly.different.from.the.average,.or.unusually.high.prevalence.of.the.“other”.category.in.certain.variables..
In.some.cases,.when.no.answer.to.this.enquiry.was.received,.the.answers.were.taken.from.the.country.original.
reports;.or.when.it.was.obvious.that.a.certain.group.was.erroneously.excluded.from.the.variable,.this.was.re-
corded.

Col 209 When and how (EU-25=79%)

Outliers

HU

MT

NL

40% Ratio.of.self.employed.who.can.determine.when.and.how.to.work.can.
be.so.low.because.a.considerable.part.of.them.have.‘employee.similar’.
conditions.of.employment..It.means,.that.from.the.employee.side.it.is.
worth.employing.workers.not.as.employed.but.as.sub.contractors.becau-
se.of.‘tax.evasion’.reasons.(in.order.to.avoid.the.high.labour.cost.after.
the.living.labour)..From.the.self-employed.side.it’s.also.convenient,.be-
cause.he/she.is.registered.at.minimum.wage,.and.after.that.he/she.can.
pay.less.contributions.as.well.

9% At.a.local.level.self-employed.persons.tend.to.take.more.orders.from.
clients.than.they.can.handle.in.a.reasonable.time...Therefore.many.tend.
to.be.in.a.position.to.control.the.method.of.work.but.not.the.time.(sche-
dule).of.when.this.work.is.to.be.carried.out...Most.probably.that.is.why.
we.have.more.code.‘3’.than.the.EU.average.

00% In NL’s point of view, the category “control over own work methods 
and schedule” is relevant for self-employed persons only. In accordance 
with the ad hoc module of 2001, in developing the questionnaire the 
assumption was made those self-employed persons can determine their 
own  work  methods  and  schedule.  So  this  variable  does  not  give  any 
additional  information  to  the  variable  that  distinguishes  the  self-em-
ployed, because this variable only concerns self-employed persons and 
for them the following assumption is made (code ‘3’): the outcome of 
this variable is that 100% is coded ‘3’ (person can determine when and 
how to do the work).

Col 210 Work for a single customer (EU-25=15%)

Non-response

Outliers

IE

BG

IS
RO

63% ?

7% Relatively.high.non-response.(7%).mainly.comes.from.self-employed.
people.(without.employees).working.in.agriculture..Most.of.them.only.
produce. for. consumption. in. their. households.. Other. formal. reason. is.
that.members.of.producer’s.cooperatives.were.not.asked.the.correspon-
ding.question,.but.their.number.is.not.significant.(less.than.%.of.the.
target.population).

67% ERROR: self-employed without employees were not included.
85% Self-employed with employees – who, in a greater extent work regular-
ly for more than one client or customer - represent a small part of the 
target  population,  while  self-employed  without  employees  –  who,  in 
most of the cases declared that they work regularly for just one client or 
customer - represent majority of the target population.

38

Col 211/212 Pct working overtime (EU-25=14%)

Non-response

FR

80% Due.to.computing.error,.only.part.of.the.employees.was.given.the.que-

Outliers

stion..The.variable.will.be.suppressed.
64% ERROR: no overtime was coded as ‘Blank’.

4% ?
00% ERROR: no overtime was coded as ‘Blank’.

IS
EL

IS

Col 213/214 Pct working paid overtime (EU-25=7%)

Non-response

FR

80% Due to computing error, only part of the employees was given the que-

stion. The variable will be suppressed.

Outliers

IS

34% ?

Col 215 Shift work patterns (Continuous shifts: EU-25=22%)

Non-response

Outliers

DE

EL

FR

HU

SE

IS
DK

9% ?

9% ?

58% Due.to.computing.error,.only.persons.changing.jobs.were.asked.about.
their.shift.work.patterns.if.working.shifts..The.variable.will.be.suppres-
sed.

% In.the.ad.hoc.module,.it.was.asked.about.shift.work.patterns.without.
using.the.filter.col04=..It.was.used.a.separate.(and.repeated).question,.
which.caused.inconsistency.with.the.core.data.

43% ?
35% ?

% It.was.already.mentioned.in.the.report.that.the.instructions.for.the.004.
ad.hoc.module.were.found.insufficient..For.many.variables.interpreta-
tions.had.to.be.made..C5.is.one.of.those.variables..In.C5.coding,.it.
was.focused.on.the.organization.of.the.work.for.the.respondents.them-
selves.and.not.on.the.organization.of.the.work.seen.from.the.firm’s.per-
spective..That.is.to.say,.for.instance,.that.if.a.person.only.works.within.
the.same.shift.but.this.shift.is.organized.as.a.continuous.shift,.the.person.
will.be.placed.in.category.‘6’.(other).and.not.in.‘’..This.could.explain.
the.high.number.in.“other”.and.the.low.number.in.‘’..Other.countries.
may.have.chosen.a.different.approach?

SI

4% It was  difficult to distinguish between continuous shift work,  usually 
4-shift system from semi-continuous shift work, usually 3-shift system. 
The situation was simplified and the result is as such. In general, there is 
a mixture of both codes “continuous shift work” with “3-shift system”.

The “other” 
category

DK

6% Same.answer.as.above.

ES

63% In.code.‘6’,.not.only.“other.type.of.shift”.was.taken.into.account,.but.

also.“fixed.shift.work”.which.is.very.common.in.Spain.

IE

SE

4% ?

40% ?

39

UK

44% C5.is.derived.directly.from.a.standard.LFS.variable.(ShfTyp)...The.
44.percent.observed.in.“other.type.of.shift”.(code.6.for.C5).includes.
respondents.with.shift.patterns.coded.from.‘5’.to.‘9’.-.which.account.for.
just.over.half.in.this.category.-.along.with.code.‘0’.“Other.type.of.shift.
work”..It.was.not.collected.any.information.on.what.makes.up.category.
‘0’.. Interviewers. were. required. to. read. the. question. “What. type. of.
shift.pattern.do.you.work?”.and.were.instructed.to.code.to.this.frame...
It.is.suspected.that.the.high.level.in.the.“other”.category.reflects.diffi-
culties.interviewers.had.coding.to.this.frame.(differences.in.the.types.
of.shift-working.are.quite.subtle.and.they.are.suspected.quite.difficult.
to.identify).along.with.some.residual.types.of.shift.working.not.already.
captured.by.codes.‘’.‘9’.

Split.shifts.

Morning.shifts.

Evening.or.twilight.shifts.

Night.shifts.

Weekend.shifts.

4%

%

6%

9%

%

Other.type.of.shift.work.

%

IS
NO

56% ?
66% A.separate.alternative.was.found.for.a.specific.type.of.shift.work.(“tur-

nusarbeid”.in.Norwegian).and.these.persons.were.added.to.“others”.

CH

3% ?

Col 216 Variable working hours (Fixed start/end: EU-25=68%)

Non-response
Outliers

DE
DK

0% ?
38% It.is.believed.that.in.various.European.countries,.it.is.likely.that.flexible.
work.arrangements.are.more.widespread.in.DK.compared.to.most.other.
EU.countries..The.fact.that.SE.has.the.same.“irregularity”.as.DK.for.
this.variable.indicates.that.flexible.work.is.indeed.a.Nordic.phenome-
non.

The “other” 
category

SE
NL

39% ?
% This group (code ‘7’) mainly contains (92%) persons whose working 

hours are dependant on the amount of work (also see report).

Col 217 Annualised working hours (EU-25=12%)

Non-response

EL

IT

% ?
9% This.item.was.probably.not.sufficiently.known.by.respondents..This.ex-
plains.high.non-response.rates.and.may.have.caused.wrong.allocations..
IT.expresses.some.concern.on.the.reliability.of.these.figures.

LV

% Unfortunately,. LV. cannot. find. the. reason(s). for. non-response. in.

Col7.

LT

00% By.Lithuanian.legislation,.annualised.working.hours.are.not.included.in.

the.employment.contract.

HU

00% Col7.was.not.asked.at.all.in.the.ad.hoc.module.because.it.is.not.“nor-

mal”.in.Hungary.

SI

00% This.phenomenon.is.not.significant.for.Sl,.thus.questions.relating.to.this.

variable.were.not.asked.

40

Outliers

IS

00% “Annualised working hours” is not relevant because this type of em-

ployment contract does not exist in IS.

EL 56% Due.to.the.formulation.of.the.relevant.question.in.the.Greek.ad-hoc.que-
stionnaire,.a.lot.of.interviewed.persons.thought.that.they.should.answer.
in.the.affirmative.when.(by.contract).they.were.working.during.a.con-
stant.number.of.hours.every.day..It.is.then.suggested.this.figure.is.not.
included.in.Eurostat.Publication.
4% See.above..The.variable.will.be.suppressed.

IT
CY 0%

NL 0%

The.pilot.test.(questionnaire.tested.on.50.households).gave.nobody.ha-
ving. annualised. hours. contracts..After. the. pilot. test,. CY. tried. to. find.
out. which. companies. worked. with. annualised. hours. contracts. and. di-
scovered.that.it.was.usually.airline.companies.(especially.pilots.and.air.
stewards).
Most.people.have.weekly.hours.contracts,.only.6.(actual.number).re-
plied.that.they.had.annualised.hours.contracts..7.out.of.6.worked.in.the.
transport.sector..The.rest.are.rare.cases.
According.to.the.explanatory.notes,.it.concerns.the.existence.of.the.per-
son’s.contract.in.which.only.the.annual.number.of.hours.is.specified.
This.information.is.already.existent.in.the.questionnaire..Persons.who.
denote.to.be.employed.for.a.fixed.number.of.hours.are.asked.for.how.
many.hours.they.are.employed..All.persons.who.give.a.number.of.hours.
they.are.employed.are.asked.whether.that.is.per.week,.per.month,.per.year.
of.in.lessons.hours..The.persons.who.are.employed.for.a.fixed.number.of.
hours.per.year.are.seen.as.the.ones.having.an.annualised.contract.
This.variable.is.made.with.the.variables.Col6,.Col6,.W_VastUren.
and.W_Periode.

PT

5% There.is.no.clear.explanation.for.this.fact..It.could.be.the.consequence.of.
a.misunderstanding.of.the.question;.it.could.be.a.specific.characteristic.
of.the.national.labour.market.

3% ?

SE
BG 0%

The incidence of annualized working hours is negligible in BG. Such 
a type of working time is not specified in the Bulgarian labour legisla-
tion (Labour Code) - the longest period for banking working hours is 4 
months.  Only people without written employment contract (but other 
type of contract or without any contract) might have annualized working 
time.

Col 218 On-call work (EU-25=3%)

Non-response

EL 33% ?
00% ?
IS

Col 219 Working time pattern of part-timers (Other: EU-25=9%)

Non-response

The “other” 
category

EL 34% ?
LU 0% ?
IS
0% ?
CH 00% ?
MT % This.might.be.attributed.to.persons.who.work.on.a.part-time.basis.only.
during.weekends...None.of.the.other.variables.was.adequate.to.describe.
this.situation.which.is.very.common.in.the.hotel.and.catering.industry...
In.addition,.in.the.health.sector.some.part-time.work.relates.to.working.
night.hours.only.and.once.more.none.of.the.other.variables.was.adequate.
to.describe.this.pattern.

4

FI

8% Code “other” in Col219 seems to be most common in the age groups 15-
24 and 55+, which are also the most common age groups for part-time 
workers in general. In the youngest age group, most of the “other” cases 
are students who work less than 15 hours a week. They probably have 
quite irregular working schedule, so it may be difficult for them to define 
their working time pattern. The part-time workers aged 55 or more are 
usually  part-time  pensioners,  who  have  individually  defined  working 
time patterns. One very common pattern is two weeks work - two weeks 
off, which should have probably been included in the question; now they 
presumably are all in the category “other”. Some part-time pensioners 
can  also  arrange  a  pattern  with  longer  periods  of  work  and  free  time 
alternating.

Col 220 Possibility to work variable hours (Other: EU-25=91%)

Non-response

ES

IE
LT

98% The.“no.answer”.in.Col0.corresponds.to.people.who.said.they.did.not.

take.any.hour.off.because.they.did.not.need.to.

85% ?
00% There. are. not. any. possibility. to. work. variable. hours. in. Lithuania. by.

country.legislation.

Outliers

84% ?

SI
BG 00% This.variable.has.not.been.included.in.the.Bulgarian.questionnaire.
IS
00% ?
CH 00% ?
EE
FR
IE
CY

Category 4 is missing. This was expected because of the small sample.
Category.4.is.missing.
Category..is.missing.
Categories.‘’.and.‘5’.are.missing..In.CY,.employees.do.not.work.with.
“working.time.banking”.systems.with.possibilities.to.take.hours/days.off.
(col6.codes.‘3’.and.‘4’)..CY.could.accept.codes.‘’.or.‘5’.if.the.filter.
was.as.specified.in.the.filter.column.(see.Regulation)..As.there.was.not.
any.response.for.‘3’.or.‘4’.(only..actually),.there.also.was.no.response.
for.‘’.and.‘5’.
Category.7.is.missing.
Category.5.is.missing.
Category  7  is  missing. This  was  not  included  in  the  questionnaire  by 
mistake.
Category 4 is missing.
Category 3 is missing.

LV
LU
MT

SI
NO

Col 221 Convenience of shift work or on-call work

Non-response

EL
FR
IT

7% ?
47% See.above.for.C5.
49% The.modality.“shift.work.or.on.call.work.is.neither.convenient.nor.in-
convenient.for.personal.life.situation”.was.included..From.the.pilot.sur-
vey,.it.had.been.noticed.that.this.option.was.the.most.relevant..Therefore,.
excluding. it. would. have. brought. to. an. overestimation. of. convenience.
of.these.working.time.arrangements..Shift.workers.for.who.shift.work.
is.indifferent.for.personal.life.situation.are.,356,000..“Indifferent”.for.
call.workers.are.08,000..These.cases.have.been.recoded.as.‘Blank’..As.
a.consequence,.30%.and.5%.are.the.cases.for.who.shift.work.or.on.call.
work. is. strictly. convenient..Actual. “don’t. know”. cases. are. 78,000. for.
shift.work.and.0,000.for.on.call.work.

4

LU
HU

% ?
% Like. for. col5,. in. the. ad. hoc. module. it. was. asked. about. shift. work.
convenience.without.using.the.filter.col04=,.but.using.a.separate.(and.
repeated).question,.which.caused.inconsistency.with.the.core.

IS

3% ?

- Convenience of shift work (EU-25=71%)

Outliers

AT

FI

9% The.respondents.indicated.-.contrary.to.the.expectations.-.such.a.high.

level.of.convenience.concerning.these.working.time.patterns.

90% It is difficult to explain. Most of the people working in shifts have pro-
bably chosen their profession knowing that it includes shift work and 
have arranged their life in a way that it suits their work. Those who find 
shift work not convenient have probably already moved to other types of 
working time arrangements. NB: previous research in Finland suggests 
that  shift  workers  are  generally  happy  with  their  working  times.  The 
ones who are not happy are mainly parents with small children.

- Convenience of on-call work (EU-25=76%)

Outliers

BE

AT

IT
EL

6% ?
95% The.respondents.indicated.-.contrary.to.the.expectations.-.such.a.high.

level.of.convenience.concerning.these.working.time.patterns.

30% See.above.
8% Concerning the low percentage of people that find convenient for their 
personal life to work in the evening, at night or during weekend and to 
work when they are called to, EL thinks that they reflect the fact that 
these forms of working time arrangements are usually obligatory (the 
employees are forced and to not choose to work that way).

Col 222 Convenience of evening/night/weekend work (EU-25=70%)

Non-response

BE

EL
ES
FR

IE
IT

36% Self-employed.and.unpaid.family.workers.were.not.asked.the.question.
76% Self-employed.and.unpaid.family.workers.were.not.asked.the.question.
40% Self-employed.and.unpaid.family.workers.were.not.asked.the.question.
30% As.this.variable.was.initially.not.correctly.filtered.to.the.ad.hoc.module,.
the.decision.was.made.to.ask.the.question.on.work.in.the.evening,.ni-
ght.or.weekends.in.one.question..This.caused.inconsistencies.with.the.4.
variables.in.the.core.data,.with.more.than.4,000.respondents.answering.
differently.when.asked.the.single.question.(most.of.them.not.working.
during.these.hours)..The.results,.however,.should.not.be.biased.

9% ?
85% There.are.two.reasons.for.this.very.high.“blank”.rate:.).A.wrong.filter.
was.applied,.the.question.was.asked.to.the.employees.only..The.informa-
tion.is.therefore.missing.for.4,44,000.self-employed,.which.have.been.
recoded.as.‘Blank’..).As.for.col,.the.“indifferent”.answer.category.
was.included..Employees.for.who.working.atypical.hours.is.indifferent.
for.personal.life.situation.are.3,43,000..Actual.“don’t.know”.answers.
are.96,000.

LV
LU

3% Self-employed.and.unpaid.family.workers.were.not.asked.the.question.
96% ?

43

HU

NL

AT
PL

SK

RO
EL

IT
LU
RO

33% As. for. col,. it. was. asked. about. the. convenience. of. evening/night/
weekend. work. in. the. ad. hoc. module. without. using. the. filter. col05,.
col06,. col07,. col08. =. ‘’,’’,. but. using. a. separate. (and. repeated).
question,.which.caused.inconsistency.with.the.core.

43% (See.report)..Persons.who.said.that.they.usually.don’t.work.in.the.eve-
ning.or.at.night,.don’t.get.the.question.about.shift.(W_ploegend).be-
cause.it.is.obvious.that.they.don’t.work.in.a.shift.schedule..These.per-
sons.didn’t.get.the.question.TevrANZZ,.although.they.should.have.had..
Persons.who.sometimes.or.regularly.work.in.the.evening.(W_Avond.=.
or.),.night.(W_Nacht.=..or.),.on.Saturday.(W_Zaterdag.=..or.).or.
Sunday.(W_Zondag.=..or.),.and.who.don’t.work.in.a.shift.schedule.
(W_PloegenD. =. ). now. get. the. question.TevrANZZ.. So. persons. for.
who.it.is.obvious.that.they.don’t.work.in.a.shift.schedule.(W_PloegenD.
=.empty).are.mistakenly.forgotten.

7% Self-employed.and.unpaid.family.workers.were.not.asked.the.question.
58% The.target.population.for.this.variable.was.limited.in.PL.to.employees.
only,.so.there.is.a.lack.of.information.for.other.employed.persons.(=.high.
non-response.rate).

3% During. the. preparation. work. on. the. ad. hoc. module. questionnaire,.
working. group. documents. were. used,. where. it. was. said. that. self-em-
ployed. persons. should. answer. only. two. questions. and. the. rest. would.
be.for.the.employees..It.was.quite.misleading.and.influenced.the.prepa-
ration.of.our.questionnaire..Self-employed.and.unpaid.family.workers.
were.thus.not.asked.the.question.
7% Unpaid family workers were excluded.
40% See.above.for.on-call.work.
8% See.above.
94% ?
7% Indeed,.for.most.of.the.people,.work.in.the.evening,.at.night.or.during.

weekend.is.not.convenient.for.personal.life.situation.

Outliers

44