Interviewer instructions
Nature of employment is one of the most difficult employment characteristics to determine on account of the great variety of economic activities and the circumstances under which they are pursued. This is particularly so among own account workers or agricultural workers whose work is characterized to a large extent by irregularity or seasonality.
In general, work is considered permanent if the person engaged in that activity works or expects to work for at least one year. For farm operators or farm workers, however, their job can be considered permanent even if they work or expect to work for only 10 calendar months in a year provided that during the remaining two months, their activities are in relation to farming such as inspection of the fields, pasturing of work animals, taking care of livestock and poultry or even simply cleaning equipment to be used in farming.
A person is considered as a seasonal/occasional worker, when the employment does not last for at least one year or the employment is short term or intermittent. Some examples of these are the following:
bookies and bet collectors in horse races who do not work on regular basis
sugar industry workers during harvest and milling seasons only
drivers not working on a regular basis (i.e. “paextra-extra” basis)
peak season workers in commercial establishments like during Christmas time when extra sales workers are hired
substitute teachers for regular teachers who got sick or on maternity leave
laborers in emergency repairs of damaged bridges or roads; and
odd job workers (“paextra-extra” basis)
Always ask probing questions to ascertain more precisely the nature of employment of each person who is reported to have a job or business. Make notations or remarks on the bottom page of the questionnaire about the activities that seem to provide you with difficulties in classifying.
