§ Mrs. WiseTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what categories of people are likely to be excluded from the coverage of the new earnings survey; and what estimate can be given about the total number of people involved.
§ Mr. LeeThe new earnings survey is a sample survey covering 1 per cent. of employees in Great Britain who are members of pay-as-you-earn schemes.
The main categories of the work force in employment excluded from its coverage are self-employed persons, Her Majesty's forces, those on work-related Government training programmes, without a contract of employment and those employees, mainly part-time women and young people, who earn below the income tax threshold and are not in a PAYE scheme. Exempted categories include private domestic servants, husband/wife working for spouse, company directors who do not receive a salary and those working abroad. A full description of the survey and its coverage is contained in part B of the annual new earnings survey report.
It is estimated that 5.4 million of the work force in employment in Great Britain were not covered at the time of the latest survey in April 1988.