Detailed category descriptions and operational issues
The primary distinction in an employment relations approach is that between employers, who buy the labour of others and assume some degree of authority and control over them; self-employed (or 'own account') workers who neither buy labour nor sell their labour to others; and employees, who sell their labour to employers.
Employees are further differentiated according to the employment relations of their occupation.
L1 Employers in large organisations
Persons who employ others (and thus assume some degree of control over them) in enterprises employing 25 or more persons, and who delegate some part of their managerial and entrepreneurial functions on to salaried staff.
Higher professionals who are also large employers are not allocated to L1 but to L3. This is because their status as professionals is more relevant in terms of employment relations than their position as an employer.
L2 Higher managerial occupations
Positions in which there is a 'service relationship' with the employer, and involving general planning and supervision of operations on behalf of the employer.
For certain SOC2000 managerial OUGs, the number of employees in the organisation provides a pragmatic rule to operationalise the distinction between higher managerial occupations in L2 and lower managerial occupations in L5. However, some managerial OUGs are wholly or primarily occupied by higher managers and others by lower managers. Thus, the size rule does not always apply.
L3 Higher professional occupations
Positions, whether occupied by employers, the self-employed or employees, covering all types of higher professional work. Employees in these groups have a 'service relationship' with their employer.
L3.1 'Traditional' professional employees
L3.2 'New' professional employees
L3.3 'Traditional' self-employed professionals
L3.4 'New' self-employed professionals
Both here and in L4 (Lower professional and higher technical occupations), 'traditional' refers to occupations regarded by SC and SEG as professional. 'New' refers to occupations not previously so regarded.
It should be noted that for professionals independent practice and salaried employment are often indistinguishable, and true self-employment is difficult to identify.
An occupation that has been designated as professional remains so regardless of employment status. For example, a supervisor who is also a scientist is classified as a professional (in L3) and not as a supervisor in L6.
L4 Lower professional and higher technical occupations
Positions, whether occupied by employers, the self-employed or employees, and covering lower professional and higher technical occupations. Employees in these groups have an attenuated form of the 'service relationship'.
L4.1 'Traditional' lower professional and higher technical employees
L4.2 'New' lower professional and higher technical employees
L4.3 'Traditional' self-employed lower professionals and higher technical
L4.4 'New' self-employed lower professionals and higher technical
Employees in category L4 share fewer of the conditions associated with the service relationship when compared with those in L3.
The rules for allocating lower professional OUG /employment status combinations to the new schema are complicated. Small employers in associate professional occupations are in L4 rather than L8. Lower professional employers in large establishments are in L1. Thus, in the case of small employers, the employment relations approach holds that lower professional status (like that of higher professionals) overrides small employer status; but if lower professionals are large employers, then employer status takes precedence and so these positions are in L1.
L5 Lower managerial occupations
Positions in which there is an attenuated 'service relationship', and where those employed in these positions generally plan and supervise operations on behalf of the employer under the direction of senior managers.
These occupations share fewer of the conditions associated with the service relationship when compared to L2. As discussed under L2, the establishment size rule is sometimes used as an indicator of the conceptual distinction between higher and lower managerial occupations. However, some OUGs are regarded as inherently lower managerial and allocated to L5 regardless of organisation size.
L6 Higher supervisory occupations
Positions (other than managerial) having an attenuated form of 'service relationship' which cover intermediate occupations included in L7. These positions involve formal and immediate supervision of others engaged in such occupations.
Typically, these higher supervisory positions are found in large bureaucratic organisations and employees in these positions are supervising the work of others and thereby they exert a degree of authority over them.
L7 Intermediate occupations
Positions not involving general planning or supervisory powers, in clerical, sales, service and intermediate technical occupations. Positions in this group are 'mixed' in terms of employment regulation, they are intermediate with respect to the service relationship and the labour contract.
L7.1 Intermediate clerical and administrative occupations
L7.2 Intermediate sales and service occupations
L7.3 Intermediate technical and auxiliary occupations
L7.4 Intermediate engineering occupations
Although positions in L7 offer some features of the service relationship, they do not usually involve any exercise of authority (other than in applying standardised rules and procedures where discretion is minimal) and are subject to quite detailed bureaucratic regulations.
L8 Employers in small organisations
L8.1 Employers in small organisations (non-professional)
L8.2 Employers in small organisations (agriculture)
Persons (other than higher or lower professionals) who employ others (and thus assume some degree of control over them) and carry out all or most of the entrepreneurial and managerial functions of the enterprise but employ less than 25 employees.
Employers in small establishments, although they do employ others, do not usually devolve most of their management or entrepreneurial functions onto them. Small employers remain essentially in direct control of their enterprises. The distinction between large and small employers consists of applying a size rule cut-off of 25 employees, but in fact it is likely to be the case that the majority of small employers have only 1 or 2, and at most ten employees. For this reason, most are in many ways similar to self-employed or own account workers (in L9).
L9 Own account workers
L9.1 Own account workers (non-professional)
L9.2 Own account workers (agriculture)
Self-employed positions in which the persons involved are engaged in any (non-professional) trade, personal service, semi-routine, routine or other occupation but have no employees other than family workers.
Own account workers neither sell their labour to an employer nor buy the labour of others.
L10 Lower supervisory occupations
Positions having a modified form of 'labour contract', which cover occupations included in groups L11, L12 and L13, and involve formal and immediate supervision of others engaged in such occupations.
Positions in L10 have different employment relations and conditions from those in L12 and L13, but similar conditions to those in L11. Operationally these positions are distinguished most easily by job title ('foreman' or 'supervisor') in an OUG which, when combined with employee status, is allocated to L11, L12 or L13.
L11 Lower technical occupations
Positions in which employees are engaged in lower technical and related occupations and thereby have a modified form of the 'labour contract'.
L11.1 Lower technical craft occupations
L11.2 Lower technical process operative occupations
A modified form of labour contract distinguishes this category. Employees in this category are more likely than those in L12 or L13 to have some service elements in their employment relationship, such as work autonomy.
Operationally, job title does not help with the allocation of occupation to L11 since not all 'skilled' OUGs are included here. Some are in L7 and others in L12 and L13.
L12 Semi-routine occupations
L12.1 Semi-routine sales occupations
L12.2 Semi-routine service occupations
L12.3 Semi-routine technical occupations
L12.4 Semi-routine operative occupations
L12.5 Semi-routine agricultural occupations
L12.6 Semi-routine clerical occupations
L12.7 Semi-routine childcare occupations
Positions in which employees are engaged in semi-routine occupations which have a slightly modified labour contract.
Employees in these positions are regulated by an only slightly modified labour contract typified by a short term and direct exchange of money for effort. The category name of 'semi-routine employees' is designed to indicate the fact that employers must perforce slightly improve on the basic labour contract for this group, for example the work involved requires at least some element of employee discretion.
L13 Routine occupations
L13.1 Routine sales and service occupations
L13.2 Routine production occupations
L13.3 Routine technical occupations
L13.4 Routine operative occupations
L13.5 Routine agricultural occupations
Positions where employees are engaged in routine occupations which have a basic labour contract.
Employees in these positions are regulated by a basic labour contract. That is, these positions have the least need for employee discretion.
L14 Never worked and long-term unemployed
L14.1 Never worked
L14.2 Long-term unemployed
Positions which involve involuntary exclusion from the labour market, specifically (a) those who have never been in paid employment but would wish to be, and (b) those who have been unemployed for an extended period while still seeking or wanting work.
Both the 'long-term' unemployed and those who have never been in paid employment (although available for work) could be treated in employment relations terms as a separate category of those who are excluded from employment relations of any kind. Operationally, however, both the long-term unemployed and the never worked but available for work are difficult to define. And the problems here cannot be separated from the more general ones concerning the non-employed population.
Those who have 'never worked' but are seeking, or would like paid work, should be allocated to operational category L14.1. In the case of the 'long-term unemployed', there is an argument that they should not be classified according to their last job, but should be assigned to category L14.2 of the classification (on the grounds that they are excluded from employment relations). They should therefore be included with the 'never worked' when the NS-SEC is collapsed to an analytic variable.
It is not possible to define the 'long-term unemployed' in any hard and fast way. Essentially, users must make their own decisions here, according to their research purposes. Some might not want to implement L14 at all and thus will exclude the never worked from the analytic versions of the classification and classify all unemployed persons in respect of their last main job. Others might want to implement the class and use a six-month unemployment rule related to the maximum length of time for which Jobseekers' Allowance is paid, but others might prefer a one- or even two-year unemployment rule of their own.
L15 Full-time students
Persons over 16 years of age engaged in full-time courses of study in secondary, tertiary or higher education institutions.
Full-time students are recognised as a category in the full classification for reasons of completeness. Nevertheless, since many students will have or had paid occupations, they could be classified by current or last main job if the user wished to do so. Normally, however, we would not expect full-time students to be classified in this way. Conventionally, where full-time students are included in analyses (for example, in research on education), they are normally allocated a position through their family household.
L16 Occupations not stated or inadequately described
There are always some cases where the occupational data requested in response to surveys and censuses are not given or are inadequate for classificatory purposes. This category exists for such situations.
L17 Not classifiable for other reasons
No matter what rules are devised, some adults cannot be allocated to an NS-SEC category if the research design excluded the elderly from being asked employment questions. For completeness, such cases should be allocated to this category.
The non-employed
In order to improve population coverage, the NS-SEC treats those who are not currently in paid employment by allocating them via their last main paid job. Thus, for most non-employed persons (the unemployed, the retired, those looking after a home, those on government employment or training schemes, the sick and disabled etc), the normal procedure is to classify them according to their last main job. The main exception to this rule is for full-time students and the long-term unemployed (see details of L14 and L15).
