1. LAMAS Working Group 17-18 June 2015
Agenda Item 3.1 Ad-hoc module 2017: draft regulation and model questionnaire

2. AHM 2017: Self-employment
Main objective: Map the self-employed's working conditions and motivations
Policy needs: encourage job creation through promoting and supporting self-employment
New LFS classification: how to define and capture the grey area in between employees and self-employed

3. Economically dependent self-employed operationalised
self-employed without employees
AND
has either only one or one clearly dominant client
whose (one or main) client decide(s) the working hours
EoV:
1)Working hours not the best operationalization of organisational dependency
2)The group is too heterogeneous to be of analytical interest

4. Question formulation EoV:
Too many questions in the main reason/main problem variables

5. Sub-module 1 "Economically dependent self-employed" I
Economic dependency (MAINCLNT)
EoV:
1) Entry filter should only be self-employed without employees
2) 'You' rather than 'your company'

6. Sub-module 1 "Economically dependent self-employed" II
Organisational dependency (WORKORG)
EoV
1) Entry filter should only be self-employed without employees
2) Split answer option 'any other party' into 'government regulation' and 'other party'
3) Add answer option 'decided jointly'
4) Use VARIWT instead

7. Sub-module 2 "Working conditions for self-employed" I
Main reason for becoming self-employed (REASSE)
EoV
1) Should refer to the current situation
2) Two-level approach, split first on voluntary/not voluntary, and then on reasons
3) Re-introduce 'I want to be my own boss' answer option
Main difficulty working as self-employed (SEDIFFIC)
Eov
1) Regulation should specify 12 months
2) Change the order of the answers

8. Sub-module 2 "Working conditions for self-employed" II
Main reason for not having employees  (REASNOEM)
Business partners (BPARTNER)
EoV
Clarify definitions of 'business partner' and 'network'  
Planning to employ or subcontract (PLANEMPL)

9. Sub-module 3 "Comparing employees and self-employed" I
Job satisfaction (JBSATISF)
EoV
Adjust question wording
Autonomy in content and order of tasks (AUTONOMY)

10. Sub-module 3 "Comparing employees and self-employed" II
Preferred professional status
EoV
1) Add 'main job' to regulation
2) Add code for family workers who want to be employees
Obstacles to becoming self-employed

11. Possible voluntary additional variable
Disputed point between task force and Eurostat
'Self-declared dependency', along the lines of MAINSTAT
Precedence in AHM 2010, NOPLREAS, Main reason for not having taken parental leave
"Some self-employed are in a situation where the customer acts like an employer and for example makes decisions on working times and content of the work. In these kinds of cases work could be done as well as an employee. Would you say you are in this kind of a situation?" Yes/no

12. The LAMAS Working Group is invited to
approve the specifications of the 2017 LFS ad hoc module as presented in the draft implementing regulation attached
confirm the task force decision to have all self-employed as target population for sub-modules 1 and 2
use the model questionnaire and available explanatory notes developed by the task force when preparing the national implementation of the module
clarify and provide further details on what 'variables can only be agreed after testing' in practice means