IfA Diggers' Forum Away Survey

7/31/2019 IfA Diggers' Forum Away Survey

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DiggersForumreportonawayworkandtravelinUKcommercial

archaeology,2011

ChizHarward,MaryNealeandSadieWatson

PublishedbytheInstituteofFieldArchaeologists

CopyrighttheDiggersForum,InstituteofFieldArchaeologists2012

InstituteofFieldArchaeologists,SHES,Whiteknights,UniversityofReading,

POBox227,Reading,RG66AB

TherightsofChizHarward,MaryNealeandSadieWatsontobeidentifiedastheauthorsofthiswork

havebeenassertedinaccordancewiththeCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988.


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Summary

ThisreportoutlinestheresultsoftherecentDiggersForumsurveysonworkrelatedtraveland

awayworkinUKcommercialarchaeology.Twocomprehensiveanonymousinternetsurveyswere

carriedout

during

2011,

the

first

gathered

information

from

over

250

employees,

whilst

asecond

surveytargetedarchaeologicalemployers.Theresultantsamplerepresentsapproximately8%of

workingarchaeologicalsitestaffatthetimeofsurvey,andapproximately10%oftheemployers.The

employeesampleappearstobeinlinewithlatestfiguresonthemakeupoftheprofession,although

itispossiblethatapotentialbiastoolderrespondentsisrelatedtotherecessionrestrictingaccess

tonewentrants(Section2.8).

Theresultsofthesurveyaregivenanddiscussedindetailwithinthereport.Theprofileofthe

respondentsisanalysedinSection2.Section3looksatadvertisingofarchaeologicaljobs:where

employeeslookforwork,andwhatisimportanttothem,andtoemployers,thisinformationwas

usedto

create

aset

of

recommendations

on

advertising

archaeological

jobs.

Section4considersthecurrentjobsoftherespondentsandthetypesofemployersforwhomthey

work.AwayworkisanalysedinSection5,withdetailedfiguresonthenumberofnightsspentaway

fromhomeconsideredalongsidetheviewsofemployeesandemployers.Thenature,typeand

provisionofaccommodationisconsideredinSection6,withsubsistencepaymentscoveredin

Section7.Section8givesadetailedbreakdownofthetraveldonebyarchaeologistsbothnormal

commutingandworkrelatedtravel.Section9coversworkinghours,boththebasiccontractual

hoursandtheextratravelhoursthatstaffareexpectedtowork.Thissectionalsocoversthevarious

levelsofremunerationfortraveltime.Theviewsoftherespondentsontravelandawayworkare

highlightedin

Section

10,

with

the

effect

of

away

work

on

financial,

professional

and

personal

life

considered.

Section11presentsaseriesofemployeescenarios:examplesdemonstratingtheeffectofvariable

travelpay,awayworkandcostsonanarchaeologistsincome.Thesimplefiguresunderlinethe

importanceoftravelcostsandpaytoarchaeologistsincomes.

Section12discussesvariouselementsofthecurrentsituationandhighlightstheneedforclarityin

advertisingarchaeologicaljobs,aregisterorwebsitelistingallarchaeologicaltermsandconditionsis

proposedtoallowarchaeologiststochoosethebestpayersandavoidtheworst.

Twosetsofrecommendationsaremadeinthereport;thefirstrelatestoadvertisingofcommercial

archaeologicaljobsandsetsoutasimpleandachievablesetofstandardstoensureclarityinwhat

termsandconditionsarebeingoffered(Section3.1).Thisisessentialtoallowpotentialemployees

toknowwhattheyarereallybeingoffered,andisintendedtoactasamechanismtoallowpotential,

andexistingemployees,tounderstandtheactualrelativebenefitsandcostsofeachemployment.It

ishopedthatmovestowardstransparentadvertisingwillallowthoseemployerswhotreatstaffwell

willbenefitfromtheiractions,whilstthosethathavepoortermsandconditionsareexposed.

Theprinciplerecommendationsontransparentadvertisingare:


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TheDiggersForumcallsonarchaeologicalemployers,employees,tradeunions,professionaland

tradebodiestocommentonthisreportandtojoinindiscussionstoagreeawayforwardtoaddress

theissuesraisedinthisreport,andtosignuptothetwinsetsofrecommendations.Thefirststepis

tobeopenandtransparentaboutwhatiscurrentlybeingpaid andwhatisnotbeingpaid;thenext

stepistoacceptordeveloptherecommendationsandraisestandardstoanacceptablelevel.By

givingDiggerstheinformationtocompareunitswecanimprovethecurrentsystemforall

employees,andallowemployerstobidforworkonanevenfootingwitheachother.

Atpresentmanyemployersareattemptingtopaytheirstaffproperlyforthelonghoursspent

travellingonworkbusiness,orlivingawayfromhomeandfamily;theseemployersarelosing

contractstothosecompaniesthatchoosetonotpayanytraveltime,butdemandthesamelong

hours.TheDiggersForumbelievesthattheemployees,alreadysufferingonlowwages,shouldnot

betheonestosufferfurtherfinancialdistressforthebenefitoftheiremployers.WeasDiggersneed

tostanduptobademployers,notbegratefulforanyworkatall.Thereisapricetopoorwagesand

conditions,anditispaidforinourcolleaguesabandonedcareers.Bymakingthisissuepublic,and

bycontinuingtoshinealightonpooremployerswewillstrivetolevelthefieldsothatcontractscan

bewononstandardsandqualityofwork,notwhoispreparedtoripofftheiremployeesthemost.

TheDiggersForumaspirestoasustainableandfinanciallyviablecareerforallarchaeologists.This

surveyhasshownthatdifferencesintravelandawaypayseriouslyaffectarchaeologistsincome,

andthearchaeologiststhemselvesonbothpersonalandprofessionallevels.Werecognisethat

manypeopleintheUKtravellongdistancestowork,andthatformanythisisanormalpartof

everydaylifewhichisincreasingasworkopportunitiesgetscarcer.Wearenotdemandingspecial

pleadingforarchaeologists,weareaskingforclarityandfairnessforthegoodoftheindividuals,the

employersandtheprofessionatlarge.

Theultimatequestionmustbeasked,whatkindofprofessiondowewanttoleavetofuture

generationsofarchaeologists?Dowewanttomaintainthecurrentsystemofdisposable,deskilled

workerslivingoftenhandtomouthandtravellingacrossthecountryinthehopeofjustkeeping

going?Dowewanttomaintainakindoftwotiersystembetweenthosethathavepermanentjobs

andthosethatareonshortcontracts;betweenthoseworkingasSiteAssistantsandthosewhohave

climbedtheladdertoSupervisorandbeyond?

Ifthissurveyhasshownanything,itishopefullythatbysimplylevellingthefieldregardingtraveland

accommodationconditionswecanmakecommercialarchaeologyalessdysfunctionalandself

abusingprofession

and

significantly

improve

the

profession

for

all.


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Acknowledgements

TheauthorswouldliketothankallthoseDiggerswhotookthetimetoprovidethedetailed

informationonwhichthisreportisbuilt:wehopethatthisreportwillmakeapositivedifferenceto

yourconditions

and

help

create

afairer

profession.

Wewouldalsoliketospecificallymentionthoseemployerswhonotonlytookpartinthesurveybut

wereconfidentenoughintheirpayandconditionsthattheyfeltabletobeidentified;thankyouto

ArchaeologicalServices&ConsultancyLtd,ArchaeologySouthEast(UniversityCollegeLondon),

ArchaeologyWarwickshire,GUARDArchaeologyLimited,HeadlandArchaeology(UK)Ltd,

SouthamptonArchaeologyUnitandTyneandWearMuseumsArchaeology.

ThanksmustalsobeextendedtothestaffoftheIfA,inparticularKathrynWhittington,forsupport

andassistanceinpublicisingthesurvey.TheDFwouldliketothanksDavidConnollyfortechnical

supportfor

Fig

7.

ThesurveywasconceivedandwrittenbyChizHarwardwiththeassistanceoftheDiggersForum

Committee.ThisreportwaswrittenbyChizHarwardwithcontributionsfromMaryNealeandSadie

WatsonoftheDiggersForum.TheauthorswouldliketothankDrPaulEverill,AmandaForster,Kate

GearyandtheDiggersForumCommitteeforreadingandcommentingontheinitialdraft.

TheDiggersForum(DF)iscommittedtocreatingapositive,sustainableandfinanciallyviablecareer

forallprofessionalarchaeologistsatallpointsintheircareer.TheDFisaSpecialInterestGroupof

theInstituteforArchaeologistsrepresentingallarchaeologistsworkingoutonsiteatwhatever

grade.MembershipoftheDFisopentoall.

Formoreinformationpleaseseethewebsitewww.archaeologists.net/groups/diggers


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Contents

1 Introductionandsurveyoutline........................................................................................................1

1.1Anonymity.................................................................................................................................2

2 TheEmployeeSurveyrespondents...................................................................................................4

2.1 Gender................................................................................................................................4

2.2 Age......................................................................................................................................4

2.3 Dependantchildren............................................................................................................5

2.4 Nationality...........................................................................................................................6

2.5 Residence............................................................................................................................6

2.6

Location...............................................................................................................................

7

2.7 Levelofeducation...............................................................................................................9

2.8 Samplesize,validityandpotentialbias..............................................................................9

2.9 IfAmembershipasanindicatorofcareerprogression.....................................................10

2.10 Changingcircumstances....................................................................................................11

3 Jobsandadverts..............................................................................................................................13

3.1 Recommendationsforadvertisingarchaeologicaljobs....................................................16

4

Youand

your

job

..............................................................................................................................

18

4.1 Salary.................................................................................................................................18

4.2 Averagewages..................................................................................................................19

4.3 Lengthofservice...............................................................................................................20

4.4 Freelancer/employee........................................................................................................20

4.5 Currentemployer..............................................................................................................21

5 Awaywork.......................................................................................................................................26

5.1 Proportionofrespondentswhoworkaway.....................................................................26

5.2 Drivinglicence...................................................................................................................27

5.3 Workingawayfromhome................................................................................................28

5.3 Guidelines.........................................................................................................................32

6 Accommodation........................................................................................................................35

6.1 Additionalaccommodation...............................................................................................38

7 Subsistenceallowance..............................................................................................................40

8 Travel.........................................................................................................................................44

8.1 Carownershipanduseofprivatecars..............................................................................45


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9 Workinghours...........................................................................................................................48

9.1 Paidtraveltime.................................................................................................................49

9.2 Mileage..............................................................................................................................50

9.3 Totalcompensationfortravelrelatedtime......................................................................50

9.4 Drivingwhilsttired............................................................................................................51

10Viewsofawayworkandarchaeology.............................................................................................53

10.1 Worklifebalanceandlongtermeffectofawaywork.....................................................55

10.2 Thefuture.........................................................................................................................57

11Employeescenarios.........................................................................................................................61

12Discussion,conclusionsandrecommendations..............................................................................68

12.1 Changingterms.................................................................................................................68

12.2 Employerattitudestopay.................................................................................................69

12.3 Levellingthefield..............................................................................................................70

12.4 Regionaloffices.................................................................................................................71

12.5 Trainingandcareerdevelopment.....................................................................................71

12.6 ComparetheUnits.com....................................................................................................72

13Recommendations...........................................................................................................................74

14Bibliography.....................................................................................................................................76

AppendixA

Employee

questionnaire

....................................................................................................

77

AppendixBEmployerquestionnaire....................................................................................................87


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Figures

Figure1Male/femaleproportionofallresponses.................................................................................4

Figure2Male/femaleratioagainstageranges(agerangeinyearsonXaxis,numberofresponseson

Yaxis)......................................................................................................................................................5

Figure3Numberofrespondentswithdependantchildren(Yaxis)byagerange(Xaxis)showing

male/femalesplit....................................................................................................................................5

Figure4Numberofdependantchildrenbymale/femalesplit..............................................................6

Figure5Nationalityofrespondents.......................................................................................................6

Figure6Housingtype.............................................................................................................................7

Figure7GeographicaldistributionofEmployeerespondents...............................................................8

Figure8Highest

level

of

education

achieved

.........................................................................................

9

Figure9IfAgradeofrespondingparticipants......................................................................................11

Figure10Barchartofhowrespondentsfindoutaboutjobs,bychoice..............................................13

Figure11Relativeimportanceoffactorsinhiringarchaeologicalstaff,Employersurvey..................14

Figure12Relativeimportanceoffactorsinchoosingjobs...................................................................15

Figure13Currentpositionofrespondents...........................................................................................18

Figure14Salariesforfieldstaffbygrade.............................................................................................19

Figure15Lengthofcareerincommercialarchaeologyinyears(Xaxis)bynumberofrespondents(Y

axis).......................................................................................................................................................20

Figure16Proportionsofrespondentsworkingasemployees,freelance,oreither............................21

Figure17NumberofrespondentsinEmployeesurveybyemployer..................................................22

Figure18Typeoforganisation Employeesurvey................................................................................24

Figure19Typeoforganisation Employersurvey................................................................................24

Figure20

Size

of

organisation

Employee

data

....................................................................................

25

Figure21SizeoforganisationEmployerdata....................................................................................25

Figure22LocationofworkundertakenbyEmployeerespondents.....................................................26

Figure23Comparisonoflocationofworkundertakenbyawayworkersandnonawayworkers......27

Figure24ProportionofEmployeerespondentswithDrivinglicences................................................28

Figure25Numberofnightsspentawayfromhomeoverthelast12months,bynumberof

respondents(noteskewedXaxis)........................................................................................................28

Figure26

Longest

continuous

away

stretch

over

last

12

months,

in

weeks

(note

skewed

Xaxis)

......

29


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Figure27DoyoufeelthateveryoneatyourCURRENTemployeristreatedthesamewithregardto

awaywork?...........................................................................................................................................30

Figure28Treatmentofstaffinselectionforawaywork......................................................................31

Figure29Guidelinesonawaywork......................................................................................................32

Figure30Lengthofdrive(hours)totriggerawaystay(Employersurvey)..........................................34

Figure31DoesyourCURRENTemployerarrangetheaccommodationforyouonawayjobs?..........35

Figure32Typeofaccommodationprovided........................................................................................36

Figure33Doyouhavetosharearoom?..............................................................................................36

Figure34Howhappyareyouwiththestandardofaccommodationprovidedbyyourcurrent

employer?.............................................................................................................................................37

Figure

35

Ranking

of

facilities

in

provided

accommodation

.................................................................

37

Figure36Typeofpersonallyfinancedawayaccommodation.............................................................38

Figure37Ifyouhavetosortyourownaccommodationforwork(inadditiontoyourmainresidence),

howhelpfulisyourcurrentemployer?................................................................................................39

Figure38Provisionofnightlysubsistencepayment............................................................................40

Figure39Maximumnightlysubsistencepaymentbynumberofrespondents...................................41

Figure40Annualsubsistencepayments;selfassessedversuscalculated...........................................41

Figure41

How

important

are

any

subs

to

your

total

income?

.............................................................

43

Figure42HowfardoyoulivefromyourCURRENTemployer'soffice(inmiles)?...............................44

Figure43Whatisyourprincipalmethodofgettingtoyourcurrentplaceofwork?...........................45

Figure44Ifyougotoanofficefirst,howdoyounormallygetfromyourofficetosite?....................45

Figure45Doyouownacar/motorbike?..............................................................................................46

Figure46Useofprivatecarforcompanywork....................................................................................46

Figure47Basiccontractualhours.........................................................................................................48

Figure48Totalweeklyhoursworkedincludingworkrelatedtravel...................................................48

Figure49Numberofhoursofworkrelatedtraveloutsidecorehours...............................................49

Figure50Howimportantareanytravelpaymentstoyou?.................................................................51

Figure51Doesawayworkandaccommodationaffectwhichjobsyoucanapplyfor?.......................53

Figure52Howmuchdoyoufeelawayworkaffectsyourhome/familylife?......................................55

Figure53Howdoesawayworkaffectyourfuturecareerchoices?....................................................58


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1

1 Introductionandsurveyoutline

ThisreportpresentstheresultsofacomprehensivesurveycarriedoutbytheDiggersForum(DF)

intothecurrentconditionsrelatingtoawaywork,travelandsubsistencepaymentsinUK

commercialarchaeologyin2011.Researchintothesubjectwascarriedoutviatwosurveyshosted

onSurveyMonkey,anonlinesurveyhostingservice.Theinitialsurveywasdesignedtocapturethe

situationandexperiencesofemployeesandwasopenbetweenJanuaryandMay2011,thiswas

followedbyasurveyaimedatcapturingthesituationfromtheemployersperspectivewhichwas

openbetweenJulyandAugust2011.

TheEmployeesurveycontained75questionsandwasadvertisedontheIfAnewswebpage,the

DiggersForum

page

on

the

IfA

website,

in

Rescue

News,

and

via

email

to

Diggers

Forum

members

(forthetextofthesurveyseeAppendixA).ArticlesonthesurveywereincludedintheDF

newsletter;itwasalsoadvertisedontheBAJRnewspage.Alinktotheonlinesurveywasalsomade

availableforonwarddistributionviawordofmouth.Questionnaireswereavailableinpdfformat

howeverthiswasnotrequested.TheEmployeesurveywasanonymous;itbeingfeltthelengthof

thesurveywasenoughtoputoffanyconcertedattemptstoskewthedata.

TheEmployersurveyconsistedof80questionsandwasinasimilarformattotheEmployeesurvey.

AletteroutliningtherationalebehindtheEmployersurveywithalinktotheonlinequestionnaire,

wassentbyIfAstafftoalistofemployersemailaddressesheldbytheIfA(forthetextofthesurvey

seeAppendix

B).

Employers

were

required

to

state

their

organisations

name,

but

were

free

to

remainanonymous.

263separateEmployeequestionnairesweresubmittedbetween26th

Januaryand19th

May2011.

MultipleanswersfromIPaddresseswerecheckedtoensurethattheyrepresentedindividual

entries.Onerespondentwasdisregardedastheresponseswereclearlynottrue.Datafromthose

whoclearlyneitherresidednorworkedintheUKwasalsodisregardedashavingnorelevancetothe

survey.Atotalof258submissionswereanalysed.

Duetothelengthofthesurveyandthefactthatsomequestionswerenotrelevanttoall

respondentsmanysubmissionswereonlypartial.Wehaveincludedallresponsesforeachstageof

thesurveyandexpressedtheresultsasapercentageoftherelevantrespondentstotheparticular

questionorcombinationofquestions;whereitisdirectlyrelevantwehavespecifiedtherelevant

numberofresponses.

Duetothecomplexissuesinvolvedsomequestionswereclearlymisunderstood,particularlyonthe

Employeequestionnaire;thisledtosomeresponsesforsomequestionsbeingexcludedfromthe

surveyresultsastherespondenthadnotunderstoodthequestion.Wherethereweresignificant

problemswiththeresponsesforaparticularquestion,allresponsestothatquestionwereexcluded.

Itisnotconsideredthattheseomissionsaffectedtheresultsofthepublishedsurvey.

Thelength

of

the

survey

was

clearly

aproblem

for

some

respondents,

and

in

hindsight

the

surveys

wereprobablyoverambitious.Itwasinitiallyfeltthatalessdetailedsurveywouldnotproduce


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2

meaningfulevidenceandthatadetailedapproachwasworthpursuing,despitethepotentialdropin

responses.Thatover250employeesprovideddetaileddataisasignthatthisinitialpositionmay

havebeencorrect,thenumberswhogaveuppartwaythroughthesurveywerefarlessthanthose

whocompletedthesurveytothelastquestion.

Employerrespondents

were

given

the

option

of

whether

their

results

would

be

linked

to

their

company,thiswasasitwasconsideredthatitwasmoreimportanttogatherasmuchdataas

possibleratherthaninsistonunitsbeingnamed.OntheEmployersurveythenameofthe

organisationhadtobeenteredinordertoviewtherestofthequestionnaire,interestinglytwo

respondentsfilledinafalsenameinordertoviewthequestionswithoutansweringanyfurther

questions.Twentyfourrespondentsansweredthesurveybetween1stJulyand19

thAugust2011.

Nineofthe24participatingcompaniesagreedtobeassociatedwiththeirsurveyreplies.Those

employerswhostartedthesurveygenerallyfilledintheentiresurvey,with18employersreaching

theendofthesurvey.

Responsesto

questions

relating

to

IfA

membership,

DF

activities

and

union

membership

(Employee

surveyquestions1018)havenotbeenincludedwithinthisreportexceptwheretheyarerelevantto

thesubject.

Itwasintendedtopublishtheresultsofthesurveyassoonaswaspossibleafterthecompletionof

theemployersurvey,howeverworkloadandotherDFcommitmentspreventedthis.Itisnotfeltthat

thesituationhasappreciablychangedinthelastsixmonthsandtheoverallconclusionsofthereport

areconsideredtoremainvalid.InitiallyitwasintendedtopublishthesurveyresultsintheForum

Dispatch,thenewsletteroftheDiggersForum,howeveritsoonbecameclearthatthereportwould

betoolongforthisformat,andthatpublicationasapdfhostedontheIfAwebsitewasmore

suitable.

1.1Anonymity

TheEmployeesurveywasanonymous.Employeeswereaskedtospecifytheircurrentemployerin

theEmployeesurvey,andemployersnameswerefrequentlymentionedinthefreecomments,

althoughseveralrespondentsrefusedtogivetheiremployersname.Employershadtheoptionof

remaininganonymousorofoptingtobeassociatedwiththeirresultsintheEmployersurvey.Itwas

decidedthatgiventhesmallproportionofemployersthathadgivenpermissiontobenamed,(9out

of63)

it

would

not

be

appropriate

to

name

the

employers;

employers

and

employees

have

thereforebeenaffordedthesamedegreeofanonymitythroughoutthisreport.Thenamesof

currentemployershavebeentabulatedin

Figure17,howevernodatahasbeenattachedtothislistbeyondthenumberofresponding

employees

Whilstitwouldhavebeenveryusefulforemployeestobeabletocompareemployerspayand

conditions,itwasfeltthattheinformationfromthesurveywasnotnecessarilyaccurateespecially

givenconflictingaccountsofmileagerates,travelpayandconditionsatseveralcompanies.Oneof

therecommendationsofthisreportisthatanationalregisteroftermsandconditionsisestablished

toallowemployeestocompareemployersandseeexactlywhatispaidandatwhatrates.


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3

Foralistofthoseemployersthatwerepreparedtostandupandbenamed,pleaseseethe

acknowledgements.


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4

2 TheEmployeeSurveyrespondents

TheinitialquestionsoftheEmployeesurveyweredesignedtoconstructapictureofthe

respondents;thiscouldthenbeusedtotestwhetherthedatacollectedwasrepresentativeofthe

widerprofession,

or

was

skewed

in

some

way,

as

well

as

being

auseful

snapshot

of

archaeologists

at

thetimeofthesurvey.Themainsourceforinformationonthearchaeologicalprofessionisthe

seriesofpublicationsknownasProfilingtheProfession(PTP)whichhavebeenproducedbytheIfA

since1999.TheInvisibleDiggerssurvey(Everill2009)produceddataspecificallyoncommercial

archaeologistsandprovidesadditionalcomparativematerialforthisreport.

2.1 Gender

164oftheresponseswereMaleand92wereFemale,2didnotstatesex(Figure1).Thereforeof

thosewho

stated

sex

64%

were

male

and

36%

female;

this

suggests

agender

profile

of

the

respondentsthatisidenticaltotheInvisibleDiggersresultsof64.44%male,35.56%female(Everill

2009,67)andbroadlyinlinewiththeoverallratioof59%male,41%female,andof61%male,39%

femaleforFieldinvestigation&researchservicesidentifiedinProfilingtheProfession(PTP)

(AitchisonandEdwards2008,478).

Figure1Male/femaleproportionofallresponses

2.2 Age

Respondentsgaveagesbetween21and69(Figure2).Therewerenoresponsesfromanyoneaged

under 21.Tworespondents didnotstatetheirage.PTPgivestheaverageageas38(Aitchisonand

Edwards2008,48)whichisinbroadagreementwithoursample.TheInvisibleDiggersgavean

averageageof32forcommercialarchaeologists(Everill2009,67).Theproportionofmaletofemale

wasfairlyevenfortheyoungerresponses,withfemales2630outnumberingmales,howeverthe

proportionoffemalerespondentswassignificantlyloweraftertheageof32.Theagerangesofmale

andfemalerespondentsfollowscloselythegraphsshowninPTPFigs5and6(AitchisonandEdwards

2008,4950)andInvisibleDiggersFig32(Everill2009,68),howeverthereisapotentiallaginthe

dropoffinoursample,possiblycausedbyanoverrepresentationofsupervisoryemployeeswho

maystayinarchaeologylonger,orthismayhavebeencausedbytherecession.Itmayalsobethe

casethat

younger

archaeologists

are

less

likely

to

be

aware

of,

or

fill

out

surveys

than

those

who

havebeenintheprofessionlonger.

Male/femaleratio

Male

Female

Noresponse


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5

Figure2Male/femaleratioagainstageranges(agerangeinyearsonXaxis,numberofresponsesonYaxis)

2.3 Dependantchildren

Weaskedhowmanychildrenwererespondentsfinanciallyresponsiblefor (Figure3).Onlyone

respondentagedbelow30hadadependantchild.Theoverwhelmingmajorityofrespondentsdid

nothavechildren,withonly25%ofmalesand13%offemaleshavingadependantchild.

Figure3Number

of

respondents

with

dependant

children

(Y

axis)

by

age

range

(X

axis)

showing

male/female

split

Perhapssignificantlymoremalethanfemalerespondentshaddependantchildren,despitethe

64/34%gendersplit(Figure4);therearemanypossibleexplanationsandwedonothavedataon

whythismaybethecase.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

2125 2630 3135 3640 4145 4650 5155 5660 6165 6669

Male

Female

Total

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

2125 2630 3135 3640 4145 4650 5155 5660 6165 6669

Male

Female


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6

Figure4Numberofdependantchildrenbymale/femalesplit

2.4 Nationality

Theoverwhelming majorityofrespondentswereUKnationals(Figure5).Ofthe8EUnationals4

wereIrishandonewasPolish. SevenofthetennonEUrespondentswerefromnorthAmerica(USA

andCanada)andtwowereManx.Thisreflectsthe93%figureinPTPforUKarchaeologists(Aitchison

andEdwards2008,54),itwouldbeinterestingtocomparethesefigureswiththeanecdotal

evidencefornonUKnationalsworkingasarchaeologistsinmanyareasofthecountry,itisnotclear

whethertherehasbeenadeclineinnonUKnationalsworkinginarchaeologysincethe2008

recession.

Figure5Nationalityofrespondents

2.5 Residence

Ofthosewhorespondedasurprisingproportion(41%)ofrespondentswereowneroccupiers,with

thesecondmostcommonhousingtypebeingthosewholivedaloneorasacoupleinrented

accommodation(33%;Figure6).Farfewerwereinmultipleoccupanthousesorflats(12%),with8%

eitherlivingfulltimewithparentsorhavingnofixedaddress.Thismightseemtobeareflectionof

theageoftherespondentswitharelativelylownumberofresponsesfrom2125yearoldswho

maybelesslikelytohaveamortgage,howevertheyoungestowneroccupierswere25,and24

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Male Female

None

One

Two

Morethantwo

Noresponse

Nationality

UKnational

EUnational

NonEU

national


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7

respondentsaged2530wereowneroccupiers.Attheotherendofthespectrumthosewho

describedthemselvesasnofixedabode(sofasurfers)wereallintheir20sorearly30s.

Oftheowneroccupiersonly4statedthattheywereataProjectManager/Consultantlevel.Infact4

werestudents(aged30or31),4wereselfemployed,8wereSiteAssistants(althoughoneofthese

hadpreviously

been

aProject

Officer,

and

two

had

been

Supervisors),

10

were

Supervisors

(with

3

havingworkedpreviouslyasProjectOfficers), 17wereatProjectOfficergradeand17were

unemployed.Oftheunemployed7hadpreviouslyworkedasSupervisors,andoneasaProject

Officer.

Wecannotknowtheindividualcircumstancesofalltheowneroccupiers,certainlyitwouldbehard

togetamortgageonasiteassistantswagewithoutasignificantdeposit,orapartnerwhoearneda

farhigherwage.

Figure6Housingtype

2.6

Location

Thesurveyaskedforthepostcodeofrespondentsmainresidencetoallowthedatatobechecked

forgeographicalbias(Figure7).ThereisacleardistributionofresponsesacrosstheUKmainland,

withmostregionsandcentresofpopulationrepresentedassuggestedinPTPalthoughitshouldbe

notedthatweweresurveyinghomeaddresses,nottheemployersaddress(AitchisonandEdwards

2008,46).ThereisapaucityofdatafromtheSouthwest,Wales(andinparticularSouthWales),the

NorthwestandBorders,andtheHighlands,butthismaybeareflectionofpopulationdensityand

distributionofarchaeologists.Overallitisfeltthattherespondentsaregeographicallyabroadly

representativesample.

Housing

typeCohabit/singleoccupant

rentedflatorhouse

Livewithparentsfulltime

Lodger

Multipleoccupantrentedflat

orhouse

Nofixedabode(sofasurfer)

Owneroccupierflat/house

other/noresponse


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8

Figure7GeographicaldistributionofEmployeerespondents


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9

2.7 Levelofeducation

Theoverwhelmingmajorityofrespondentshadafirstdegreeorhigherqualification,ofthe18

withoutadegreeonlyonewasintheir20s,andoneintheir30s:therestwereallintheir40sor50s;

thisconfirmsthefiguresinPTP(AitchisonandEdwards2008,12)andisbroadlysimilartothe

InvisibleDiggers(Everill2009,6972).50%ofthegraduateshaddoneapostgraduatecourse,with

mosttakingaMasters(Figure8).

Whenaskedwhatwasimportantinaprospectivecandidatenoneoftheemployersstatedthata

gooddegreewasveryimportant,4feltitwasimportant,12feltitwasuseful,and7feltitwas

notimportant.Similarlywhenaskedaboutpostgraduatequalificationsnoemployersfeltthatit

wasveryimportant,2feltitwasimportant,14feltitwasuseful,and7feltitwasnotimportant.

Figure8Highestlevelofeducationachieved

2.8 Samplesize,validityandpotentialbias

TheEmployeesamplesizeof258representsapproximately4.5%ofthetotalarchaeological

professionof5827estimatedfor1stJanuary2011(http://www.archaeologists.net/news/110216

newjoblossesfigurespublished).Thismaynotbeaastatisticallysignificantproportionofthe

wholeprofession,howeverthesurveyspecificallyrelatestothosefieldarchaeologistsinthe

predominantlycommercialsectorwhichwasestimatedtobe31893225atthetimeofthesurvey,

whichgivesasamplesizeofapproximately8%ofthecommercialfieldworksector.Giventhatthe

surveylargely

relates

to

away

work

the

percentage

represented

in

our

survey

of

those

significantly

affectedbyawayworkortravelmaybehigherthanthe8%figure(excludingpredominantlyoffice

basedstaffsuchasmanagers,processors,illustratorsandspecialists).

OfcoursewemustrememberthattheIfAfiguresonlyrepresentthoseinactualemployment,

whereasoursurveywasopentothosewhowerenotcurrentlyemployed.Fromthefigures

producedduringtherecessionweknowtheapproximatenumbersofarchaeologistwhohavebeen

maderedundantsince2008,howeverwecannotaugmentthiswithafigureforthenumberof

archaeologistswhowereunemployedatanyonetime.Thenatureofthearchaeologicaljobsmarket,

withmanyarchaeologistsleavingafterashortcareer,meansthatsuchdataishardtocapture

accurately,although

it

may

be

auseful

avenue

for

future

research.

Levelofeducation

GCE/GCSE/CSE

Alevel

HND

Degree

Masters

Doctorate


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10

Thegenderratioofthesampleappearstoberelativelycomparabletothewiderprofession;

howevertheagedistributionwouldappeartohaveaslightbiasawayfromyoungerarchaeologists.

Itmaybethatthearchaeologicalworkforceisaging,possiblyduetotherecessionasnewgraduates

cannotgainemploymentandtherearelimitedopportunitiesforarchaeologiststogainnew

employmentoutsidearchaeology.Thisisunproven,althoughagainitwouldbeaninteresting

avenueforresearch.

WhenestablishingwhethertheEmployeesampleisvalidandrepresentativeanumberoffactors

havetobetakenintoaccount.Wewantasamplethatisbroadlyrepresentativeofthe

archaeologicalworkforce,howeverselfselectionwillhavebeenatplayindecidingwhoresponded

manyarchaeologistswillnothaverespondedbecausetheydonotworkawaysodidnotfeelthe

surveywasrelevanttothemeventhoughtheytraveltoworkeveryday.Thoseonawayworkmay

havelessaccesstocomputerstofilloutthesurvey,orlesstimetodoso,converselytheymay

actuallyhavemoretimewhilstawayfromhome.

Thereis

also

alimited

amount

of

recent

data

on

archaeologists

to

compare

against,

with

PTP

and

InvisibleDiggersbeingtheonlyrealsourcesofstatisticaldatathatisscientificallycollated.Thedata

fromEmployeerespondentsislargelyinlinewiththelatestProfilingtheProfession(Aitchisonand

Edwards2008)andtheInvisibleDiggersdatafrom20035(Everill2009),despitetheeffectofthe

recessioninthelastthreeyears.Thissuggeststhatthesampleisbroadlyrepresentativeofthe

makeupofthearchaeologicalprofessionasawhole.

2.9 IfAmembershipasanindicatorofcareerprogression

Someidea

of

the

respondents

career

progression

can

perhaps

be

gleaned

from

their

IfA

membershipgrade(Figure9).IntheEmployeesurvey115respondentswereIfAmembers,whilst

127respondentswerenotmembers.OftheIfAmembers16%werestudentoraffiliatemembers,

26%werePIfA,38%wereAIfA,and20%wereMIfA.Ifextrapolatedtotherestoftherespondents

thismightsuggestthatoursurveyisbiasedtothehighergradesofarchaeologist,andistherefore

notentirelyrepresentativeofSiteAssistants.HoweverSiteAssistantsareperhapslesslikelytojoin

theIfAandthiscouldbewheretheSiteAssistantsresponsesarehidden.Alookatthecurrentor

highestpreviousjobtitleofthenonIfAmemberswhorespondedsuggeststhatthesurveyisindeed

slightlybiastosupervisorypositions,with46%ofnonIfAmembershavingworkedatProjectOfficer

leveloraboveandonly17%havingonlyworkedasSiteAssistants.

IntheInvisibleDiggerssurvey116(35%)respondentswereIfAmembersand212(65%)non

members.OfIfAmembers11%werenoncorporate,27%werePIfA,32%AIfAand30%MIfA(Everill

2009,73).

Inaddition,thegraphshowingthelengthoftimespentworkingasanarchaeologist(Figure15)

clearlyshowslowerfiguresforthosewhohavenotbeenworkingasarchaeologistsforlong,

comparedtothosewhoaremoreestablishedintheircareer.

Itisthereforeclearthatthesamplemayhaveaslightbiastowardsestablishedarchaeologistsand

specificallytothoseinsupervisorylevels,withanunderrepresentationofSiteAssistantroleswithin

thesample,especiallythosebeginningtheircareers.Noattempthasbeenmadetofixthisbias,and


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11

theresultsarereportedastheyweresubmitted,althoughcommentismadewheretheresultsseem

outoflinewithassumptions.Supervisorystaffdoundertakeawaywork,anddotravelperhapsin

somecasesmorethanSiteAssistants howevertheyareperhapsmorelikelytohavepermanent

jobsandmaycarryoutadifferenttypeofawayworkthanthestereotypicalcircuitdiggermoving

fromsitetositewithnothingmorethanarucksack.Wewilltryanddeterminetherealityofmodern

archaeologicallifebycarefulinterrogationofthedatatoestablishtherealitiesfordiffering

circumstances.

Figure9IfAgradeofrespondingparticipants

TheEmployersampleislessclear,withonly24respondentsthereisanapparentdangerofskewing

ofthedatagiventhelimitednumberofparticipants.PTPgives239archaeologicalemployersin

2008,sowehaveevidencefromover10%ofthetotalemployers,representinganestimated561

employeesbytheirownfigures,or10%ofthetotalarchaeologicalworkforceattimeofsurvey.

Consideringthenumberofarchaeologistsnotdirectlyemployedinfieldworkthatwouldappearto

beagoodsamplesize.

Onthewholethesampleappearstobeapproximately8%ofcommercialarchaeologists,and10%of

employers.Whilstthereappearssomebiasagainstyoungerprofessionalsthismayactuallynotbe

thecasegiventhepotentialeffectsoftherecession.Thesampleisconsideredtobebroadly

representativeofthecurrentprofessionrelatingtotheareasofsurvey.

2.10 Changingcircumstances

Weaskedrespondentswhattheircurrentjobtitlewas,alongwithwhattheirprevioushighestjob

hadbeen,thiswasintendedasasnapshotindicatorofwhethertherecessionhadimpactedon

careers,althoughanumberofotherfactorsmaybeatplay.Ofthe79whohadworkedasProject

Officers65werestillworkingatequivalentorhighergrade;ofthe70sometimesupervisorystaff34

wereeitherworkingasSiteAssistants,orwereunemployed.

Thereappearsthereforetohavebeena farbiggerimpactonlowersupervisorylevels,withthe

higherlevel

respondents

being

able

to

either

hang

on

in

post,

or

get

anew

post

at

equivalent

grade.

ItmaybethatSupervisorgradeisonewherethereismoreoverlapwithSiteAssistantsandthere

IfAGrade

student

affiliate

Practitioner

Associate

Member


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12

mayusuallybeafairdegreemoremobilitybetweenthesetwogradesthanbetweenProjectOfficer

andSupervisor.ForSiteAssistantsthechoiceisusuallyunemploymentifalternativeemploymentat

Supervisorlevelisnotavailable:ofthe35sometimeSiteAssistants,10wereunemployed.The

LandwardResearchStateofthearchaeologicalmarketreportfortheperiodofthesurveysuggested

limitedturnoverofstaff(Aitchison2011)anditislikelythatthemainchangestopersonal

circumstancesweremadesoonaftertherecessionhit.Whateverthefactorsitisclearthatthereare

alargenumberofarchaeologistsworkingatbelowtheirformergrade,andpresumablybelowtheir

potential,iftheyareworkingatall.


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13

3 Jobsandadverts

Thesectiononjobadverts(Employeesurveyquestions89,Employersurveyquestions1826)was

intendedtotryandunderstandhowandwhereinformationonarchaeologicaljobsisaccessedand

toestablish

what

is

important

in

an

advert

for

both

the

employer

and

potential

applicants.

It

was

hopedthatwecouldsuggestbestpracticeinwhattoincludeinanadvertandtomake

recommendationsastohowtheinformationinadvertscouldbeimproved.

Ofthecompaniesthatreplied,7feltthattheymightaddmoredetailstotheiradverts,13wereopen

tothesuggestionandonlyonesaidtheywouldnotaddmoredetail.Employersmayfeelthat

additionalinformationisunnecessary;howeveritiscertainlyeasiertogetinformationintoan

advert,orontoawebsite,onceratherthanhavingstafftiedupexplainingcomplexdetailsof

contractsoverthephone.Italsoadvertisesthecompanyasbeingopenandtransparent,aswellas

hopefullygivinggoodtermsandconditionstoitsstaff.

Itisalsohopedthattheresultswillallowapplicantsaninsightintowhatemployerswantfrom

candidates,althoughthelimitedresponsefromemployersmakesthatlesspossible.

Figure10Barchartofhowrespondentsfindoutaboutjobs,bychoice

TheprimarysourceforinformationonjobsisclearlytheBAJRjobssite:220respondentsusedBAJR,

andfor159itwastheirfirstplacetolookforwork,whilst185usedoldfashionedwordofmouth

and132phonedoremailedunitslookingforwork(Figure10).127usedtheIfAJIS.85used

Facebookorotherformsofenetworkingalthoughthismaycrossoverintoemailingandwordof

mouth.OnlyonepersonmentionedTheGuardian.Inpracticemostpeopleusewhateverresources

areavailable,potentiallycheckingBAJRdaily,andtheIfAJISeveryweek;withincreasinglinks

betweenpublishedlistsandtheinternetthispatternislikelytocontinue.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th


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14

Alltheemployersbarone(whoreportednoneedtoadvertise)advertisedonBAJR,withthemajority

alsousingtheIfAJIS.Severalsaidtheywouldcontactformerstaffiftheyneededtorecruit,with

overhalfkeepingCVsonfile(foranunspecifiedlengthoftime),afewemployersreliedonwordof

mouthinadditiontoadvertising.

Generallyemployers

stated

that

it

was

easier

to

recruit

good

staff

now

than

before

the

recession

as

thelackofworkmeantthatgoodarchaeologistswereavailable.Onlyoneemployerfeltthatitwas

hardertogetgoodstaffthanbeforetherecession.Severalemployersstatedthatfindinggood

qualityfieldstaffbefore2008wasdifficultandonesaidthatin2008theyhadhiredarchaeologists

withlessexperiencethantheywouldhaveliked,althoughtheywerequicktopointoutthatthestaff

theydidhirewerestillfullyqualifiedfortheworkinhand.Manymentionedissuesofsupplyanddemandofarchaeologistswithreferencetotherecession,

somereferredtotheneedtokeepexperiencedstaffintheprofession;onecompanystatedthat

severalexperiencedstaffmembershadleftarchaeologytotakeupcompletelydifferentcareersoutsidearchaeologyastheydidnotseeitashavingafuture.

Figure11Relativeimportanceoffactorsinhiringarchaeologicalstaff,EmployersurveySeveralemployersstatedthatitwashardertorecruitgoodstaffatProjectOfficerandabove,with

ProjectManagersandspecialistssuchasgeophysicistsandsurveyors,andexperiencedfindsand

environmentalstaffalsomentionedasbeinghardtorecruitfor.

Employerswereaskedwhattheylookedforinaprospectivecandidate;therewasacleardesirefor

experiencewithrelevantpracticalexperiencelistedasveryimportantorimportantbyalltheemployers(Figure11).Academicqualificationsweregenerallyseenasuseful,ornotimportant,althoughonemaywonderifwehadspecificallyaskedthisquestionaboutSupervisorlevelstaffand

aboveifemployersmayhaveseenacademicrigourandaskillinassessingandanalysingdataand

writingclear

reports

as

more

important?

The

ubiquity

of

graduate

entrants

into

archaeology

may

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Veryimportant

Important

Useful

Notimportant


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15

haveremovedanyadvantagefromhavingagooddegree,howeverthereisnosignthatformost

jobsemployershavesettheirsightsonhigher,postgraduate,qualificationstoweedoutapplicants.

Specificskillslikedrivingwerenotseenasespeciallyimportantcomparedtobeingabletodothe

actualarchaeologicaljob.Theimportanceofreferencesandcandidatespreviousemployment

historyseem

to

back

up

the

general

requirement

for

candidates

who

know

how

to

do

the

job

already.Interestinglygiventheshorttermnatureofmanyarchaeologicalcontractstheabilityto

startworkimmediatelywasnotconsideredveryimportantbymostemployers.

Employerscommentedthatmanyjobapplicationswerepoor,withapplicantsnotreading

instructions,givinggenericcutandpasteanswersthatdidnotrelatetothespecificquestions,and

generallyusingapoorlevelofEnglishinapplications,CVsandcoveringletters. Employersalso

commentedaboutgenericapplicationsthatwerenottailoredtothespecificjoboremployer;

howeverwhilstideallyeachapplicationwouldbetailoredtothespecificcircumstanceitcannotbe

expectedthatapplicantswillrewritetheirCV,coveringletteranddetailsforevery3weekcontract.

Figure12Relativeimportanceoffactorsinchoosingjobs

Foremployeestherequirementsfromajobweredifferent,withpaybeingthemostimportant

factorinanyjob.Itishardtoknowhowmuchtherecessionhasaffectedarchaeologistsintheir

willingnesstoworkforcompaniestheywouldnothaveconsideredthreeyearsago.Thereisa

potentialforananyportinastormeffect,witharchaeologistswantinganyjobjusttokeepgoing,

nomatterwhereorwhatthepaylevels.Evenso,basicpayistheNo.1factorinwhethersomeone

willapplyforajob,withnearlyallrespondentslistingitasessentialorimportant.Lengthofcontract

wasalsoveryimportant,aswasthelocationofajob.Allthesefactorsareinextricablytiedinwith

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

essential

important

fairlyimportant

notthat

bothered

irrelevent


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16

awaywork,affectingwhetherarchaeologistsfeelitisworthwhileapplyingforajobwheretheymay

havetomove,butwherethecontractmaynotbeforverylong.

Reputationofemployerwasseenasanimportantfactorinchoosingajob,howeveritisnotclear

onwhatcriteriathisreputationisbased.Qualityofexpectedarchaeologywasrelativelyless

importantthan

other

criteria,

with

few

listing

it

as

essential

and

many

seeing

it

as

irrelevant.

3.1 Recommendationsforadvertisingarchaeologicaljobs

BasedonthesurveyresultsandDFmembersviews,TheDiggersForumbelievesthatitcanmake

severalrecommendationsastohowtobestadvertisearchaeologicaljobs.TheDFconsidersthatitis

alwaysto

an

employers

advantage

to

publicise

good

salaries

and

conditions

and

that

there

is

considerableadvantagetobehadinsplashinggoodpayandaccommodationdetailsacrossadverts.

Ifyouhavenothingtohide,donthideit,ifyoupaywellandpaydrivingandpassengertimethenbe

proudofthisanduseittoyouradvantagetogetbetterstaff.

Thejustifiableconcernaboutthecostofadvertsislargelynegatedbytheabilitytousehyperlinksto

accessdetailedbreakdownsofconditionsonacompanywebsite.Itisfarmoreefficienttogetthe

informationonaccommodationandsubsintheadvert,orlinkedtoyourwebsitewherepotential

applicantscanseeitstraightaway,ratherthanhavingtodealwithenquiriesinperson.Intodays

climateofoversupplyofaspirantarchaeologistswhenajobadvertmaygeneratehundredsof

applicantsitisevenmoresensibletosettheconditionsoutclearly.Itwillthenactasafilter,

removingtheneedtodealwithenquiriesandapplicationsfromthosewhoareunsuitableorcannot

affordtotakethework.

Manyemployersalreadydothis,andmore,howeversomedonot.Bycreatingadefaultposition

whereemployersareupfrontaboutthetruenatureandvalueofeachjobthoseemployerswhoare

bringingthestandardsdownwillnotbeabletohidebehindbriefadvertsthatonlymentiona

headlinewage.Wewouldaskeacharchaeologicalemployertopubliclysignuptothefollowing

recommendationsaboutadvertisingfornewstaffandtomakeaclearandpubliccommitmentto

opennessandtransparencyontermsandconditions.

TheDFrecommendsthatemployersconsiderprovidingthefollowinginformationinjobadverts,or

havetheinformationreadilyandclearlyaccessibleontheircompanywebsiteaccessibleviaa

hyperlinkfromtheadvert:

Givefulldetailsintheadvertofthedetailedinformationlistedbelow,unlessthereisahyperlinkto

awebsitecontainingthedetailedinformation.Basicdetailsshouldstillbegivenintheadvert.


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Detailsofthestartingsalaryavailabletoanewstarter,avoidinguseofincrementalpayrangesthatmaymake salariesappeargreaterthantheycouldbeforanewstarter.

Statewhatlevelofexperienceisrequiredforthepost.

Ifaparticularsalaryisdependantonexperiencethenstatethetypicallevelofexperience

required,and

what

the

potential

starting

salary

is.

Anyprobationaryperiod.

Detailsofsickpay,holidayentitlementandpensionprovisionincludinganyqualificationperiods.

Thelengthoftheworkingweekandwhetheranycompulsoryovertimemayberequired.

Wherethejobwillbebasedandwhetherawayworkisenvisaged.

Whetheradrivinglicenceorspecificskillscardisrequired.

Indicatewhetheraccommodationwillbeprovidedifthecontractisashorttermappointmentandwhetherthereisanychargeforthis.

Indicatewhetherthereareanysubsistenceallowancesforawayworkandhowmuchtheseareandwhentheyarepaid.

Givedetails

of

pay

for

travelling

time

for

both

drivers

and

passengers,

clearly

stating

that

traveltimeisnotpaidifthatisthecase.

Givedetailsofanydeductionsforaccommodationorequipment.

Thatdetailsofadvertisedjobsoncompanywebsitesshouldbekeptliveuntilatleasttheinterviewdates.

Givetheclosingdateclearly,andstatewhetherapplicationsshouldbereceivedbythatdate,orbytheendofthatday.

Thatemployerswillalwaysrespondtoallapplicants,orgiveacleardateafterwhichcandidatescanconsiderthemselvesunsuccessful.

Givefeedbackwhenrequestedbyunsuccessfulcandidates.

Wewouldalsoliketoremindapplicantsoftheimportanceoffollowinginstructionsonapplication

forms,writingneatlyandinclearandsuccinctEnglish,andperformingaspellcheck(forrecent

adviceseeCVsforfieldworkjobspages1012

http://www.archaeologists.net/sites/default/files/nodefiles/DFnewsletter5web.pdf)


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18

4 Youandyourjob

Questions1926coveredrespondentsjobsandemployers.Thecurrentjobtitlesofrespondentsare

showninFigure13,itisclearthatthemajorityareinsupervisorypositions,thismaybeseenasa

biasin

the

sample,

however

these

archaeologists

also

carry

out

away

work,

and

travel

to

and

from

site,sothisisnotabadthinginitself.Thebiastomoreestablishedarchaeologistshasbeen

acknowledgedandisseeninthisgraph.

Respondentswerealsoaskedabouttheirprevioushighestgradejob,ashasbeenoutlinedabove,

thosepreviouslyProjectOfficerorabovewerelikelytostillbeinthatrole,whereasthosepreviously

insupervisorypositionswereoftennowworkingasSiteAssistants,forSiteAssistantsthechoicewas

generallyunemployment(seealsoSection2.10Changingcircumstancesabove).

Figure13Currentpositionofrespondents

4.1 Salary

Thesalariesofrespondentswerecollated,howeverthecomplexityoftheresponsesandthe

variabilityofthestatedsalariesmeantthatthedatacouldnotbeeasilytabulated. Thismaybedue

toindividualrespondentshavingaccruedavariablenumberofincrements,andavariable

knowledgeoftheheadlinevalueofeachsalary.Unfortunatelygiventhelownumbersofemployers

thatrespondedtothesurveywecouldnotusedefinitivedatafromemployerstocorrelatethe

employeedata.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80Current

position

Currentposition


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19

4.2 Averagewages

DatacollectedbytheDFandIfAinAutumn2011inadvanceofIfACouncildiscussionsonIfApay

minimasuggestsarangeofexistingsalariesforsiteworkers.Mostsalariesappeartobeslightly

abovethe

IfA

minima

with

many

following

the

BAJR

minima

which

use

adifferent

grading

system

to

theIfA.ThesalariesinFigure14arederivedfromboththeemployeeandemployersurveyandfrom

archaeologicalpositionsadvertisedduringthesurveyperiod.Duetothenatureofthedatatherehas

beennoattempttocalculateaveragewagesandthesalariesgivenarepurelyindicativeofa

potentiallynonrepresentativerangeofsalaries.

FollowingtheCouncildiscussionstheIfAminimawillberaisedby5.2%fromApril2012,andtheIfA

hasastatedaimofincreasingminimaby13%.

BAJRGrade/IfAgrade Salaryrange()

AssistantsPIfA 15,444

PIfA

15,44416,830

G24 15,50016,500with363.20LW

G24 15,50016,500with363.20LW

PIfA 15,700

G2/3 15,704.64 16,762.26

PIfA 15,72516,830

PIfA 15,736 16,436

PIfAassistants 15,849 16,959

G2G3;PIfA 15,849 19,273

SiteAssistants.BAJRG2G3 15,97217,000

PIfA 16,000+

G2G3;PIfA;Archaeologist 16,051 17,117

G2G3;PIFA;Archaeologist 16,051 17,117

PIfA

16,054

PIfA 16,53119,347

PIfA 16,83518,737

PIfA 16,23217,372

ProjectassistantPIfA 16,482 17,622

G36Projectofficer(postex) 16,762.26 23,685.72

BAJRG2G3; PIfA;Archaeologist 17,111

PIfA 17,161

G3 17,179 19,261

AIfAsupervisors 17,294 19,273

grade2siteassistants 17,309

G2G3;PIfA 17,367

G2/3 17,367 18,700plus220clothing

G3;PIfAAIfAFieldworker 17,399

Supervisors 17,633 19,258

SupervisorsAIfA 17,802.00 21,519.00

AssistantprojectofficerAIfA 17,964 19,993

Officerandsupervisors,Grades45 18,292 20,914

G2G3;PIfA;Archaeologist 18,800

ProjectOfficers 20,072 24,173

AIfA 20,199

G45;AIfAGeomatician 23,724

Figure14Salariesforfieldstaffbygrade


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20

4.3 Lengthofservice

Lengthofserviceinarchaeologyechoesthepotentialsamplebiastoestablishedarchaeologists,with

fewrespondentshavingservedbelow2years(Figure15).Thismayinfactbeaproductofthe

recession,withnewgraduatesfailingtogetjobsinasuddenlycompetitivemarket,however

previousresearchindicatesahighrateofattritioninthefirstfewyearsofanarchaeologicalcareer

(Everill2009,71)andtheexpectedgraphwouldshowahighernumberofnewarchaeologists,

beforetailingoffrapidlyafter56yearsasseeninoursample.Itcouldbeextremelyinterestingto

lookintothecareerlifespanofarchaeologicalfieldworkersingreaterdetail.

Thetrueimpactoftherecessiononarchaeologicalcareersremainstobeseen,itmaybefurther

affectedbyrecentdevelopmentsincludingincreasingtuitionfees.

Figure15Lengthofcareerincommercialarchaeologyinyears(Xaxis)bynumberofrespondents(Yaxis)

4.4 Freelancer/employee

90%ofrespondentswereemployees,althoughalimitednumberstatedthattheyworkedas

freelancersor

as

either

(Figure

16).

There

has

been

an

anecdotal

rise

in

the

number

of

freelance

site

archaeologistsoverthelastfewyearsalthoughthishasnotbeenseeninPTP,itwouldbeinteresting

toseeclearevidencetobackthisassumptionandhowthistrenddevelopsinthefuture.

Anecdotallytherearegreaternumbersoffreelancesiteworkersoperatingincertaingeographical

areas,mainlyduetothepresenceoforganisationsemployingthem.Unfortunatelyitwasnot

possibletomapwherefreelancersworkgeographicallyastheydidnotstatetowhomtheywere

contracted.Selfemployedfieldarchaeologistswouldbeausefulareaforfutureresearch.

0

5

10

15

20

25

0 0.5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 40

Lengthinyears


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21

Figure16Proportionsofrespondentsworkingasemployees,freelance,oreither

4.5 Currentemployer

Employeesurveyrespondentswereaskedtonametheircurrentemployer(

Figure17).63separateemployerswerenamedintheemployeesurveyaccountingfor161individual

respondents.Inalimitednumber(10)ofcasesthiswasrefused,thiswassometimesexplainedas

beingbecausetheemployerwasasmallcompanyandtherewassomefearofbeingidentified.

Thelargestcohortofemployeeswas25(atOxfordArchaeology),whilst39employerswere

representedbyonlyoneemployee.

Therange

of

employers

was

very

wide,

representing

awide

spectrum

of

archaeological

employers

withroughlyathirdofemployersbeingcommercialunits,andathirdbeinglocalauthorityunits

(Figure18).Interestingly22respondentswerenotsurewhattypeofemployertheirswas,withmost

confusionoverthestatusofcharitabletrustsanduniversityandlocalauthorityunits.Several

respondentsbelievedthatbothMoLAandOxfordArchaeologywereLocalAuthorityunits.Thereisa

roughcorrelationbetweenthenumberofrespondentsandthesizeoforganisation,butgiventhe

largenumberoforganisationswithonlyonerespondingemployeethisquicklybreaksdown.

Employmentstatus

Employeeonly

Either

Freelance


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22

Figure17NumberofrespondentsinEmployeesurveybyemployer

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

GlamorganGwentArchaeological Trust

FarrimondandMacManus

EnglishHeritage

CranfieldUniversity

CFAArchaeology

CamARC

CAA

ASWYAS

Archaeological Solutions

APS

AMEC

Alderarchaeology

ADS

ACArchaeology

TVAS

Trent&Peak

SuffolkCountyCouncil

RathmellArchaeology

PCA(Lincoln)

NorthPenninesArchaeology

NetworkArchaeology

FoundationsArchaeology

CanterburyArchaeological Unit

ASC

JohnMooreHeritageServices

HeadlandArchaeology

AlbionArchaeology

NorthamptonshireArchaeology

CambridgeArchaeological Unit

CotswoldArchaeology

WessexArchaeology

AOCArchaeology

ArchaeologySouthEast

MOLA

OxfordArchaeology

Employers


33/103

23

(Figure17cont.)

TwentyfourEmployersrespondedtotheEmployersurvey.TheEmployersampleisremarkably

similartothatfromtheEmployeesurvey,withtheadditionofoneSoleTraderorganisation(Figure

19).21oftheEmployersurveyrespondentswereRegisteredOrganisationswiththeIfA,14were

membersofFAME,and22ofthe24organisationswereheadedbyaMIfA.

Again,therewasoftenunderstandableconfusionoverthesizeoftheirorganisationamongst

employees;oftenthismayhavebeencausedbyaunithavingseveraloffices,orjustbyemployees

notbeingsureexactlyhowmanycolleaguestheyhad.Clearlyhowevermostpeopleworkedforthe

largerunitswithnearlyhalftherespondentsbelievingtheiremployerhadover50employees(Figure

20).Itisprobablethatforsmallunitsemployeesarelikelytohaveabetterideaofthenumberof

employees,howeverthismaynotbethecase.Withtheverylargestunitshavingnearly300

employeesatbusytimes,itisclearthattheselargerunitscanmakeupaverysignificantproportion

ofsitearchaeologistsacrossthecountry.

TheEmployersurveyprovidedaccurateinformationonemployeenumbers,butunfortunatelydid

notcontainanyoftheverylargeunits.Theemployersrepresenteddidhowevercontainarangeof

sizesofworkforce,from70to11employees(Figure21).

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Yorkshire

musuem

trust

YorkArchaeological Trust

Worcestershire CountyCouncil

URSScottWilson

UniversityofYork

UniversityofWales,Bangor

TWMArchaeology

SurreyCountyCouncil

StokeonTrentArchaeologySouth

West

Archaeology

Ltd.

SLRConsulting

OrkneyCollege

ORCA

OnSiteArchaeology

NPSPropertyConsultants

NationalmuseumofScotland

LincolnshireCountyCouncil

KentCountyCouncil

KentArchaeological

Projects

GuardArchaeologyLtd.

GreenlaneArchaeologyLtd

GloucestershireCountyCouncil


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Figure18Typeoforganisation Employeesurvey

Figure19Typeoforganisation Employersurvey

Typeoforganisation

EmployeeSurveyCharitable

Trust

Commercia

lCompany

Local

Authority

University

Unit

Typeoforganisation

Employersurvey CharitableTrust

Commercial

Company

Local

Authority

University

UnitSoleTrader


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25

Figure20SizeoforganisationEmployeedata

Figure21SizeoforganisationEmployerdata

SizeoforganisationEmployee

data

Verylargeunit(>100

staff)

Largeunit(5099)

Mediumunit(2049)

Smallunit(119)

SizeoforganisationEmployer

data

Verylargeunit(>100

staff)

Largeunit(5099)

Mediumunit(2049)

Smallunit(119)


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26

5 Awaywork

Thepracticeofworkingawayfromhomehasbeenwidespreadformanyyearsinthearchaeological

professionandTheCircuitisapartofourcombinedarchaeologicalheritageandmythology,yet

thereappears

to

have

never

been

any

attempt

to

measure

the

nature

or

effects

of

this

work.

The

DF

surveyswerespecificallydesignedtocaptureinformationtoallowthecurrentsituationtobe

assessedindetailforthefirsttime.Bothemployeesandemployerswereaskeddetailedquestions

aboutawayworkandtravel,andhowitaffectsthemandtheirorganisations.

Awayworkisdefinedforthissurveyasworkwhichtakesyouawayfromyourmainresidencefora

night,itmaythereforeincludeoccasionalnightsawayfromhomeforanevaluation,aweekortwo

workingonasiteawayfromthehomebase,orseveralweeksorevenmonthsworkingawayfrom

homeandstayinginaccommodationthatmayormaynotbeprovidedbytheemployer. Awaywork

isusuallydefinedassuchbytheemployer,whoprovidesaccommodationforemployeesusually.

Workerstaken

on

for

aspecific

job

may

not

be

given

accommodation,

and

it

is

these

differences

in

treatmentthathavecausedfrictioninthepastbetweenemployersandemployees,andbetween

employeesthemselves.

Figure22LocationofworkundertakenbyEmployeerespondents

Oftheemployeesjustoveraquarterneverspentanysignificanttimeattheoffice,withjustunder

50%spendingmosttimeintheoffice(Figure22).Therelativelyhighproportionofsupervisory

respondentsprobablyaddstothenumbersspendingsometimeintheofficewritingreportsand

processingdata.Only4%ofrespondentsneverworkedinthefield.Thesampleisthereforealmost

entirelyfieldworkerswhospendavariableamountoftimeonsiteinsomecasestheoccasional

hourorday,inothercasesmostoftheyear.

5.1 Proportionofrespondentswhoworkaway

Ofthe

employees

166

respondents

worked

away

for

their

employer

at

some

time.

5of

these

were

in

officeonlypostssoarenotregardedasfieldstaff,and33weremostlyofficebased(Figure23).

Locationofwork Fieldbased,withofficetimeforwritingreports,

processingdataetc

Fieldonly:onlygetinside

forfindswashingor

similar

Mostlyofficebasedbut

somefieldwork,lessthan

25%fieldworkoverayear

Officeonly


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Figure23Comparisonoflocationofworkundertakenbyawayworkersandnonawayworkers

45respondentshadneverworkedawayfortheiremployer,ofthese12wereinofficeonlyormostly

officeposts.Itisperhapsnotsurprisingthatinasurveyofawayworkthereshouldbeamajorityof

responsesfrom

those

who

work

away.

17ofouremployerrespondentssaidthattheirstaffworkedaway.Ofthese12estimatedthatthe

proportionofawayworkwaslessthan10%ofemployeeswork,2saiditwaslessthan

approximately20%,with2sayingitwasbetween50and60%.Oneemployerstatedthat100%of

theirexcavationworkwasawaywork.

5.2 Drivinglicence

Possessionofadrivinglicenceispotentiallyimportantforanystaffwhomaybeworkingaway.42

respondentshad

no

driving

licence,

whilst

173

had

alicence

(Figure

24).

Amongst

the

31

who

had

no

licenceandworkedonsiteformostoftheyeartherewasawidespreadofrolesandemployers:15

beingatSiteAssistantgrade,and16atSupervisororProjectOfficer.Itappearsthatnothavinga

drivinglicenceisnotaninsuperablebarriertoprogression;howeverthiscandependonemployer,

andlocation.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Fieldonly:only

getinsidefor

findswashing

or

similar

Fieldbased,with

officetimefor

writingreports,

processingdata

etc

Mostlyoffice

basedbutsome

fieldwork,less

than25%

fieldworkovera

year

Officeonly

Nonawayworkers

Awayworkers


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Figure24ProportionofEmployeerespondentswithDrivinglicences

Questionsonaccommodation,subsandexpenseswereonlyaskedofthoserespondentswho

answeredYEStowhethertheyworkedaway.

5.3 Workingawayfromhome

Employeeswereaskedhowmanynightstheyhadspentawayoverthelast12monthperiod(Figure

25).Theanswersmaybeslightlyapproximatedbutgiveanideaofthefrequencyanddurationof

awaywork.

Itisclearthatinoursamplethelargestnumberofsitestaffworkawayforlessthanonemonthof

theyearintotal,therearestillthoughasignificantnumberofrespondentswhoworkawayforover

Figure25Numberofnightsspentawayfromhomeoverthelast12months,bynumberofrespondents(noteskewedX

axis)

halftheyear,with17%workingawayforover120nights.Fiverespondentsclaimedtobeawayfrom

homeall

year,

although

it

is

not

clear

whether

this

is

includes

holidays

and

again,

may

be

an

approximation.

Drivinglicence

Drivinglicence

Nodriving

licence

0

5

10

15

20

25

0

15nights

610nights

11

15nights

16

20nights

21

25nights

26

30nights

31

35nights

36

40nights

41

45nights

46

50nights

51

55nights

56

60nights

61

65nights

66

70nights

71

75nights

76

80nights

81

85nights

86

90nights

91

95nights

96

100nights

101

105nights

106

110nights

111

115nights

116

120nights

121

125nights

126

130nights

131

160nights

161

200nights

201

250nights

251

300nights

301

365nights

Numberofrespondents


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Employeeswereaskedhowmanynightstheyhadspentawayoverthelast12monthperiod(Figure

25).Theanswersmaybeslightlyapproximatedbutgiveanideaofthefrequencyanddurationof

awaywork.

Itisclearthatinoursamplethelargestnumberofsitestaffworkawayforlessthanonemonthof

theyear

in

total,

there

are

still

though

asignificant

number

of

respondents

who

work

away

for

over

halftheyear,with17%workingawayforover120nights.Fiverespondentsclaimedtobeawayfrom

homeallyear,althoughitisnotclearwhetherthisisincludesholidaysandagain,maybean

approximation.

Thelongestdurationofanindividualstintofawayworkwasallyear,althoughagainthisdidnot

seemtoaccountforholidays,54%ofawayworkwasinlengthsoflessthanamonth(noteskewed

scaleonFigure26)andthemajoritylessthan4months,althoughseveralstintsofshorterlength

mayhavebeenworkedwithshortbreaksinbetween.

Thereare

again

anumber

of

employees

who

spent

over

4months

away

at

astretch

with

over

11%

havinghadastintofawayworkofover6months.Unfortunatelythedataforthosewhostayed

awayatweekendsaswellasduringtheweekwasnotclearenoughtointerpretandhasbeen

excluded,althoughitwasclearthatmanystaffdostayawayfromhomeatweekends,althoughfor

otherstheweeklycommuteisasetpartoftheirlife.

Itisclearthatformostrespondentsawayworkwasanoccasionalpresenceintheirworkinglives,

withthemajoritynotworkingawayformorethan2monthsatatime,howeverthereisasignificant

numberforwhomawayworkisthenormratherthantheexception,andasmallnumberwhomay

alwaysbeworkingawayfromhome,orhavenohomeatall.

Figure26Longestcontinuousawaystretchoverlast12months,inweeks(noteskewedXaxis)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

less

than

one

week

1week 24

weeks

58

weeks

912

weeks

1316

weeks

1720

weeks

2124

weeks

2528

weeks

2932

weeks

3336

weeks

3740

weeks

4144

weeks

4548

weeks

4952

weeks

Longestcontinuousawaystretch,inweeks


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RespondentswerethenaskedthequestionHowreasonabledoyoufeelyourCURRENTemployeris

whenconsideringwhotosendonawayjobs?Forexampledoesyouremployertakeanyfactorsinto

considerationwhenselectingstaffforawayjobssuchasfamilycommitmentsorwhereyoulive?Is

thererotationofstaffforawayjobs?

Perhapssurprisingly

only

3%

of

respondents

felt

their

employers

were

completely

unreasonable

andonly7%feltthattheiremployerwasunreasonable(Figure27).60%ofrespondentsthought

theiremployerwaseitherreasonableorveryreasonable.

Commentsonawayworkhowevershowedthattherewereundercurrentsofdiscontent;certain

themeswereclear,andwillbefamiliartoanyonewhohasworkedinarchaeologyforlong.Many

commentscentredonalackofflexibilityinemployersandanassumptionthatsitestaffshouldbe

abletodropeverythingtogetsentawayatshortnotice.Alackofnoticewasalsocited:

Manytimestheyknowawayjobsaregoingahead,butdonottellyouuntilthelastminuteona

Friday.If

you

[say]

well

in

advance

[that]

you

can

not

work

away

they

get

annoyed

with

you.

They

putyoudownforanawayjobevenifyoutellthemmonthsaheadthatyouhavethingsplanned. The

deploymentmanagersviewisthatyouhavenopersonallife,andthatarchaeologyislifestylechoice

notacareer.Othercommentsinclude'Imnotyourpersonalsecretary'

Yougowhereyouaretoldoryourcontractisnotextended.

"Youdon'thavealifeoutsideofarchaeology"

"Archaeologyisalifestylechoice,notajob"

Severalrespondents

commented

that

it

was

very

hard

to

attend

evening

courses

or

develop

professionallyiftheywereworkingaway,andtherewasageneralfeelingthatworkingawayhadan

impactonpersonalrelationships.

Figure27DoyoufeelthateveryoneatyourCURRENTemployeristreatedthesamewithregardtoawaywork?

Severalemployeesnotedthatforsomeawayworkwasbeneficial,andforsomeitwasfinancially

desirable,especiallyforthosewithnohomeaddress:OnmywagesIcannotaffordnottowork

away.

Employer'sconsiderationcompletely

unreasonable

unreasonable

neitheronenor

other

reasonable

veryreasonable


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Employersclaimedthattheytookvariousfactorsintoaccountwhenselectingstaffforawaywork,

theseincludedchildcareandfamilycommitments,butalsoskilllevels,availabilityandtheamount

ofawayworkalreadydone.

Allourstaffareexpectedtoworkaway.Staffwithchildcarecommitments(orsimilar)willhave

thosecommitments

taken

into

consideration

but

there

is

ageneral

expectation

that

staff

will

find

a

waytoensuretheycanbeavailabletoworkawayifrequired.

Oneemployeecommented:ProjectManagersattempttoensurea'fair'distributionof

inconvenience.Twoemployershadarotationsystemforawaywork,othersfeltitwasnotneeded

astheydidsolittleawaywork.

Someemployerskeptarecordoftheamountofawaywork,althoughhowthisimpactedon

selectionwasunclear;twoemployersconsidereditmaybeworthwhiletomonitortheamountof

awayworkemployeescarriedout.

Staffweregivenvariableamountsofnoticeforawaywork,somewerehiredspecificallyforaway

jobs,sowillhaveknownthattheyweregoingtobeworkingaway,howeverforthosealready

employedtherewasawidevariationinnotice.Employersstatedthattheylikedtogiveasmuch

noticeaspossible,butthatsomejobscameupatshortnotice,especiallyshortdurationjobsand

theremightbeonlyafewdayswarning.Mostemployersfeltthattwoweekswasreasonableexcept

inurgentcircumstances.Oneemployeesuggestedarotationsystemforthoselastminuteawayjobs:

Thereshouldbearotationsystem especiallyforthosejobswhereyourtoldyourgoingawaythe

afternoonbeforehand... Thereisnoconsiderationofanyafterworkplans youshouldn'thavetolet

youremployerknowwhatyoureveningplansareweeksinadvancejustsoyoucanensureyoumight

notbeawaythatday.Atleastifyouknewwhatweeksyouwere'on',youcouldplanaroundthat...

Aroughlyequalnumberofemployeesfeltthateveryonewastreatedthesameasdisagreedwith

thisstatement(Figure28).

Figure28Treatmentofstaffinselectionforawaywork

Theeffectofawayworkonthosewithdependantsisanareathatwasnotedbybothemployersand

employees.Inrealityweneverseemtohavetoinsistonstayawaysifpeoplecan'tmanageit

althoughwouldtrytospreadthisaround.Thesortofareasthatcreatetensionsare,forexample,

Iseveryonetreatedthesame?

Yes

No


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32

withparentswithyoungchildren.Weareverymindfulthatrestrictivetravelagreementscancause

discontentamongstotherstaffwhohavetocover.

Thereweresomewhofeltthatthosewithchildrenwerefavouredbynothavingtogoondistant

jobsPeoplewithkidsarefavoured they'reneveraskedtoworkaway,howevermanysaidtheyfelt

thatthis

was

reasonable

behaviour:

Kids

are

viewed

as

more

important

than

any

other

commitmentswemighthave,possiblyrightly.

Evidenceforfrictionbetweenemployeeswasevidentatalowlevel.Therewereoccasional

commentsthatcertainstaffmembersneverseemedtohavetoworkaway,whereaseveryoneelse

did;othersresentedawaystaffgettingsubswhentheyweredoingworknearthehomeoffice.

Olderstaffwereperceivedasgettingpreferentialtreatment,ornewstaffalwaysgotsentawayat

shortnoticeTheusualsuspectsaretreatedfairly.Otheremployeesdisagreedthattherewasany

favouritismThereisnofavouritism(ifthatswhatyoumean).

Therewas

also

perceived

differentiation

between

different

grades

of

staff:

SupervisorsandProjectofficersgetlesschoicesandlesspossibilitytoswapstayawaysthenlower

levelsofstaff

Therewasconcernthattheabilitytodropeverythinganddoawayjobswasamajorpartinselecting

forredundancies.Noneoftheemployersacknowledgedthis;howeverredundancyscoringcriteria

dosometimesincludedeployability.

5.3

GuidelinesTenemployersfeltthattheyprovidedclearguidelineswhichwerereadilyavailable,with5stating

thatitisdecidedonacasebycasebasiswithconsultationofstaff.Therewasasuggestionthatthis

consultationdidchangewhetherworkwasawaystayornotonatleastsomeoccasions.

Figure29Guidelinesonawaywork

Oftheemployees15%didntknowwhethertherewereclearguidelinesonawaywork,20%thought

thattherewerenoguidelinesdecisionsfeltcompletelyrandomtothem,20%feltthattherewere

GuidelinesonawayworkYes,thereareclearguidelines

althoughthereissomeflexibility

asyouwouldexpect

Thereareguidelinesbuttheyare

notkeptto

Idon't

know

Therearenoguidelines itseems

completelyrandom!


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guidelines,buttheywerenotkeptto(Figure29).46%oftheemployeesknewthattherewereclear

guidelines,albeitwithsomeroomforflexibility.Therewasconcernthatconditionshadbeencutto

savemoney,possiblyduetotherecession:

Itvariesfromjobtojobhowmuchtravelisacceptablee.g.XXXXXtoXXXXXstartedwithB/Bin2009

thenthis

option

was

cut

to

reduce

costs

Thedefinitionofwhatconstitutedanawayjobforemployerswasmostlybasedondrivingtimeto

thesite,withanacknowledgmentoftheHealthandSafetyimplicationsoflongdrives.Forthose

withasetpolicytherewasatriggerof11.5hoursdrivingbeforeajobwasclassedasanawaystay,

howevertherewasanacknowledgementthatthiscouldbeadjustedonacasebycasebasis(Figure

30).Onlyoneemployerhada2hourlimit,andthiswasbasedona2hour/60milelimitwhichwas

assessedattenderstage.

Theemployeesperceptionoftheguidelineswasthatanyformallimitwasusuallybetweenanhour

andan

hour

and

ahalf

from

the

office

but

this

limit

was

often

stretched

to

suit

both

the

company,

andtheteamspersonalpreferences.Employeesacknowledgedthatforshortjobsitwasoftennot

worthstayingawayforoneortwonights,althoughothersappreciatedtheextrasubsistence

payments.

It'sabitliketheBritishconstitution;there'snothingwrittendown,buteverybodyhasafairlygood

ideaofwhat'sacceptable.

Severalemployeesfeltthattherecessionorwidercostconsciousnesshadimpactedonwhetherjobs

wereclassedasawayjobsornot:

Therules

regarding

this

have

gone

out

the

window

in

the

last

24

months.

Anything

over

an

hour

fromtheofficewasanawayjob.Weareexpectedtotravelfortenhoursintotaloveraweekbefore

itisconsideredpartofourworkingweek.Thenwearerequiredtoworkahalfhouradayunpaidas

'reasonableovertime',soanother2.5hours.Onlythendowegetpaidforovertime.Theovertime

rateinourcontractsispaidattimeandahalf.Inrealityweonlygetpaidattime.

Awayworkismeanttobeoveranhourawayfromtheoffice howevertypeofroads,different

vehicles(e.g.lowerspeedlimitforvans)andtimeoftravelarenottakenintoconsideration.Alsothe

ruleisoftenbrokenduetocost.Onalongjob,especiallyoneatoroverthehourlimitthefatigueof

driving whichnormallyfallstothemostseniorarchaeologistiscumulativeandpotentially

dangerous.As

the

drivers

are

normally

the

supervisors

and

POs

they

get

no

time

to

recover

because

assoonastheyarriveonsitetheyneedtobedirectingthework.

Employersdidnothavealimitonhowearlystaffcouldsetoffonlongjourneystosite,howevertwo

employersmentionedthattheywouldnotwanttoseestaffleavingbefore7amonaregularbasis

withonestatingthatstaffshouldnotreallyleavebefore6.30am.Employeesreportedthatthey

oftenlefttheofficebefore7amandsomecompanieshadrulesthat6amwastheearliestacceptable

startbutsomesiteshadrequiredanearlierstart. Severalemployeessaidthatiftheyhadalong

journeytheywouldsetofflaterandmakeupthetimeovertheweek,settingoffearlyontheFriday.

Thisislesspossibleinwintermonths.


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Thereisclearlyadiscrepancybetweenhowawayworkfeelstoemployeesandhowemployers

considerit.Theemployersnearlyallstatedthattheylikedtogiveasmuchnoticeandtakeindividual

circumstancesintoaccount,fortheemployeeshoweverwhilsttherewasanacknowledgementthat

itwasadifficulttasktokeepeveryonehappy,therewasafeelingthatawayworkwashavinga

negativeeffectontheirlives.Thereappearstobeaperceptionthatemployerssawemployeesas

beingavailable24/7andthatanylifebeyondworkhadtobeputonholdwhilstworkingasan

archaeologist.Thereisclearacknowledgementthatthereneedstobeawayworktoensure

continuousemployment,andtherewasaclearacceptancethathoweverannoying,itwasa

fundamentalpartofthejob;howeverthelengthofnoticeandtheassumptionthatother

engagementscouldalwaysbedroppedrankleswithmany.Therespondentsdonotappeartobe

overlyunreasonableintheirviewsofferingthattheyfeltmostemployerswerereasonable butthe

longtermeffectsofawayworkcanbeseeninmanyoftheircomments.Theuseofflexibilitytodo

awayworkasameasureinredundancyprocessesclearlymadeafewemployeesworried.

Figure30Lengthofdrive(hours)totriggerawaystay(Employersurvey)

Forthosewholiveadistanceawayfromthehomeofficethereisanadditionalconcernthatwhen

thereisnoawaywork(withaccommodation)andstaffhavetoworkoutofthehomeofficethere

aredifficultiesinfindingsomewheretostay,orhavingtocommutelongdistances.Thenatureof

archaeologicalcontractstendstoforcearchaeologistsintotakingjobsthatarelocaltothem,are

withinafeasible

commute,

or

which

IfA Diggers' Forum Away Survey

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Transcript of IfA Diggers' Forum Away Survey