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National reference metadata Information message

United Kingdom

Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.

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Structure of earnings survey 2010 (earn_ses2010)

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National Reference Metadata in ESS Standard for Quality Reports Structure (ESQRS)

Compiling agency: Office for National Statistics

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Short metadata
Full metadata

[Not requested]

Not Applicable

Not available.
New concept added with the migration to SIMS 2.0.
Information (content) will be available after the next collection.

Not available.
New concept added with the migration to SIMS 2.0.
Information (content) will be available after the next collection.

Not available.
New concept added with the migration to SIMS 2.0.
Information (content) will be available after the next collection.

Not available.
New concept added with the migration to SIMS 2.0.
Information (content) will be available after the next collection.

Not Applicable

[Not requested]

Not Applicable

[Not requested]

ASHE is based on a 1% sample of employee jobs from the UK PAYE (Pay As You Earn) tax register held by HM Revenue and Customs. All employees with National Insurance numbers ending in a particular pair of digits are selected and questionnaires are sent to their employers. This method gives a random 1% sample of the frame population to be selected, across businesses in all industries and of all sizes. Since National Insurance numbers are allocated randomly to individuals, the basis of ASHE sampling is probability sampling. However, the same pair of digits for National Insurance numbers is chosen each year to allow continuity in the data and enable comparisons of earnings year on year.

Not Applicable

The reference month used for the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, that the SES 2010 is based on, is April 2011. ASHE and its predecessor, the New Earnings Survey, have been conducted in April of each year since 1975. The April 2011 survey was chosen rather than April 2010 for SES 2010 because data collected for the tax year ending in April 2011 would result in annual data with nine months of relevant coverage.

As far as possible the definitions used in the UK SES meet those specified in the Eurostat regulations and hence will be broadly comparable to other European member states. Any deviations from the definitions have been described elsewhere in this report.

The only significant change since the 2006 SES was the move, in 2011, to the Standard Occupational Classification 2010 (SOC 2010), which replaced the Standard Occupational Classification 2000 (SOC 2000). This affected the calibration weights for individual ASHE records. At UK level, the difference between the SOC 2000 estimate and the SOC 2010 estimate for full-time median gross weekly earnings in 2011 was 0.5%.