DiggersForumreportonawayworkandtravelinUKcommercial archaeology,2011

ChizHarward,MaryNealeandSadieWatson PublishedbytheInstituteofFieldArchaeologists CopyrighttheDiggersForum,InstituteofFieldArchaeologists2012 InstituteofFieldArchaeologists,SHES,Whiteknights,UniversityofReading, POBox227,Reading,RG66AB TherightsofChizHarward,MaryNealeandSadieWatsontobeidentifiedastheauthorsofthiswork havebeenassertedinaccordancewiththeCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988.

Summary
ThisreportoutlinestheresultsoftherecentDiggersForumsurveysonworkrelatedtraveland awayworkinUKcommercialarchaeology.Twocomprehensiveanonymousinternetsurveyswere carriedoutduring2011,thefirstgatheredinformationfromover250employees,whilstasecond surveytargetedarchaeologicalemployers.Theresultantsamplerepresentsapproximately8%of workingarchaeologicalsitestaffatthetimeofsurvey,andapproximately10%oftheemployers.The employeesampleappearstobeinlinewithlatestfiguresonthemakeupoftheprofession,although itispossiblethatapotentialbiastoolderrespondentsisrelatedtotherecessionrestrictingaccess tonewentrants(Section2.8). Theresultsofthesurveyaregivenanddiscussedindetailwithinthereport.Theprofileofthe respondentsisanalysedinSection2.Section3looksatadvertisingofarchaeologicaljobs:where employeeslookforwork,andwhatisimportanttothem,andtoemployers,thisinformationwas usedtocreateasetofrecommendationsonadvertisingarchaeologicaljobs. Section4considersthecurrentjobsoftherespondentsandthetypesofemployersforwhomthey work.AwayworkisanalysedinSection5,withdetailedfiguresonthenumberofnightsspentaway fromhomeconsideredalongsidetheviewsofemployeesandemployers.Thenature,typeand provisionofaccommodationisconsideredinSection6,withsubsistencepaymentscoveredin Section7.Section8givesadetailedbreakdownofthetraveldonebyarchaeologistsbothnormal commutingandworkrelatedtravel.Section9coversworkinghours,boththebasiccontractual hoursandtheextratravelhoursthatstaffareexpectedtowork.Thissectionalsocoversthevarious levelsofremunerationfortraveltime.Theviewsoftherespondentsontravelandawayworkare highlightedinSection10,withtheeffectofawayworkonfinancial,professionalandpersonallife 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:

Detailsofthestartingsalaryavailabletoanewstarter,avoidinguseofincrementalpay rangesthatmaymakesalariesappeargreaterthantheycouldbeforanewstarter. Statewhatlevelofexperienceisrequiredforthepost. Anyprobationaryperiod. Detailsofsickpay,holidayentitlementandpensionprovisionincludinganyqualification periods. Thelengthoftheworkingweekandwhetheranycompulsoryovertimemayberequired. Wherethejobwillbebasedandwhetherawayworkisenvisaged. Whetheradrivinglicenceorspecificskillscardisrequired. Indicatewhetheraccommodationwillbeprovidedifthecontractisashortterm appointmentandwhetherthereisanychargeforthis. Indicatewhetherthereareanysubsistenceallowancesforawayworkandhowmuchthese areandwhentheyarepaid. Givedetailsofpayfortravellingtimeforbothdriversandpassengers,clearlystatingthat traveltimeisnotpaidifthatisthecase.

Thesecondsetofrecommendationsoutlinestheareasinrelationtotravelandawayworkwhere theDiggersForumfeelsthatimprovementscanbemade(Section13).Thebasicprincipleisthatyou shouldbepaidforthehoursthatyouwork.Noneoftheemployersstatedthattheirwagescovered atravelcomponent,andnoneofthewagesweresufficientlyhightocoverthecostsoftravellingas partofthesalary.Therearemanycomplexanddifferingwaysofpayingstafffortravel,andtheDF acknowledgethatitwillbedifficulttoharmoniseallaspects.Howeveritdoeshopethatall employerswillworktowardsthespiritoftherecommendations.Theprincipalrecommendations include: Alltraveltimeoutsideofcorehoursshouldbepaidtoallstaff,ortheequivalentTOIL accrued:thisshouldbepaidtoalldriversandpassengers.Staffshouldbepaidfortheir hours. AlldrivingandpassengertimeonSaturdaysshouldbepaidinfullattimeandahalf,or theequivalentTOILaccrued;alldrivingandpassengertimeonSundaysshouldbepaidin fullatdoubletimeortheequivalentTOILaccrued. Mileageshouldbepaidtoallemployeeswhousetheirownvehiclesforworkrelated travel.Wherecompanyfuelcardsareusedapaymentshouldbemadetocoverrunning costs,wearandtearanddepreciationonaproratamonthlyrate. Mileagerateofatleast40ppermile,reviewedannuallyandincreasedinlinewiththe RACCostofMotoringIndexorasimilarindex. Awayworktobetriggeredafteradriveofamaximumof1.5hoursunlessitisforashort duration(12nightsmaximum),andallstaffarehappytotravel. Nationalminimumsubof15anightforstaysinB&B,risingto20anightinApril2013 toreflectinflation. Minimumnoticeperiodforawayworkoftwoweeksexceptwhenabsolutely unavoidable,possibilityofoncallandoffcallsystemforlastminuteawayjobs. Rotationofstaffonawayjobsinatransparentmanner. Rotationofdriverstopreventfatigueandensuredrivingpayisspreadaroundtheteam. Nationalregisteroftermsandconditionsrelatingtotravelandawayworkallowing employeestocomparedifferentemployers.

TheDiggersForumcallsonarchaeologicalemployers,employees,tradeunions,professionaland tradebodiestocommentonthisreportandtojoinindiscussionstoagreeawayforwardtoaddress theissuesraisedinthisreport,andtosignuptothetwinsetsofrecommendations.Thefirststepis tobeopenandtransparentaboutwhatiscurrentlybeingpaidandwhatisnotbeingpaid;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 abusingprofessionandsignificantlyimprovetheprofessionforall.

Acknowledgements
TheauthorswouldliketothankallthoseDiggerswhotookthetimetoprovidethedetailed informationonwhichthisreportisbuilt:wehopethatthisreportwillmakeapositivedifferenceto yourconditionsandhelpcreateafairerprofession. Wewouldalsoliketospecificallymentionthoseemployerswhonotonlytookpartinthesurveybut wereconfidentenoughintheirpayandconditionsthattheyfeltabletobeidentified;thankyouto ArchaeologicalServices&ConsultancyLtd,ArchaeologySouthEast(UniversityCollegeLondon), ArchaeologyWarwickshire,GUARDArchaeologyLimited,HeadlandArchaeology(UK)Ltd, SouthamptonArchaeologyUnitandTyneandWearMuseumsArchaeology. ThanksmustalsobeextendedtothestaffoftheIfA,inparticularKathrynWhittington,forsupport andassistanceinpublicisingthesurvey.TheDFwouldliketothanksDavidConnollyfortechnical supportforFig7. ThesurveywasconceivedandwrittenbyChizHarwardwiththeassistanceoftheDiggersForum Committee.ThisreportwaswrittenbyChizHarwardwithcontributionsfromMaryNealeandSadie WatsonoftheDiggersForum.TheauthorswouldliketothankDrPaulEverill,AmandaForster,Kate GearyandtheDiggersForumCommitteeforreadingandcommentingontheinitialdraft. TheDiggersForum(DF)iscommittedtocreatingapositive,sustainableandfinanciallyviablecareer forallprofessionalarchaeologistsatallpointsintheircareer.TheDFisaSpecialInterestGroupof theInstituteforArchaeologistsrepresentingallarchaeologistsworkingoutonsiteatwhatever grade.MembershipoftheDFisopentoall. Formoreinformationpleaseseethewebsitewww.archaeologists.net/groups/diggers

Contents
1 Introductionandsurveyoutline........................................................................................................1 1.1Anonymity.................................................................................................................................2 2 TheEmployeeSurveyrespondents...................................................................................................4 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 Gender................................................................................................................................4 Age......................................................................................................................................4 Dependantchildren............................................................................................................5 Nationality...........................................................................................................................6 Residence............................................................................................................................6 Location...............................................................................................................................7 Levelofeducation...............................................................................................................9 Samplesize,validityandpotentialbias..............................................................................9 IfAmembershipasanindicatorofcareerprogression ....................................................10 . Changingcircumstances ...................................................................................................11 .

3 Jobsandadverts..............................................................................................................................13 3.1 Recommendationsforadvertisingarchaeologicaljobs....................................................16

4 Youandyourjob..............................................................................................................................18 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Salary.................................................................................................................................18 Averagewages..................................................................................................................19 Lengthofservice...............................................................................................................20 Freelancer/employee........................................................................................................20 Currentemployer..............................................................................................................21

5 Awaywork.......................................................................................................................................26 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.3 6 Proportionofrespondentswhoworkaway.....................................................................26 Drivinglicence...................................................................................................................27 Workingawayfromhome................................................................................................28 Guidelines.........................................................................................................................32

Accommodation........................................................................................................................35 6.1 Additionalaccommodation...............................................................................................38

7 8

Subsistenceallowance..............................................................................................................40 Travel ........................................................................................................................................44 . 8.1 Carownershipanduseofprivatecars .............................................................................45 .

Workinghours ..........................................................................................................................48 . 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Paidtraveltime.................................................................................................................49 Mileage..............................................................................................................................50 Totalcompensationfortravelrelatedtime......................................................................50 Drivingwhilsttired............................................................................................................51

10Viewsofawayworkandarchaeology.............................................................................................53 10.1 10.2 Worklifebalanceandlongtermeffectofawaywork.....................................................55 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 AppendixAEmployeequestionnaire....................................................................................................77 AppendixBEmployerquestionnaire....................................................................................................87

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 Figure8Highestlevelofeducationachieved.........................................................................................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 Figure18TypeoforganisationEmployeesurvey................................................................................24 Figure19TypeoforganisationEmployersurvey................................................................................24 Figure20SizeoforganisationEmployeedata....................................................................................25 Figure21SizeoforganisationEmployerdata....................................................................................25 Figure22LocationofworkundertakenbyEmployeerespondents.....................................................26 Figure23Comparisonoflocationofworkundertakenbyawayworkersandnonawayworkers......27 Figure24ProportionofEmployeerespondentswithDrivinglicences................................................28 Figure25Numberofnightsspentawayfromhomeoverthelast12months,bynumberof respondents(noteskewedXaxis)........................................................................................................28 Figure26Longestcontinuousawaystretchoverlast12months,inweeks(noteskewedXaxis)......29

Figure27DoyoufeelthateveryoneatyourCURRENTemployeristreatedthesamewithregardto awaywork?...........................................................................................................................................30 Figure28Treatmentofstaffinselectionforawaywork .....................................................................31 . Figure29Guidelinesonawaywork......................................................................................................32 Figure30Lengthofdrive(hours)totriggerawaystay(Employersurvey)..........................................34 Figure31DoesyourCURRENTemployerarrangetheaccommodationforyouonawayjobs?..........35 Figure32Typeofaccommodationprovided........................................................................................36 Figure33Doyouhavetosharearoom?..............................................................................................36 Figure34Howhappyareyouwiththestandardofaccommodationprovidedbyyourcurrent employer?.............................................................................................................................................37 Figure35Rankingoffacilitiesinprovidedaccommodation.................................................................37 Figure36Typeofpersonallyfinancedawayaccommodation.............................................................38 Figure37Ifyouhavetosortyourownaccommodationforwork(inadditiontoyourmainresidence), howhelpfulisyourcurrentemployer?................................................................................................39 Figure38Provisionofnightlysubsistencepayment............................................................................40 Figure39Maximumnightlysubsistencepaymentbynumberofrespondents...................................41 Figure40Annualsubsistencepayments;selfassessedversuscalculated...........................................41 Figure41Howimportantareanysubstoyourtotalincome?.............................................................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

Introductionandsurveyoutline

ThisreportpresentstheresultsofacomprehensivesurveycarriedoutbytheDiggersForum(DF) intothecurrentconditionsrelatingtoawaywork,travelandsubsistencepaymentsinUK commercialarchaeologyin2011.Researchintothesubjectwascarriedoutviatwosurveyshosted onSurveyMonkey,anonlinesurveyhostingservice.Theinitialsurveywasdesignedtocapturethe situationandexperiencesofemployeesandwasopenbetweenJanuaryandMay2011,thiswas followedbyasurveyaimedatcapturingthesituationfromtheemployersperspectivewhichwas openbetweenJulyandAugust2011. TheEmployeesurveycontained75questionsandwasadvertisedontheIfAnewswebpage,the DiggersForumpageontheIfAwebsite,inRescueNews,andviaemailtoDiggersForummembers (forthetextofthesurveyseeAppendixA).ArticlesonthesurveywereincludedintheDF newsletter;itwasalsoadvertisedontheBAJRnewspage.Alinktotheonlinesurveywasalsomade availableforonwarddistributionviawordofmouth.Questionnaireswereavailableinpdfformat howeverthiswasnotrequested.TheEmployeesurveywasanonymous;itbeingfeltthelengthof thesurveywasenoughtoputoffanyconcertedattemptstoskewthedata. TheEmployersurveyconsistedof80questionsandwasinasimilarformattotheEmployeesurvey. AletteroutliningtherationalebehindtheEmployersurveywithalinktotheonlinequestionnaire, wassentbyIfAstafftoalistofemployersemailaddressesheldbytheIfA(forthetextofthesurvey seeAppendixB).Employerswererequiredtostatetheirorganisationsname,butwerefreeto remainanonymous. 263separateEmployeequestionnairesweresubmittedbetween26thJanuaryand19thMay2011. MultipleanswersfromIPaddresseswerecheckedtoensurethattheyrepresentedindividual entries.Onerespondentwasdisregardedastheresponseswereclearlynottrue.Datafromthose whoclearlyneitherresidednorworkedintheUKwasalsodisregardedashavingnorelevancetothe survey.Atotalof258submissionswereanalysed. Duetothelengthofthesurveyandthefactthatsomequestionswerenotrelevanttoall respondentsmanysubmissionswereonlypartial.Wehaveincludedallresponsesforeachstageof thesurveyandexpressedtheresultsasapercentageoftherelevantrespondentstotheparticular questionorcombinationofquestions;whereitisdirectlyrelevantwehavespecifiedtherelevant numberofresponses. Duetothecomplexissuesinvolvedsomequestionswereclearlymisunderstood,particularlyonthe Employeequestionnaire;thisledtosomeresponsesforsomequestionsbeingexcludedfromthe surveyresultsastherespondenthadnotunderstoodthequestion.Wherethereweresignificant problemswiththeresponsesforaparticularquestion,allresponsestothatquestionwereexcluded. Itisnotconsideredthattheseomissionsaffectedtheresultsofthepublishedsurvey. Thelengthofthesurveywasclearlyaproblemforsomerespondents,andinhindsightthesurveys wereprobablyoverambitious.Itwasinitiallyfeltthatalessdetailedsurveywouldnotproduce 1

meaningfulevidenceandthatadetailedapproachwasworthpursuing,despitethepotentialdropin responses.Thatover250employeesprovideddetaileddataisasignthatthisinitialpositionmay havebeencorrect,thenumberswhogaveuppartwaythroughthesurveywerefarlessthanthose whocompletedthesurveytothelastquestion. Employerrespondentsweregiventheoptionofwhethertheirresultswouldbelinkedtotheir company,thiswasasitwasconsideredthatitwasmoreimportanttogatherasmuchdataas possibleratherthaninsistonunitsbeingnamed.OntheEmployersurveythenameofthe organisationhadtobeenteredinordertoviewtherestofthequestionnaire,interestinglytwo respondentsfilledinafalsenameinordertoviewthequestionswithoutansweringanyfurther questions.Twentyfourrespondentsansweredthesurveybetween1stJulyand19thAugust2011. Nineofthe24participatingcompaniesagreedtobeassociatedwiththeirsurveyreplies.Those employerswhostartedthesurveygenerallyfilledintheentiresurvey,with18employersreaching theendofthesurvey. ResponsestoquestionsrelatingtoIfAmembership,DFactivitiesandunionmembership(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)itwouldnotbeappropriatetonametheemployers;employersandemployeeshave thereforebeenaffordedthesamedegreeofanonymitythroughoutthisreport.Thenamesof currentemployershavebeentabulatedin Figure17,howevernodatahasbeenattachedtothislistbeyondthenumberofresponding employees Whilstitwouldhavebeenveryusefulforemployeestobeabletocompareemployerspayand conditions,itwasfeltthattheinformationfromthesurveywasnotnecessarilyaccurateespecially givenconflictingaccountsofmileagerates,travelpayandconditionsatseveralcompanies.Oneof therecommendationsofthisreportisthatanationalregisteroftermsandconditionsisestablished toallowemployeestocompareemployersandseeexactlywhatispaidandatwhatrates. 2

Foralistofthoseemployersthatwerepreparedtostandupandbenamed,pleaseseethe acknowledgements.

TheEmployeeSurveyrespondents

TheinitialquestionsoftheEmployeesurveyweredesignedtoconstructapictureofthe respondents;thiscouldthenbeusedtotestwhetherthedatacollectedwasrepresentativeofthe widerprofession,orwasskewedinsomeway,aswellasbeingausefulsnapshotofarchaeologistsat thetimeofthesurvey.Themainsourceforinformationonthearchaeologicalprofessionisthe seriesofpublicationsknownasProfilingtheProfession(PTP)whichhavebeenproducedbytheIfA since1999.TheInvisibleDiggerssurvey(Everill2009)produceddataspecificallyoncommercial archaeologistsandprovidesadditionalcomparativematerialforthisreport. 2.1 Gender 164oftheresponseswereMaleand92wereFemale,2didnotstatesex(Figure1).Thereforeof thosewhostatedsex64%weremaleand36%female;thissuggestsagenderprofileofthe respondentsthatisidenticaltotheInvisibleDiggersresultsof64.44%male,35.56%female(Everill 2009,67)andbroadlyinlinewiththeoverallratioof59%male,41%female,andof61%male,39% femaleforFieldinvestigation&researchservicesidentifiedinProfilingtheProfession(PTP) (AitchisonandEdwards2008,478).

Male/femaleratio
Male Female Noresponse

Figure1Male/femaleproportionofallresponses

2.2 Age Respondentsgaveagesbetween21and69(Figure2).Therewerenoresponsesfromanyoneaged under21.Tworespondentsdidnotstatetheirage.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 casethatyoungerarchaeologistsarelesslikelytobeawareof,orfilloutsurveysthanthosewho havebeenintheprofessionlonger. 4

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 2125 2630 3135 3640 4145 4650 5155 5660 6165 6669
Figure2Male/femaleratioagainstageranges(agerangeinyearsonXaxis,numberofresponsesonYaxis)

Male Female Total

2.3 Dependantchildren Weaskedhowmanychildrenwererespondentsfinanciallyresponsiblefor(Figure3).Onlyone respondentagedbelow30hadadependantchild.Theoverwhelmingmajorityofrespondentsdid nothavechildren,withonly25%ofmalesand13%offemaleshavingadependantchild.

16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 2125 2630 3135 3640 4145 4650 5155 5660 6165 6669 Male Female

Figure3Numberofrespondentswithdependantchildren(Yaxis)byagerange(Xaxis)showingmale/femalesplit

Perhapssignificantlymoremalethanfemalerespondentshaddependantchildren,despitethe 64/34%gendersplit(Figure4);therearemanypossibleexplanationsandwedonothavedataon whythismaybethecase.

140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Male Female None One Two Morethantwo Noresponse

Figure4Numberofdependantchildrenbymale/femalesplit

2.4 Nationality TheoverwhelmingmajorityofrespondentswereUKnationals(Figure5).Ofthe8EUnationals4 wereIrishandonewasPolish.SevenofthetennonEUrespondentswerefromnorthAmerica(USA andCanada)andtwowereManx.Thisreflectsthe93%figureinPTPforUKarchaeologists(Aitchison andEdwards2008,54),itwouldbeinterestingtocomparethesefigureswiththeanecdotal evidencefornonUKnationalsworkingasarchaeologistsinmanyareasofthecountry,itisnotclear whethertherehasbeenadeclineinnonUKnationalsworkinginarchaeologysincethe2008 recession.

Nationality
UKnational EUnational NonEU national

Figure5Nationalityofrespondents

2.5 Residence Ofthosewhorespondedasurprisingproportion(41%)ofrespondentswereowneroccupiers,with thesecondmostcommonhousingtypebeingthosewholivedaloneorasacoupleinrented accommodation(33%;Figure6).Farfewerwereinmultipleoccupanthousesorflats(12%),with8% eitherlivingfulltimewithparentsorhavingnofixedaddress.Thismightseemtobeareflectionof theageoftherespondentswitharelativelylownumberofresponsesfrom2125yearoldswho maybelesslikelytohaveamortgage,howevertheyoungestowneroccupierswere25,and24 6

respondentsaged2530wereowneroccupiers.Attheotherendofthespectrumthosewho describedthemselvesasnofixedabode(sofasurfers)wereallintheir20sorearly30s. Oftheowneroccupiersonly4statedthattheywereataProjectManager/Consultantlevel.Infact4 werestudents(aged30or31),4wereselfemployed,8wereSiteAssistants(althoughoneofthese hadpreviouslybeenaProjectOfficer,andtwohadbeenSupervisors),10wereSupervisors(with3 havingworkedpreviouslyasProjectOfficers),17wereatProjectOfficergradeand17were unemployed.Oftheunemployed7hadpreviouslyworkedasSupervisors,andoneasaProject Officer. Wecannotknowtheindividualcircumstancesofalltheowneroccupiers,certainlyitwouldbehard togetamortgageonasiteassistantswagewithoutasignificantdeposit,orapartnerwhoearneda farhigherwage.

Housingtype
Cohabit/singleoccupant rentedflatorhouse Livewithparentsfulltime Lodger Multipleoccupantrentedflat orhouse Nofixedabode(sofasurfer) Owneroccupierflat/house other/noresponse

Figure6Housingtype

2.6 Location Thesurveyaskedforthepostcodeofrespondentsmainresidencetoallowthedatatobechecked forgeographicalbias(Figure7).ThereisacleardistributionofresponsesacrosstheUKmainland, withmostregionsandcentresofpopulationrepresentedassuggestedinPTPalthoughitshouldbe notedthatweweresurveyinghomeaddresses,nottheemployersaddress(AitchisonandEdwards 2008,46).ThereisapaucityofdatafromtheSouthwest,Wales(andinparticularSouthWales),the NorthwestandBorders,andtheHighlands,butthismaybeareflectionofpopulationdensityand distributionofarchaeologists.Overallitisfeltthattherespondentsaregeographicallyabroadly representativesample.


Figure7GeographicaldistributionofEmployeerespondents

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.

Levelofeducation
GCE/GCSE/CSE Alevel HND Degree Masters Doctorate

Figure8Highestlevelofeducationachieved

2.8 Samplesize,validityandpotentialbias TheEmployeesamplesizeof258representsapproximately4.5%ofthetotalarchaeological professionof5827estimatedfor1stJanuary2011(http://www.archaeologists.net/news/110216 newjoblossesfigurespublished).Thismaynotbeaastatisticallysignificantproportionofthe wholeprofession,howeverthesurveyspecificallyrelatestothosefieldarchaeologistsinthe predominantlycommercialsectorwhichwasestimatedtobe31893225atthetimeofthesurvey, whichgivesasamplesizeofapproximately8%ofthecommercialfieldworksector.Giventhatthe surveylargelyrelatestoawayworkthepercentagerepresentedinoursurveyofthosesignificantly affectedbyawayworkortravelmaybehigherthanthe8%figure(excludingpredominantlyoffice basedstaffsuchasmanagers,processors,illustratorsandspecialists). OfcoursewemustrememberthattheIfAfiguresonlyrepresentthoseinactualemployment, whereasoursurveywasopentothosewhowerenotcurrentlyemployed.Fromthefigures producedduringtherecessionweknowtheapproximatenumbersofarchaeologistwhohavebeen maderedundantsince2008,howeverwecannotaugmentthiswithafigureforthenumberof archaeologistswhowereunemployedatanyonetime.Thenatureofthearchaeologicaljobsmarket, withmanyarchaeologistsleavingafterashortcareer,meansthatsuchdataishardtocapture accurately,althoughitmaybeausefulavenueforfutureresearch.

Thegenderratioofthesampleappearstoberelativelycomparabletothewiderprofession; howevertheagedistributionwouldappeartohaveaslightbiasawayfromyoungerarchaeologists. Itmaybethatthearchaeologicalworkforceisaging,possiblyduetotherecessionasnewgraduates cannotgainemploymentandtherearelimitedopportunitiesforarchaeologiststogainnew employmentoutsidearchaeology.Thisisunproven,althoughagainitwouldbeaninteresting avenueforresearch. WhenestablishingwhethertheEmployeesampleisvalidandrepresentativeanumberoffactors havetobetakenintoaccount.Wewantasamplethatisbroadlyrepresentativeofthe archaeologicalworkforce,howeverselfselectionwillhavebeenatplayindecidingwhoresponded manyarchaeologistswillnothaverespondedbecausetheydonotworkawaysodidnotfeelthe surveywasrelevanttothemeventhoughtheytraveltoworkeveryday.Thoseonawayworkmay havelessaccesstocomputerstofilloutthesurvey,orlesstimetodoso,converselytheymay actuallyhavemoretimewhilstawayfromhome. Thereisalsoalimitedamountofrecentdataonarchaeologiststocompareagainst,withPTPand InvisibleDiggersbeingtheonlyrealsourcesofstatisticaldatathatisscientificallycollated.Thedata fromEmployeerespondentsislargelyinlinewiththelatestProfilingtheProfession(Aitchisonand Edwards2008)andtheInvisibleDiggersdatafrom20035(Everill2009),despitetheeffectofthe recessioninthelastthreeyears.Thissuggeststhatthesampleisbroadlyrepresentativeofthe makeupofthearchaeologicalprofessionasawhole. 2.9 IfAmembershipasanindicatorofcareerprogression SomeideaoftherespondentscareerprogressioncanperhapsbegleanedfromtheirIfA 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 10

theresultsarereportedastheyweresubmitted,althoughcommentismadewheretheresultsseem outoflinewithassumptions.Supervisorystaffdoundertakeawaywork,anddotravelperhapsin somecasesmorethanSiteAssistantshowevertheyareperhapsmorelikelytohavepermanent jobsandmaycarryoutadifferenttypeofawayworkthanthestereotypicalcircuitdiggermoving fromsitetositewithnothingmorethanarucksack.Wewilltryanddeterminetherealityofmodern archaeologicallifebycarefulinterrogationofthedatatoestablishtherealitiesfordiffering circumstances.

IfAGrade
student affiliate Practitioner Associate Member

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. Thereappearsthereforetohavebeenafarbiggerimpactonlowersupervisorylevels,withthe higherlevelrespondentsbeingabletoeitherhangoninpost,orgetanewpostatequivalentgrade. ItmaybethatSupervisorgradeisonewherethereismoreoverlapwithSiteAssistantsandthere 11

mayusuallybeafairdegreemoremobilitybetweenthesetwogradesthanbetweenProjectOfficer andSupervisor.ForSiteAssistantsthechoiceisusuallyunemploymentifalternativeemploymentat Supervisorlevelisnotavailable:ofthe35sometimeSiteAssistants,10wereunemployed.The LandwardResearchStateofthearchaeologicalmarketreportfortheperiodofthesurveysuggested limitedturnoverofstaff(Aitchison2011)anditislikelythatthemainchangestopersonal circumstancesweremadesoonaftertherecessionhit.Whateverthefactorsitisclearthatthereare alargenumberofarchaeologistsworkingatbelowtheirformergrade,andpresumablybelowtheir potential,iftheyareworkingatall.

12

Jobsandadverts

Thesectiononjobadverts(Employeesurveyquestions89,Employersurveyquestions1826)was intendedtotryandunderstandhowandwhereinformationonarchaeologicaljobsisaccessedand toestablishwhatisimportantinanadvertforboththeemployerandpotentialapplicants.Itwas hopedthatwecouldsuggestbestpracticeinwhattoincludeinanadvertandtomake recommendationsastohowtheinformationinadvertscouldbeimproved. Ofthecompaniesthatreplied,7feltthattheymightaddmoredetailstotheiradverts,13wereopen tothesuggestionandonlyonesaidtheywouldnotaddmoredetail.Employersmayfeelthat additionalinformationisunnecessary;howeveritiscertainlyeasiertogetinformationintoan advert,orontoawebsite,onceratherthanhavingstafftiedupexplainingcomplexdetailsof contractsoverthephone.Italsoadvertisesthecompanyasbeingopenandtransparent,aswellas hopefullygivinggoodtermsandconditionstoitsstaff. Itisalsohopedthattheresultswillallowapplicantsaninsightintowhatemployerswantfrom candidates,althoughthelimitedresponsefromemployersmakesthatlesspossible.
180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th

Figure10Barchartofhowrespondentsfindoutaboutjobs,bychoice

TheprimarysourceforinformationonjobsisclearlytheBAJRjobssite:220respondentsusedBAJR, andfor159itwastheirfirstplacetolookforwork,whilst185usedoldfashionedwordofmouth and132phonedoremailedunitslookingforwork(Figure10).127usedtheIfAJIS.85used Facebookorotherformsofenetworkingalthoughthismaycrossoverintoemailingandwordof mouth.OnlyonepersonmentionedTheGuardian.Inpracticemostpeopleusewhateverresources areavailable,potentiallycheckingBAJRdaily,andtheIfAJISeveryweek;withincreasinglinks betweenpublishedlistsandtheinternetthispatternislikelytocontinue.

13

Alltheemployersbarone(whoreportednoneedtoadvertise)advertisedonBAJR,withthemajority alsousingtheIfAJIS.Severalsaidtheywouldcontactformerstaffiftheyneededtorecruit,with overhalfkeepingCVsonfile(foranunspecifiedlengthoftime),afewemployersreliedonwordof mouthinadditiontoadvertising. Generallyemployersstatedthatitwaseasiertorecruitgoodstaffnowthanbeforetherecessionas thelackofworkmeantthatgoodarchaeologistswereavailable.Onlyoneemployerfeltthatitwas hardertogetgoodstaffthanbeforetherecession.Severalemployersstatedthatfindinggood qualityfieldstaffbefore2008wasdifficultandonesaidthatin2008theyhadhiredarchaeologists withlessexperiencethantheywouldhaveliked,althoughtheywerequicktopointoutthatthestaff theydidhirewerestillfullyqualifiedfortheworkinhand. Manymentionedissuesofsupplyanddemandofarchaeologistswithreferencetotherecession, somereferredtotheneedtokeepexperiencedstaffintheprofession;onecompanystatedthat severalexperiencedstaffmembershadleftarchaeologytotakeupcompletelydifferentcareers outsidearchaeologyastheydidnotseeitashavingafuture.
16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0

Veryimportant Important Useful Notimportant

Figure11Relativeimportanceoffactorsinhiringarchaeologicalstaff,Employersurvey

SeveralemployersstatedthatitwashardertorecruitgoodstaffatProjectOfficerandabove,with ProjectManagersandspecialistssuchasgeophysicistsandsurveyors,andexperiencedfindsand environmentalstaffalsomentionedasbeinghardtorecruitfor. Employerswereaskedwhattheylookedforinaprospectivecandidate;therewasacleardesirefor experiencewithrelevantpracticalexperiencelistedasveryimportantorimportantbyallthe employers(Figure11).Academicqualificationsweregenerallyseenasuseful,ornotimportant, althoughonemaywonderifwehadspecificallyaskedthisquestionaboutSupervisorlevelstaffand aboveifemployersmayhaveseenacademicrigourandaskillinassessingandanalysingdataand writingclearreportsasmoreimportant?Theubiquityofgraduateentrantsintoarchaeologymay

14

haveremovedanyadvantagefromhavingagooddegree,howeverthereisnosignthatformost jobsemployershavesettheirsightsonhigher,postgraduate,qualificationstoweedoutapplicants. Specificskillslikedrivingwerenotseenasespeciallyimportantcomparedtobeingabletodothe actualarchaeologicaljob.Theimportanceofreferencesandcandidatespreviousemployment historyseemtobackupthegeneralrequirementforcandidateswhoknowhowtodothejob already.Interestinglygiventheshorttermnatureofmanyarchaeologicalcontractstheabilityto startworkimmediatelywasnotconsideredveryimportantbymostemployers. Employerscommentedthatmanyjobapplicationswerepoor,withapplicantsnotreading instructions,givinggenericcutandpasteanswersthatdidnotrelatetothespecificquestions,and generallyusingapoorlevelofEnglishinapplications,CVsandcoveringletters.Employersalso commentedaboutgenericapplicationsthatwerenottailoredtothespecificjoboremployer; howeverwhilstideallyeachapplicationwouldbetailoredtothespecificcircumstanceitcannotbe expectedthatapplicantswillrewritetheirCV,coveringletteranddetailsforevery3weekcontract.
160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 notthat bothered irrelevent fairlyimportant essential

important

Figure12Relativeimportanceoffactorsinchoosingjobs Foremployeestherequirementsfromajobweredifferent,withpaybeingthemostimportant factorinanyjob.Itishardtoknowhowmuchtherecessionhasaffectedarchaeologistsintheir willingnesstoworkforcompaniestheywouldnothaveconsideredthreeyearsago.Thereisa potentialforananyportinastormeffect,witharchaeologistswantinganyjobjusttokeepgoing, nomatterwhereorwhatthepaylevels.Evenso,basicpayistheNo.1factorinwhethersomeone willapplyforajob,withnearlyallrespondentslistingitasessentialorimportant.Lengthofcontract wasalsoveryimportant,aswasthelocationofajob.Allthesefactorsareinextricablytiedinwith 15

awaywork,affectingwhetherarchaeologistsfeelitisworthwhileapplyingforajobwheretheymay havetomove,butwherethecontractmaynotbeforverylong. Reputationofemployerwasseenasanimportantfactorinchoosingajob,howeveritisnotclear onwhatcriteriathisreputationisbased.Qualityofexpectedarchaeologywasrelativelyless importantthanothercriteria,withfewlistingitasessentialandmanyseeingitasirrelevant.

3.1 BasedonthesurveyresultsandDFmembersviews,TheDiggersForumbelievesthatitcanmake severalrecommendationsastohowtobestadvertisearchaeologicaljobs.TheDFconsidersthatitis alwaystoanemployersadvantagetopublicisegoodsalariesandconditionsandthatthereis 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. Recommendationsforadvertisingarchaeologicaljobs

16

Detailsofthestartingsalaryavailabletoanewstarter,avoidinguseofincrementalpay rangesthatmaymakesalariesappeargreaterthantheycouldbeforanewstarter. Statewhatlevelofexperienceisrequiredforthepost. Ifaparticularsalaryisdependantonexperiencethenstatethetypicallevelofexperience required,andwhatthepotentialstartingsalaryis. Anyprobationaryperiod. Detailsofsickpay,holidayentitlementandpensionprovisionincludinganyqualification periods. Thelengthoftheworkingweekandwhetheranycompulsoryovertimemayberequired. Wherethejobwillbebasedandwhetherawayworkisenvisaged. Whetheradrivinglicenceorspecificskillscardisrequired. Indicatewhetheraccommodationwillbeprovidedifthecontractisashortterm appointmentandwhetherthereisanychargeforthis. Indicatewhetherthereareanysubsistenceallowancesforawayworkandhowmuchthese areandwhentheyarepaid. Givedetailsofpayfortravellingtimeforbothdriversandpassengers,clearlystatingthat traveltimeisnotpaidifthatisthecase. Givedetailsofanydeductionsforaccommodationorequipment. Thatdetailsofadvertisedjobsoncompanywebsitesshouldbekeptliveuntilatleastthe interviewdates. Givetheclosingdateclearly,andstatewhetherapplicationsshouldbereceivedbythatdate, orbytheendofthatday. Thatemployerswillalwaysrespondtoallapplicants,orgiveacleardateafterwhich candidatescanconsiderthemselvesunsuccessful. Givefeedbackwhenrequestedbyunsuccessfulcandidates.

Wewouldalsoliketoremindapplicantsoftheimportanceoffollowinginstructionsonapplication forms,writingneatlyandinclearandsuccinctEnglish,andperformingaspellcheck(forrecent adviceseeCVsforfieldworkjobspages1012 http://www.archaeologists.net/sites/default/files/nodefiles/DFnewsletter5web.pdf)

17

Youandyourjob

Questions1926coveredrespondentsjobsandemployers.Thecurrentjobtitlesofrespondentsare showninFigure13,itisclearthatthemajorityareinsupervisorypositions,thismaybeseenasa biasinthesample,howeverthesearchaeologistsalsocarryoutawaywork,andtraveltoandfrom site,sothisisnotabadthinginitself.Thebiastomoreestablishedarchaeologistshasbeen acknowledgedandisseeninthisgraph. Respondentswerealsoaskedabouttheirprevioushighestgradejob,ashasbeenoutlinedabove, thosepreviouslyProjectOfficerorabovewerelikelytostillbeinthatrole,whereasthosepreviously insupervisorypositionswereoftennowworkingasSiteAssistants,forSiteAssistantsthechoicewas generallyunemployment(seealsoSection2.10Changingcircumstancesabove).

Currentposition
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Currentposition

Figure13Currentpositionofrespondents

4.1 Salary Thesalariesofrespondentswerecollated,howeverthecomplexityoftheresponsesandthe variabilityofthestatedsalariesmeantthatthedatacouldnotbeeasilytabulated.Thismaybedue toindividualrespondentshavingaccruedavariablenumberofincrements,andavariable knowledgeoftheheadlinevalueofeachsalary.Unfortunatelygiventhelownumbersofemployers thatrespondedtothesurveywecouldnotusedefinitivedatafromemployerstocorrelatethe employeedata.

18

 4.2 Averagewages DatacollectedbytheDFandIfAinAutumn2011inadvanceofIfACouncildiscussionsonIfApay minimasuggestsarangeofexistingsalariesforsiteworkers.Mostsalariesappeartobeslightly abovetheIfAminimawithmanyfollowingtheBAJRminimawhichuseadifferentgradingsystemto theIfA.ThesalariesinFigure14arederivedfromboththeemployeeandemployersurveyandfrom archaeologicalpositionsadvertisedduringthesurveyperiod.Duetothenatureofthedatatherehas beennoattempttocalculateaveragewagesandthesalariesgivenarepurelyindicativeofa potentiallynonrepresentativerangeofsalaries. FollowingtheCouncildiscussionstheIfAminimawillberaisedby5.2%fromApril2012,andtheIfA hasastatedaimofincreasingminimaby13%.
BAJRGrade/IfAgrade AssistantsPIfA PIfA G24 G24 PIfA G2/3 PIfA PIfA PIfAassistants G2G3;PIfA SiteAssistants.BAJRG2G3 PIfA G2G3;PIfA;Archaeologist G2G3;PIFA;Archaeologist PIfA PIfA PIfA PIfA ProjectassistantPIfA G36Projectofficer(postex) BAJRG2G3;PIfA;Archaeologist PIfA G3 AIfAsupervisors grade2siteassistants G2G3;PIfA G2/3 G3;PIfAAIfAFieldworker Supervisors SupervisorsAIfA AssistantprojectofficerAIfA Officerandsupervisors,Grades45 G2G3;PIfA;Archaeologist ProjectOfficers AIfA G45;AIfAGeomatician Figure14Salariesforfieldstaffbygrade Salaryrange() 15,444 15,44416,830 15,50016,500with363.20LW 15,50016,500with363.20LW 15,700 15,704.6416,762.26 15,72516,830 15,73616,436 15,84916,959 15,84919,273 15,97217,000 16,000+ 16,05117,117 16,05117,117 16,054 16,53119,347 16,83518,737 16,23217,372 16,48217,622 16,762.2623,685.72 17,111 17,161 17,17919,261 17,29419,273 17,309 17,367 17,36718,700plus220clothing 17,399 17,63319,258 17,802.0021,519.00 17,96419,993 18,29220,914 18,800 20,07224,173 20,199 23,724

19

4.3 Lengthofservice Lengthofserviceinarchaeologyechoesthepotentialsamplebiastoestablishedarchaeologists,with fewrespondentshavingservedbelow2years(Figure15).Thismayinfactbeaproductofthe recession,withnewgraduatesfailingtogetjobsinasuddenlycompetitivemarket,however previousresearchindicatesahighrateofattritioninthefirstfewyearsofanarchaeologicalcareer (Everill2009,71)andtheexpectedgraphwouldshowahighernumberofnewarchaeologists, beforetailingoffrapidlyafter56yearsasseeninoursample.Itcouldbeextremelyinterestingto lookintothecareerlifespanofarchaeologicalfieldworkersingreaterdetail. Thetrueimpactoftherecessiononarchaeologicalcareersremainstobeseen,itmaybefurther affectedbyrecentdevelopmentsincludingincreasingtuitionfees.

Lengthinyears
25

20

15

10

0 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
Figure15Lengthofcareerincommercialarchaeologyinyears(Xaxis)bynumberofrespondents(Yaxis)

4.4 Freelancer/employee 90%ofrespondentswereemployees,althoughalimitednumberstatedthattheyworkedas freelancersoraseither(Figure16).Therehasbeenananecdotalriseinthenumberoffreelancesite archaeologistsoverthelastfewyearsalthoughthishasnotbeenseeninPTP,itwouldbeinteresting toseeclearevidencetobackthisassumptionandhowthistrenddevelopsinthefuture. Anecdotallytherearegreaternumbersoffreelancesiteworkersoperatingincertaingeographical areas,mainlyduetothepresenceoforganisationsemployingthem.Unfortunatelyitwasnot possibletomapwherefreelancersworkgeographicallyastheydidnotstatetowhomtheywere contracted.Selfemployedfieldarchaeologistswouldbeausefulareaforfutureresearch.

20

Employmentstatus

Employeeonly Either Freelance

Figure16Proportionsofrespondentsworkingasemployees,freelance,oreither

4.5 Currentemployer Employeesurveyrespondentswereaskedtonametheircurrentemployer( Figure17).63separateemployerswerenamedintheemployeesurveyaccountingfor161individual respondents.Inalimitednumber(10)ofcasesthiswasrefused,thiswassometimesexplainedas beingbecausetheemployerwasasmallcompanyandtherewassomefearofbeingidentified. Thelargestcohortofemployeeswas25(atOxfordArchaeology),whilst39employerswere representedbyonlyoneemployee. Therangeofemployerswasverywide,representingawidespectrumofarchaeologicalemployers withroughlyathirdofemployersbeingcommercialunits,andathirdbeinglocalauthorityunits (Figure18).Interestingly22respondentswerenotsurewhattypeofemployertheirswas,withmost confusionoverthestatusofcharitabletrustsanduniversityandlocalauthorityunits.Several respondentsbelievedthatbothMoLAandOxfordArchaeologywereLocalAuthorityunits.Thereisa roughcorrelationbetweenthenumberofrespondentsandthesizeoforganisation,butgiventhe largenumberoforganisationswithonlyonerespondingemployeethisquicklybreaksdown.

21

Employers
OxfordArchaeology MOLA ArchaeologySouthEast AOCArchaeology WessexArchaeology CotswoldArchaeology CambridgeArchaeologicalUnit NorthamptonshireArchaeology AlbionArchaeology HeadlandArchaeology JohnMooreHeritageServices ASC CanterburyArchaeologicalUnit FoundationsArchaeology NetworkArchaeology NorthPenninesArchaeology PCA(Lincoln) RathmellArchaeology SuffolkCountyCouncil Trent&Peak TVAS ACArchaeology ADS Alderarchaeology AMEC APS ArchaeologicalSolutions ASWYAS CAA CamARC CFAArchaeology CranfieldUniversity EnglishHeritage FarrimondandMacManus GlamorganGwentArchaeologicalTrust 0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Figure17NumberofrespondentsinEmployeesurveybyemployer 22

GloucestershireCountyCouncil GreenlaneArchaeologyLtd GuardArchaeologyLtd. KentArchaeologicalProjects KentCountyCouncil LincolnshireCountyCouncil NationalmuseumofScotland NPSPropertyConsultants OnSiteArchaeology ORCA OrkneyCollege SLRConsulting SouthWestArchaeologyLtd. StokeonTrentArchaeology SurreyCountyCouncil TWMArchaeology UniversityofWales,Bangor UniversityofYork URSScottWilson WorcestershireCountyCouncil YorkArchaeologicalTrust Yorkshiremusuemtrust 0 5 10 15 20 25 30

(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). 23

Typeoforganisation EmployeeSurvey
Charitable Trust Commercia lCompany Local Authority University Unit

Figure18TypeoforganisationEmployeesurvey

Typeoforganisation Employersurvey

Charitable Trust Commercial Company Local Authority University Unit SoleTrader

Figure19TypeoforganisationEmployersurvey

24

SizeoforganisationEmployee data
Verylargeunit(>100 staff) Largeunit(5099) Mediumunit(2049) Smallunit(119)

Figure20SizeoforganisationEmployeedata

SizeoforganisationEmployer data
Verylargeunit(>100 staff) Largeunit(5099)

Mediumunit(2049)

Smallunit(119)

Figure21SizeoforganisationEmployerdata

25

Awaywork

Thepracticeofworkingawayfromhomehasbeenwidespreadformanyyearsinthearchaeological professionandTheCircuitisapartofourcombinedarchaeologicalheritageandmythology,yet thereappearstohaveneverbeenanyattempttomeasurethenatureoreffectsofthiswork.TheDF surveyswerespecificallydesignedtocaptureinformationtoallowthecurrentsituationtobe assessedindetailforthefirsttime.Bothemployeesandemployerswereaskeddetailedquestions aboutawayworkandtravel,andhowitaffectsthemandtheirorganisations. Awayworkisdefinedforthissurveyasworkwhichtakesyouawayfromyourmainresidencefora night,itmaythereforeincludeoccasionalnightsawayfromhomeforanevaluation,aweekortwo workingonasiteawayfromthehomebase,orseveralweeksorevenmonthsworkingawayfrom homeandstayinginaccommodationthatmayormaynotbeprovidedbytheemployer.Awaywork isusuallydefinedassuchbytheemployer,whoprovidesaccommodationforemployeesusually. Workerstakenonforaspecificjobmaynotbegivenaccommodation,anditisthesedifferencesin treatmentthathavecausedfrictioninthepastbetweenemployersandemployees,andbetween employeesthemselves.

Locationofwork

Fieldbased,withoffice timeforwritingreports, processingdataetc Fieldonly:onlygetinside forfindswashingor similar Mostlyofficebasedbut somefieldwork,lessthan 25%fieldworkoverayear Officeonly

Figure22LocationofworkundertakenbyEmployeerespondents

Oftheemployeesjustoveraquarterneverspentanysignificanttimeattheoffice,withjustunder 50%spendingmosttimeintheoffice(Figure22).Therelativelyhighproportionofsupervisory respondentsprobablyaddstothenumbersspendingsometimeintheofficewritingreportsand processingdata.Only4%ofrespondentsneverworkedinthefield.Thesampleisthereforealmost entirelyfieldworkerswhospendavariableamountoftimeonsiteinsomecasestheoccasional hourorday,inothercasesmostoftheyear. 5.1 Proportionofrespondentswhoworkaway Oftheemployees166respondentsworkedawayfortheiremployeratsometime.5ofthesewerein officeonlypostssoarenotregardedasfieldstaff,and33weremostlyofficebased(Figure23). 26


120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Fieldonly:only Fieldbased,with getinsidefor officetimefor findswashingor writingreports, similar processingdata etc Mostlyoffice basedbutsome fieldwork,less than25% fieldworkovera year Officeonly Nonawayworkers Awayworkers

Figure23Comparisonoflocationofworkundertakenbyawayworkersandnonawayworkers

45respondentshadneverworkedawayfortheiremployer,ofthese12wereinofficeonlyormostly officeposts.Itisperhapsnotsurprisingthatinasurveyofawayworkthereshouldbeamajorityof responsesfromthosewhoworkaway. 17ofouremployerrespondentssaidthattheirstaffworkedaway.Ofthese12estimatedthatthe proportionofawayworkwaslessthan10%ofemployeeswork,2saiditwaslessthan approximately20%,with2sayingitwasbetween50and60%.Oneemployerstatedthat100%of theirexcavationworkwasawaywork. 5.2 Drivinglicence Possessionofadrivinglicenceispotentiallyimportantforanystaffwhomaybeworkingaway.42 respondentshadnodrivinglicence,whilst173hadalicence(Figure24).Amongstthe31whohadno licenceandworkedonsiteformostoftheyeartherewasawidespreadofrolesandemployers:15 beingatSiteAssistantgrade,and16atSupervisororProjectOfficer.Itappearsthatnothavinga drivinglicenceisnotaninsuperablebarriertoprogression;howeverthiscandependonemployer, andlocation.

27

Drivinglicence
Drivinglicence Nodrivinglicence

Figure24ProportionofEmployeerespondentswithDrivinglicences

Questionsonaccommodation,subsandexpenseswereonlyaskedofthoserespondentswho answeredYEStowhethertheyworkedaway. 5.3 Workingawayfromhome Employeeswereaskedhowmanynightstheyhadspentawayoverthelast12monthperiod(Figure 25).Theanswersmaybeslightlyapproximatedbutgiveanideaofthefrequencyanddurationof awaywork. Itisclearthatinoursamplethelargestnumberofsitestaffworkawayforlessthanonemonthof theyearintotal,therearestillthoughasignificantnumberofrespondentswhoworkawayforover

25 Numberofrespondents 20 15 10 5 0 0 15nights 610nights 1115nights 1620nights 2125nights 2630nights 3135nights 3640nights 4145nights 4650nights 5155nights 5660nights 6165nights 6670nights 7175nights 7680nights 8185nights 8690nights 9195nights 96100nights 101105nights 106110nights 111115nights 116120nights 121125nights 126130nights 131160nights 161200nights 201250nights 251300nights 301365nights

Figure25Numberofnightsspentawayfromhomeoverthelast12months,bynumberofrespondents(noteskewedX axis)

halftheyear,with17%workingawayforover120nights.Fiverespondentsclaimedtobeawayfrom homeallyear,althoughitisnotclearwhetherthisisincludesholidaysandagain,maybean approximation. 28

Employeeswereaskedhowmanynightstheyhadspentawayoverthelast12monthperiod(Figure 25).Theanswersmaybeslightlyapproximatedbutgiveanideaofthefrequencyanddurationof awaywork. Itisclearthatinoursamplethelargestnumberofsitestaffworkawayforlessthanonemonthof theyearintotal,therearestillthoughasignificantnumberofrespondentswhoworkawayforover halftheyear,with17%workingawayforover120nights.Fiverespondentsclaimedtobeawayfrom homeallyear,althoughitisnotclearwhetherthisisincludesholidaysandagain,maybean approximation. Thelongestdurationofanindividualstintofawayworkwasallyear,althoughagainthisdidnot seemtoaccountforholidays,54%ofawayworkwasinlengthsoflessthanamonth(noteskewed scaleonFigure26)andthemajoritylessthan4months,althoughseveralstintsofshorterlength mayhavebeenworkedwithshortbreaksinbetween. Thereareagainanumberofemployeeswhospentover4monthsawayatastretchwithover11% havinghadastintofawayworkofover6months.Unfortunatelythedataforthosewhostayed awayatweekendsaswellasduringtheweekwasnotclearenoughtointerpretandhasbeen excluded,althoughitwasclearthatmanystaffdostayawayfromhomeatweekends,althoughfor otherstheweeklycommuteisasetpartoftheirlife. Itisclearthatformostrespondentsawayworkwasanoccasionalpresenceintheirworkinglives, withthemajoritynotworkingawayformorethan2monthsatatime,howeverthereisasignificant numberforwhomawayworkisthenormratherthantheexception,andasmallnumberwhomay alwaysbeworkingawayfromhome,orhavenohomeatall.

Longestcontinuousawaystretch,inweeks
35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 less 1week 24 58 912 1316 1720 2124 2528 2932 3336 3740 4144 4548 4952 than weeks weeks weeks weeks weeks weeks weeks weeks weeks weeks weeks weeks weeks one week
Figure26Longestcontinuousawaystretchoverlast12months,inweeks(noteskewedXaxis)

29

RespondentswerethenaskedthequestionHowreasonabledoyoufeelyourCURRENTemployeris whenconsideringwhotosendonawayjobs?Forexampledoesyouremployertakeanyfactorsinto considerationwhenselectingstaffforawayjobssuchasfamilycommitmentsorwhereyoulive?Is thererotationofstaffforawayjobs? Perhapssurprisinglyonly3%ofrespondentsfelttheiremployerswerecompletelyunreasonable andonly7%feltthattheiremployerwasunreasonable(Figure27).60%ofrespondentsthought theiremployerwaseitherreasonableorveryreasonable. Commentsonawayworkhowevershowedthattherewereundercurrentsofdiscontent;certain themeswereclear,andwillbefamiliartoanyonewhohasworkedinarchaeologyforlong.Many commentscentredonalackofflexibilityinemployersandanassumptionthatsitestaffshouldbe abletodropeverythingtogetsentawayatshortnotice.Alackofnoticewasalsocited: Manytimestheyknowawayjobsaregoingahead,butdonottellyouuntilthelastminuteona Friday.Ifyou[say]wellinadvance[that]youcannotworkawaytheygetannoyedwithyou.They putyoudownforanawayjobevenifyoutellthemmonthsaheadthatyouhavethingsplanned.The deploymentmanagersviewisthatyouhavenopersonallife,andthatarchaeologyislifestylechoice notacareer.Othercommentsinclude'Imnotyourpersonalsecretary' Yougowhereyouaretoldoryourcontractisnotextended. "Youdon'thavealifeoutsideofarchaeology" "Archaeologyisalifestylechoice,notajob" Severalrespondentscommentedthatitwasveryhardtoattendeveningcoursesordevelop professionallyiftheywereworkingaway,andtherewasageneralfeelingthatworkingawayhadan impactonpersonalrelationships.

Employer'sconsideration
completely unreasonable unreasonable neitheronenor other reasonable veryreasonable

Figure27DoyoufeelthateveryoneatyourCURRENTemployeristreatedthesamewithregardtoawaywork?

Severalemployeesnotedthatforsomeawayworkwasbeneficial,andforsomeitwasfinancially desirable,especiallyforthosewithnohomeaddress:OnmywagesIcannotaffordnottowork away.

30

Employersclaimedthattheytookvariousfactorsintoaccountwhenselectingstaffforawaywork, theseincludedchildcareandfamilycommitments,butalsoskilllevels,availabilityandtheamount ofawayworkalreadydone. Allourstaffareexpectedtoworkaway.Staffwithchildcarecommitments(orsimilar)willhave thosecommitmentstakenintoconsiderationbutthereisageneralexpectationthatstaffwillfinda 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: Thereshouldbearotationsystemespeciallyforthosejobswhereyourtoldyourgoingawaythe afternoonbeforehand...Thereisnoconsiderationofanyafterworkplansyoushouldn'thavetolet youremployerknowwhatyoureveningplansareweeksinadvancejustsoyoucanensureyoumight notbeawaythatday.Atleastifyouknewwhatweeksyouwere'on',youcouldplanaroundthat... Aroughlyequalnumberofemployeesfeltthateveryonewastreatedthesameasdisagreedwith thisstatement(Figure28).

Iseveryonetreatedthesame?
Yes No

Figure28Treatmentofstaffinselectionforawaywork

Theeffectofawayworkonthosewithdependantsisanareathatwasnotedbybothemployersand employees.Inrealityweneverseemtohavetoinsistonstayawaysifpeoplecan'tmanageit althoughwouldtrytospreadthisaround.Thesortofareasthatcreatetensionsare,forexample,

31

withparentswithyoungchildren.Weareverymindfulthatrestrictivetravelagreementscancause discontentamongstotherstaffwhohavetocover. Thereweresomewhofeltthatthosewithchildrenwerefavouredbynothavingtogoondistant jobsPeoplewithkidsarefavouredthey'reneveraskedtoworkaway,howevermanysaidtheyfelt thatthiswasreasonablebehaviour:Kidsareviewedasmoreimportantthananyother commitmentswemighthave,possiblyrightly. Evidenceforfrictionbetweenemployeeswasevidentatalowlevel.Therewereoccasional commentsthatcertainstaffmembersneverseemedtohavetoworkaway,whereaseveryoneelse did;othersresentedawaystaffgettingsubswhentheyweredoingworknearthehomeoffice. Olderstaffwereperceivedasgettingpreferentialtreatment,ornewstaffalwaysgotsentawayat shortnoticeTheusualsuspectsaretreatedfairly.Otheremployeesdisagreedthattherewasany favouritismThereisnofavouritism(ifthatswhatyoumean). Therewasalsoperceiveddifferentiationbetweendifferentgradesofstaff: SupervisorsandProjectofficersgetlesschoicesandlesspossibilitytoswapstayawaysthenlower levelsofstaff Therewasconcernthattheabilitytodropeverythinganddoawayjobswasamajorpartinselecting forredundancies.Noneoftheemployersacknowledgedthis;howeverredundancyscoringcriteria dosometimesincludedeployability. 5.3 Guidelines Tenemployersfeltthattheyprovidedclearguidelineswhichwerereadilyavailable,with5stating thatitisdecidedonacasebycasebasiswithconsultationofstaff.Therewasasuggestionthatthis consultationdidchangewhetherworkwasawaystayornotonatleastsomeoccasions.

Guidelinesonawaywork

Yes,thereareclearguidelines althoughthereissomeflexibility asyouwouldexpect Thereareguidelinesbuttheyare notkeptto Idon'tknow

Therearenoguidelinesitseems completelyrandom!

Figure29Guidelinesonawaywork

Oftheemployees15%didntknowwhethertherewereclearguidelinesonawaywork,20%thought thattherewerenoguidelinesdecisionsfeltcompletelyrandomtothem,20%feltthattherewere 32

guidelines,buttheywerenotkeptto(Figure29).46%oftheemployeesknewthattherewereclear guidelines,albeitwithsomeroomforflexibility.Therewasconcernthatconditionshadbeencutto savemoney,possiblyduetotherecession: Itvariesfromjobtojobhowmuchtravelisacceptablee.g.XXXXXtoXXXXXstartedwithB/Bin2009 thenthisoptionwascuttoreducecosts Thedefinitionofwhatconstitutedanawayjobforemployerswasmostlybasedondrivingtimeto thesite,withanacknowledgmentoftheHealthandSafetyimplicationsoflongdrives.Forthose withasetpolicytherewasatriggerof11.5hoursdrivingbeforeajobwasclassedasanawaystay, howevertherewasanacknowledgementthatthiscouldbeadjustedonacasebycasebasis(Figure 30).Onlyoneemployerhada2hourlimit,andthiswasbasedona2hour/60milelimitwhichwas assessedattenderstage. Theemployeesperceptionoftheguidelineswasthatanyformallimitwasusuallybetweenanhour andanhourandahalffromtheofficebutthislimitwasoftenstretchedtosuitboththecompany, andtheteamspersonalpreferences.Employeesacknowledgedthatforshortjobsitwasoftennot worthstayingawayforoneortwonights,althoughothersappreciatedtheextrasubsistence payments. It'sabitliketheBritishconstitution;there'snothingwrittendown,buteverybodyhasafairlygood ideaofwhat'sacceptable. Severalemployeesfeltthattherecessionorwidercostconsciousnesshadimpactedonwhetherjobs wereclassedasawayjobsornot: Therulesregardingthishavegoneoutthewindowinthelast24months.Anythingoveranhour fromtheofficewasanawayjob.Weareexpectedtotravelfortenhoursintotaloveraweekbefore itisconsideredpartofourworkingweek.Thenwearerequiredtoworkahalfhouradayunpaidas 'reasonableovertime',soanother2.5hours.Onlythendowegetpaidforovertime.Theovertime rateinourcontractsispaidattimeandahalf.Inrealityweonlygetpaidattime. Awayworkismeanttobeoveranhourawayfromtheofficehowevertypeofroads,different vehicles(e.g.lowerspeedlimitforvans)andtimeoftravelarenottakenintoconsideration.Alsothe ruleisoftenbrokenduetocost.Onalongjob,especiallyoneatoroverthehourlimitthefatigueof drivingwhichnormallyfallstothemostseniorarchaeologistiscumulativeandpotentially dangerous.AsthedriversarenormallythesupervisorsandPOstheygetnotimetorecoverbecause assoonastheyarriveonsitetheyneedtobedirectingthework. Employersdidnothavealimitonhowearlystaffcouldsetoffonlongjourneystosite,howevertwo employersmentionedthattheywouldnotwanttoseestaffleavingbefore7amonaregularbasis withonestatingthatstaffshouldnotreallyleavebefore6.30am.Employeesreportedthatthey oftenlefttheofficebefore7amandsomecompanieshadrulesthat6amwastheearliestacceptable startbutsomesiteshadrequiredanearlierstart.Severalemployeessaidthatiftheyhadalong journeytheywouldsetofflaterandmakeupthetimeovertheweek,settingoffearlyontheFriday. Thisislesspossibleinwintermonths.

33

Thereisclearlyadiscrepancybetweenhowawayworkfeelstoemployeesandhowemployers considerit.Theemployersnearlyallstatedthattheylikedtogiveasmuchnoticeandtakeindividual circumstancesintoaccount,fortheemployeeshoweverwhilsttherewasanacknowledgementthat itwasadifficulttasktokeepeveryonehappy,therewasafeelingthatawayworkwashavinga negativeeffectontheirlives.Thereappearstobeaperceptionthatemployerssawemployeesas beingavailable24/7andthatanylifebeyondworkhadtobeputonholdwhilstworkingasan archaeologist.Thereisclearacknowledgementthatthereneedstobeawayworktoensure continuousemployment,andtherewasaclearacceptancethathoweverannoying,itwasa fundamentalpartofthejob;howeverthelengthofnoticeandtheassumptionthatother engagementscouldalwaysbedroppedrankleswithmany.Therespondentsdonotappeartobe overlyunreasonableintheirviewsofferingthattheyfeltmostemployerswerereasonablebutthe longtermeffectsofawayworkcanbeseeninmanyoftheircomments.Theuseofflexibilitytodo awayworkasameasureinredundancyprocessesclearlymadeafewemployeesworried.

lengthofdrive (hours)totrigger awaystay

5 4 3 2 1 0 1hour 1.5 2hours hours

lengthof drive(hours)

Figure30Lengthofdrive(hours)totriggerawaystay(Employersurvey)

Forthosewholiveadistanceawayfromthehomeofficethereisanadditionalconcernthatwhen thereisnoawaywork(withaccommodation)andstaffhavetoworkoutofthehomeofficethere aredifficultiesinfindingsomewheretostay,orhavingtocommutelongdistances.Thenatureof archaeologicalcontractstendstoforcearchaeologistsintotakingjobsthatarelocaltothem,are withinafeasiblecommute,orwhichprovideaccommodation;whensuchajobendsitcanbevery hardtostaywiththecompanyasthereisnolongeranyaccommodation.Thearchaeologistmust movehomewiththeconsequentfinancialandsocialcosts(oftenonthepromiseofashortand insecurecontract),commutelongdistances,orpaytwosetsofrent.

34

Accommodation

Accommodationisprovidedbyemployersonmanyawayjobsbutnotall.Provisionof accommodationinsomeformhasbeenanacceptedpartofmanyarchaeologicaljobssincewell beforePPG16.Generallyemployersprovideaccommodationforstaffemployedfromthehome office,butworkingonanawayjob.Staffemployedspecificallyforanawayjobmayormaynotget accommodation,andiftheydoitmaybeataxableperk.Increasinglycertainunitshaverecruited specificallyforasiteandthenmakethatsitetheplaceofwork,meaningthattheydonothaveto provideaccommodationforstaffemployedforthatjob. MylastTWOemployersinthelasttwelvemonthstendtotreatALLworkaslocaltositestaff. [With]mymostrecentemployer,thatwasunderstandableinthesensethatalltheirprojectstendto bewithinageographicallyrestrictedarea.Thethingthatmaderelocatingdifficultforstaffisthe unlikelihoodofacontractlongenoughtomakeformallyrentinglocalaccommodationfeasible.(One needsatleastsixmonthsworktodothat.)TheotherunitwastakingtheproverbialPintheir instance[bysaying]thatnearlyallfieldstaffwerelocal.Thiswasaverylargejointventureproject wheretheotherunittreatedstaffasifitwasanawayproject,whichitwas.Anofficeinasite compoundshouldneverbeallowedasa"mainoffice."Gettingaccommodationwasverydifficultas mostofthecheapandshortdurationoptionshadalreadybeenblockbookedbyeverycivil engineeringfirmalsoinvolvedwiththeproject. Inadditiontheopeningofregionalofficesmeansthatitisnotalwaysclearwhetherstaffareentitled toawayaccommodationiftheyaresubcontractedtoanotheroffice: Oftheemployers,38%occasionallyprovidedaccommodationforstaffworkingonhomeprojects, eitherforstaffwholivedalongwayawaybutwereworkingclosetotheoffice,fortemporarystaff onshorttermcontracts,orforstaffsubcontractedfromanotherregionaloffice.

Accommodation
Yes No Sometimes

Figure31DoesyourCURRENTemployerarrangetheaccommodationforyouonawayjobs?

Theclearmajorityofrespondents(90%)saidthattheiremployerprovidedthemwith accommodationwhenonanawayjob,4%werenotprovidedwithaccommodation,theremainder saidthattheysometimesprovidetheirownaccommodation(Figure31). 35

Typeofaccommodation
B&B(includeshotels) HostelegYHA/backpackers Selfcateringaccommodation (holidaycottageetc) Campsite

Figure32Typeofaccommodationprovided

AccommodationwasmostfrequentlyB&B(58%),with38%mostlystayinginselfcatering accommodation(Figure32).2%stayedinhostelswith3%reportingthattheywereputupina campsiteoneemployeradmittedthattheydidusecampsitesonlyinsummerandinatouristarea whereothertypesofaccommodationarejustnotavailable. Selfcateringwasgivenaspreferredbyseveralemployees,advantagesincludespacetogetaway fromroommates,theopportunitytohavebreakfast,preparelunchandcookdinner.

Doyouhavetosharearoom?
Yes No Sometimes

Figure33Doyouhavetosharearoom?

Sharingroomsisacommoncauseoffrictiononawayjobs,withsnorersoftenresentedbothwhen youhavetosharewithone,orwhentheygettheirownroomasaresult.Generallyitappearsthat supervisorystaffdonotoftensharerooms,butSiteAssistantsoftendo.Theproportionssharing roomsmaybeskewedbythehighproportionofsupervisoryrespondents(Figure33).38ofthe58 whosaidtheydidnteverhavetoshareroomsandwhogavetheircurrentjobtitlewereSupervisors orProjectOfficer,only6weresiteassistants.

36

Ofthe63whosometimessharedwhogavetheirgrade39wereSupervisorsorPOsandonly12 wereSiteAssistants.AllofthosewhosaidtheyalwayshadtosharewereSiteAssistantsexcept2 Supervisorsand,perhapssurprisingly,3ProjectOfficers.

Happinesswithstandardofaccommodation
Veryhappy,itmaybeatshort noticebuttheydotheirbest Happy,itsokmostly Notfussed/seemsreasonable Fairlyunhappymoretimesthan not Veryunhappy

Figure34Howhappyareyouwiththestandardofaccommodationprovidedbyyourcurrentemployer?

120 100 80 60 40 20 0 veryimportant fairlyimportant nicetohave notthatbothered irrelevent

Figure35Rankingoffacilitiesinprovidedaccommodation

Someunitshadanosharingrule,exceptforveryshortperiodsoftime,andotherstriedtoavoid makingstaffsharewhereverpossible,howevercostappearstobeaffectingthis.Someemployees refusedtosharearoomunlessitwaswiththeirpartneralthoughdidnotreportifthiscaused resentmentamongstcolleagues.Oneemployeecommentedthattheymindedsharinglessinself

37

cateringastherewasmorespaceforprivacyandtogetawayfromeachother.Itisnotknown whetherthoseunitsthatmadeemployeescampprovidedsingletents. Generallymostrespondentswerehappywiththeiraccommodationwith72%eitherveryhappyor happywiththestandard,andonly7%unhappyorveryunhappy(Figure34).Onlyonepersonwas veryunhappyabouttheiraccommodation,theyhadspent35nightsawayoverthepreviousyear. Whenaskedwhattheylookedforintheiraccommodation,themostimportantfactorwasgood qualityaccommodationwhichwascleanandhadgoodfacilities,followedbyyourownroomand proximitytosite(Figure35).Theabilitytoactuallyeatyourcookedbreakfastwasalsohighonthe list,presumablyforthoseinB&Bs,andadecentbathroomandspacetorelax.Perhapssurprisingly proximitytoapubwaslowonthelist,aswasshopsandWiFi. 6.1 Additionalaccommodation Notallemployeeswereprovidedwithaccommodationonawayjobs,asmallbutsignificantminority ofthosewhoworkaway(22%)paidfortheirownaccommodation,inadditiontotheirhomerent, withoutanycompensationfromtheemployer.Avarietyoftypesofaccommodationwereused (Figure36).Thecostvariedbetween10(tofriendsforuseofthesofa)and200aweekforB&Bor holidaycottages,withmostpayingaroundthe5080levelforsharedlodgings.Somechoseto sofasurftoreducecosts,stayingwithfriendsorfamilywhereverpossible.

Typeofpersonalaccommodation
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Numberofrespondents

Figure36Typeofpersonallyfinancedawayaccommodation

Employerssometimeshelpedstafffindaccommodation,eventhoughtheydidnotpayforit.35%of employeesfelttheiremployerwasextremelyorveryhelpful,howeverover50%ofrespondents 38

weregivennohelpinfindingaccommodation(Figure37).Oftheemployers,38%feltthattheywere extremelyhelpfulorveryhelpfulinhelpingstafffindaccommodation.

Assistanceinfindingaccommodation
Extremelyhelpfulegtheyprovidesitehousesfordiggers Veryhelpful,egtheytryandarrangeaccommodationfornewstafforgivetimeoffto lookforaccommodation Helpful,egtheygivelistsofaccommodationagenciesandhostelsbutitsuptometo sortitfromthere Nohelpgiven:itsuptometosortitallout

Figure37Ifyouhavetosortyourownaccommodationforwork(inadditiontoyourmainresidence),howhelpfulisyour currentemployer?

39

Subsistenceallowance

82%ofemployeesreceivedasubsistenceallowanceforawaywork(Figure38).Thiswasmostly basedonaflatpaymentpernightspentawayfromhome.Mostunitshadasingleflatrateofsub, althoughseveralpaidalowerratetothoseinselfcateringaccommodationthaninB&B.One employerappearedtonotpayanysubsistenceforselfcatering.Mostemployersdidnotrequire receiptsforthemoney,andformanythemoneywaspaiddirectthroughpayroll.

Doyougetanightlysubonawaywork?
Yes No

Figure38Provisionofnightlysubsistencepayment

MostoftheemployershadnothadanyproblemswithHMRCregardingthetaxablestatusoftheir subsistencepayments,expensesoraccommodation;howeveroneemployerhadhadtojustify raisingtheirsubsratestothetaxman,andfollowingdiscussionswiththeHMRCanotheremployer receivedtaxbillsforthecostofprojectaccommodationwhichtheypaidinfullaspartoftheproject costs. Manyunitswouldappeartohavedroppedanyrequirementtoprovidereceipts,presumablyasit wasanadministrativeburden,andtheynowpaydirectbasedontimesheets;howeverforother unitstherewasarequirementtoprovidereceipts.Respondentswhowereemployedbytheunits thatdemandedreceiptshadcomplaintsthatthepaymentcouldtakeupto2monthstogetintopay packets.Oneunitwasapplyingtogettheirsubsratesraised. Thesubpaymentvariesacrossthecountry,however15anightwasthemostcommonpayment (Figure39).

40

Maximumnightlysubsistencepayment
70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Figure39Maximumnightlysubsistencepaymentbynumberofrespondents

Whatwasthetotalamountofsubsreceivedoverthelast12monthsbyemployees?Bymultiplying thenumberofnightsspentaway,bythesubs,wecangetanestimateoftheamountpaidinsubs, obviouslyanumberoffactorslimithowaccuratethisdatais(Figure40).

Annualsubsistencepayments
35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 selfassessed calculated

Figure40Annualsubsistencepayments;selfassessedversuscalculated

Welookedattheamountsthatrespondentssaidtheyhadreceivedoverthelast12months.Most respondentsstatedthattheyhadreceived500orless,howeversignificantnumberssaidthatthey 41

receivedfarmore.Thehighestamountarespondentclaimedtohavereceivedwas10,000, howeverthispersonwasona(verified)rateof90anightsubs,thenexthighestwas7,500,also on90anightsubs.Eightrespondentsaccrued2000ormore. Wethenlookedathowmanynightstheyclaimedtohaveworkedawaytoseeifsurveyfatiguehad skewedthefigures:wemultipliedthenumberofnightsawaybythestatedsubsrate,theresults werebroadlysimilar,althoughtherewereafewmorerespondentsreceivinglargeramountsthan theyhadstated. Itisclearfromoursurveythattherearesomearchaeologistswhoworkaroundtheyearawayfrom home.Someofthesemaynothaveanyaccommodationcosts(astheydonothaveafixedhome), butmanydohaverentormortgagestopay,yetrarelyspendmorethanaweekendathome.Those sitestaffwhoworkawayallyear,for200nightsayear,atarateof10anightwillreceive2,000a yearinadditiontotheirsalary,whilstthoseon15anightwillreceive3,000ayear,bothastaxfree sums.ThisclearlyrepresentsaconsiderableamountofmoneycomparedtoaPIfAsalaryofe.g. 15,500,increasingthetotalincomingstoover18,000.Forsome:thesubscertainlymakea noticeabledifferencetomypay.InfactIconsiderawayjobstobefairlylucrativefinancially.;subs andovertimearetheonlythingsthatmakethejobcomeclosetofinanciallyviable.Certainlyseveral employeesstatedthatlongstretchesofawayworkespeciallyinselfcateringallowedthemtosave abitofmoney,andthattheyreallyfeltthedifferencewhenbackonhomejobswithnosubs. Butatwhatprice?Theemployeeisworkingawayfromhomeforalltheyear,iftheyhaveNOrentor mortgagetopaythenaslongastheyhavecontinuousemployment(astheylosetheirhomeifthey runoutofawaywork)thentheyareataconsiderableadvantagecomparedtothosethatpayrent butthenthisisalwaysthecaseifyouhavenorenttopay!Isthatawaytoconstructaprofession? Subsareofficiallytocompensateforadditionalexpenditurecausedbyawaywork,howevertheyare oftenactuallyusedtopayforaweeklycommutetosite/office,ortosubsidisealowwage.Forthose onsubsof10anightorlesswhoarestayinginB&Bthesubsoftendonotcoverthecostofan eveningmealandalunchthathastobeboughtasthereisnowheretokeepfoodfresh.Ifthe breakfastcannotbeeatenbecauseyouneedtoleavebeforeitisservedthenthatisanadditional cost.Forthosewhoarenotworkingintownsitisnotalwayspossibletogetcheapfood: Ifyouareinagoodlocationinselfcateringthenyoucansavemoneyasyoucandoanormalweeks shoppingandcookforyourself.Iwouldn'tspend60onfoodaweekforthewholefamily,letalone justmefor4nights.IfinB&Byoucan'tstorefoodsolunches(whicharen'tmeanttobecoveredby yoursub)aremorepricey.Itcanbeexpensivetogeteveningmealifthereisnowherecheap,andthis canswallowallyoursubasotherthanchipsthecheapestmealsmaybe10.IamfortunateasIhave agoodwagesosubsareaniceextrabutnotessential.Whenat[companynamedeleted]2years ago,theywereessentialasthewagewassolow.Wewereputupinamotelinthecountrywherethe cheapestmealwas8andtherewerenoshops.WedidashoppingruneveryMondaybuthadno fridgesorcookingequipment. Severalemployeescommentedthatsubshadnotriseninlinewithinflation,andthattheir purchasingpowerwasdropping.Severalsubsdonotappeartohaveincreasedforseveralyears, althoughnodatawasgatheredonthis.

42

Howimportantareanysubstoyourtotalincome? 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Very,couldnt Theymakea Theycoverthe Notbotheredatall Theydontcover surviveonmy differencetomy extracostofaway theadditional basicpaywithout paypacketbutits workbutIdont costs them notessentialtoget makeanymoney them outofthem
Figure41Howimportantareanysubstoyourtotalincome?

Ofthosewhoreceivedsubsasmallnumberwerenotbotheredaboutthemoney,howeverthese employeeshadnotdonesignificantawayworkandwereallatProjectOfficergradeorabove.26% ofrespondentsfeltthattheycouldntsurviveonbasicpayalonewithoutsubs,with41%feelingthat theybrokeevenonthecostsofawayworkthankstosubs,for19%theymadeadifferencebutwere notessential(Figure41).10%feltthattheydidntcoverthecostsofawaywork.Clearlysomeof thesestatementsarenotmutuallyexclusive,andforthemajorityofthosethatreceivethem,subs areawelcomeadditiontoincomes.

43

Travel

Nearlyallarchaeologicalemployeeshavetotravelsomedistancetowork,forsomeitisashortdaily commute,forothersitmaybeaweeklycrosscountryjourney.Questionsweredesignedtoestablish patternsofbehaviours,andthecoststoemployeesintermsoffinancialcosts,andtimecosts.

Distancefromoffice
60 50 40 30 20 10 0 <1mile 15miles 610miles 1115miles 1620miles 2125miles 2630miles 3135miles 3640miles 4145miles 4650miles 51miles+

Figure42HowfardoyoulivefromyourCURRENTemployer'soffice(inmiles)?

Themajorityofrespondentslivedwithin15milesoftheiroffice;themaximumstateddistancewas 300miles,presumablyaweeklycommuteorawayjob(Figure42).Refreshinglyeveryonelivingless thanamilefromworkwalked,thelongestcyclecommutewas18miles.Mostpeopletravelledinto theofficebycarorpublictransport,withonlyasmallproportiongettingalift(Error!Reference ourcenotfound.).

Gettingtotheoffice
walk bike publictransport Companyvehicle Owncar/motorbike Lift

44

Figure43Whatisyourprincipalmethodofgettingtoyourcurrentplaceofwork?

Thefinancialcostofadailycommuteofafewmilesbycarmayappearnegligible;howeveradaily commuteof30milesaddsupto150milesaweek,andcancostupwardsof2530aweekinfuel alone.AweeklyZone3TravelcardinLondoncost34.20whilstthesurveywasopen,acommuteon localtrainscancarryasimilarcost,especiallyintheexpensivemorningperiod,andlongertrain journeyscancostsignificantlymore.Longcarjourneyssuchasthe600mileroundtripwould swallowasignificantproportionofanarchaeologistswageifdoneregularly. Thelocationoftheofficeisalsoofrelevance,forthoseemployerswhoseofficesareinatownor city,itiseasierforemployeestogetaccommodationnearby,andpublictransportisusuallybetter. Forofficesawayfromcentresofpopulationtherecanbeaproportionalincreaseincommute,anda proportionalincreaseindifficultyofgettingaccommodation,especiallyshorttermdigsusedby manytemporaryworkers.

Gettingfromofficetosite
walk bike publictransport Companyvehicle Owncar/motorbike Lift

Figure44Ifyougotoanofficefirst,howdoyounormallygetfromyourofficetosite?

Onceattheoffice54%transferredtoacompanyvehicletogettosite,however24%usedtheirown vehicletogetfromtheofficetosite,with2%gettingaliftfromacolleaguepresumablyalsoina privatecar(Figure44).16%usedpublictransporttogettosite,howevernearlytwothirdsofthese employeesworkedinLondon.Employerswhorespondedreportedthatallstaffwereallowedto drivecompanyvehicles,althoughoftentherewerecheckssuchasatestdrivewithasenior manager,orintwocasessomeformofformaltest. 8.1 Carownershipanduseofprivatecars 11employersstatedthattheysometimesrequiredstafftousetheirowncarsforwork,althoughthis wasoftentotheemployeesadvantageasforexampleitmeanttheymightnothavetogotowork viatheoffice.Onecompanydidnotownanycompanyvehicles,andothersstatedthattheyrequired stafftousetheirownvehiclesinsteadofhiringvehicles.Mostemployerscheckedthatstaffwere adequatelyinsuredtouseprivatevehicles,howeveroneemployerdidnotperformanysuchtest butisitclearlystipulatedthattheymusthavethis.Mileageformswerethemainmethodof 45

claimingmoneyback,howeverfuelcardswerealsogivenout(whichobviouslydonotcover depreciation,wearandtearorrunningcosts). 57outof184respondentshadnomotorisedtransportoftheirown(Figure45).Ofthosethatsaid theydidnthaveacar,butsaidthattheycouldntdotheirjobwithoutone,nearlyallhadacarshare orgotliftsfromfamily/friendsorcolleagues.

Carownership
Ownacar Nocar

Figure45Doyouownacar/motorbike?

Ofthosethatdidhaveacar,79outof124saidtheycouldntdotheirjobwithouttheircar.45said theycould.25%oftheemployerssaidthattheyrequiredstafftohaveadrivinglicence,althoughthis wasoftenonlyforSupervisorgradeorabove. Ofthenoncarowners141didnotcarshare,whilst38diddependonliftsprovidedbyothers.Ofthe carowners,103didntcarshareoruseliftswhilst20usedliftsorcarshareddespitehavingtheir ownvehicles,presumablytosavemoneyandfatigue. Ofthosethatdidhaveacar,3/4suseditforwork,butworryingly,athirdofthosewhousedtheir carsforworkwerenotsureiftheywereproperlyinsuredornot(Figure46).

Useofprivatecarforcompanywork
No Yes,anditisinsuredforwork Yes,butnotsureifitsproperly insuredforwork

Figure46Useofprivatecarforcompanywork

Thecostsofrunningavehicleobviouslyvaryfrompersontoperson,andthedatawegotfrom respondentswasinsuchvariedformatsthatitwassimplynotpossibletoanalyse.Wehave thereforelookedelsewhereforfiguresonthecostofrunningacar.TheRACestimatesthataused 46

carcost4,724ayeartorunin2011,upby283since2010.Thatisamileagecostofnearly40pper mile:anyonepaidlessthanthatismakingalossoneverymile. TheRACfigureincludes1,556forfueltocover12,000miles,whichwhenexcludedleavesannual costof3,168(RAC2011).Petrolincreasedby13.83%in2011(ibid),andinsurancehasalsorisen sharply;transportcostsareincreasingandwagesandmileagearenottakingthisintoaccount.

47

Workinghours

Onlyonerespondentworkedparttime,workinga3dayweek.Ofthefulltimeworkersmostworked a37or37.5hourweekasstandard,althoughthatdidnotincludeanypaidorunpaidtraveltime outsideofthebasicworkingday(Figure47).

Basiccontractualhours
90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 30 35 36 37 37.5 38 38.75 40 42 hours hours hours hours hours hours hours hours hours
Figure47Basiccontractualhours

Whenworkrelatedtravel(fromtheofficetothesite,outsideofcorehours,notincludingfrom hometooffice)isaddedtothebasiccontractualhoursthefiguresjumpeddramaticallyformany respondents(Figure48).

30 25 20 15 10 5 0

Totalhoursworkedincludingworkrelated travel

37.5hours

30hours

35hours

36hours

37hours

38hours

39hours

40hours

41hours

42hours

43hours

44hours

45hours

46hours

47hours

49hours

50hours

51hours

52hours

55hours

57hours

60hours

62hours

70hours

75hours

Figure48Totalweeklyhoursworkedincludingworkrelatedtravel

48

Approximately25%ofemployeesdidnotappeartocarryoutanyworkrelatedtravel,thismaybe becausetheyworkedprimarilyintheoffice,ortheytravelstraighttositeeachmorning(atleastten workedinLondon).Theremainderalltravelledforworkoutsideofcorehours,usuallyfromofficeto site.Ofthese,over50%workedbetween45and50hoursaweekwhenworkrelatedtravelwas included:28%spentbetween1and5hoursonworktravel,with28%spendingover10hoursaweek onworktraveloutsideofcontractedhours(Figure49). Thesehoursareontopofthetimespenttravellingtotheoffice,forsitebasedstaffthemajority wereoutofthehouseby6.30am,withsomeleavingasearlyas5ameverydayand8%leaving before6amand20%before6.30am.35%lefthomebetween7amand7.30,althoughsomeofthese mayhavebeenofficebasedstaff.Employeesgotbackhomebetween4.30pmiftheywereinthe officeand8.30pm,withthemajoritygettinghomeafter6pm.Forstaffwhoarecommutingweekly fromhomesacrossthecountrytheMondaystartsareevenearlier,andthearrivalhomeevenlater onFridayevening.
40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 numberofrespondents

Figure49Numberofhoursofworkrelatedtraveloutsidecorehours

9.1 Paidtraveltime Aswehaveseenemployeesareoftenexpectedtotravelfromofficetoworkoutsideofcorehours, oftenfortenhoursaweek.Butaretheypaidforthis?Practicewaswidelyvariable,andappearedto oftenbeinconsistentwithinthesameorganisation,althoughthismaymerelyindicatepoor communicationorunderstandingoftherulesbystaff.Forsomeemployerstraveltimewasincluded withinemployeesweeklyhours,formostitwasnot.Fordriversthesituationwasmarginallybetter thanforpassengers,eventhenthesituationwasconfusingwithamultitudeofdifferentwaysof payingornotpayingdriverstime.

49

SomecompaniesgaveTimeOffInLieu(TOIL)fordriversatbasicrate,otherspaiddriversatTime, whilstonemajororganisationpaiditatTimeandaHalf.Anotherorganisationpaiddriversata75% hourlyrate,anotherat10%hourlyrate,anotherpaidaflat5.50aday,anotherapparentlypaida flatrateof1.6hoursaday. Someorganisationstriedtoreducepaiddrivingtime,bydiscountingthefirst30minutes,orthefirst andlast30minutes,othersdidnotpaythefirsthour,theseunitsusuallypaidatstandardhourly rate. ForpassengersseveralorganisationspaidatTimeorinTOIL,withoneunitpayingTimeandahalf, althoughthismaybeonlyforsupervisorystaff.Otherorganisationspayat75%ofTime.Manyunits didnotpayanypassengertime. Itisnotentirelyclearwhathappenswithpassengerstravellingintheprivatevehiclesofcolleagues onworkrelatedtravel,althoughindicationsaretheyarenotpaid,withthedriversgettingonly mileage,orinsomecasesonlyfuelcosts(viafuelcards)withnopaymentforrunningcosts. Somecompaniesonlypaidtheirsupervisorstraveltime,whethertheydroveornot. Manycompaniesdidnotpayfordrivingtimeatall;thesecompaniesstillaskedtheirstafftotravel, theyjustdidntpayanyofthemforanyoftheirtime. Therewasaclearproblemwithconfusingrates,withalackofknowledgeoftheratesamongst employees,despitetheapparentlyclearguidelinesgivenbyemployers.Ithasnotbeenpossibleto tabulatethedifferentratesasitistoocomplexandtheinformationisoftencontradictory dependantonemployeegrade,orlocation.Insteadwehavecreatedasetofscenarios(Section11) whichshowtheimpactofdifferentratesoftravelpayandofsubsonincomeandcosts. 9.2 Mileage Forthoseusingtheirownvehiclesforworkbusinessmileagerateswerealsovariable,between 12.5ppermileand87ppermile,withmostmileageinthe3540ppermilerange.Severalemployers paidalowerrateafteracertainnumberofmiles,droppingtoaslowas11ppmafteraslittleas100 miles.Figuresfromarecentstudyshowthatwithincreasedfuelcoststheaverageusedcarcostsjust under40ppermiletorun(RAC2011). 9.3 Totalcompensationfortravelrelatedtime Respondentsclaimedthattheamounttheyreceivedfortravelrelatedovertimeandmileagewastoo variabletoestimateaccurately,howeverfiguresgivenvariedbetweennothingandseveralhundred poundsforthosethatranuplargeamountsofmileageorhours.Therewerecommentsthatmileage paymentstookalongtimetoarrive,andwerenotcoveringincreasingfuelcosts.Forthosethat accruedTOILtherewasthebenefitofadditionalpaidtimeoff,withsomecompanieslimitingthisto 2weeksTOILwithalltimeafterthisamountpaidattime. Approximatelyhalfoftherespondentsdidnotgetanypaymentforanytravel. Travelpaymentswhethermileageortraveltime,meantadifferencetothepaypacketsofmany archaeologists,19%ofrespondentsstatedthattheyreliedontravelpaymentstosupplementtheir basicpay: 50

thecarallowancetransformsmysalaryfromOKtoreasonable.Itisanessentialpartofmyincome, butisbeingerodedbyrisingfuelcosts,againstfixedallowances. Another17%claimedtheymadeadifferencebuttheywerenotessential.Itmaybethatthe irregularnatureofanypaymentdependantonhowmuchdrivingortravelisdone,makestravel expensesifpaid,difficulttorelyon: drivingpaymakesahugedifferencetothepaypacket,butitwouldbefoolishtorelyonit.Iliveas muchaspossiblewithinthemeansofnormalhourspay(withsubswhenworkingaway)andany extraissaved. Thelevelofmileagepaymentwascriticisedbyafewemployeesasnotcoveringrunningcosts, depreciationorwearandtear,especiallyduetorisingfuelprices.18%feltthepaymentsdidntcover theadditionalcostsoftravel,andfor14%thepaymentswereirrelevantprobablybecauseforboth ofthesegroupsmostoftheserespondentsdidntgetanypaymentatall(Figure50).
50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Very,couldnt Theymakea Theycoverthecost Theydontcoverthe Notbotheredatall surviveonmybasic differencetomypay oftravelbutIdont additionalcosts paywithoutthem packetbutthey're makeanymoneyout notessentialtome ofthem
Figure50Howimportantareanytravelpaymentstoyou?

9.4 Drivingwhilsttired 18%ofrespondentsstatedthattheysometimesdrovejusttogettheextramoney,48%saidthat theysometimesfeltpressurisedtodrivewhentired.Thiscouldbeadangerousmix.Thesituation couldbeexacerbatedbyalackofotherdrivers,meaningthatthesamepersonmustdoallthe drivingandwilloftenberunningthesite: IhavebeenonsiteswhereIwastheonlydriver,witha1.5hourdriveeachway,andthenhadtohit groundrunningimmediatelyas[Iwas]runningthesite.Noopportunitytorest,althoughpassengers sleptalltheway.IusedtodothesamebeforeIcoulddrive!Workdrivingisontopof1hourgetting toandfromhome.Atendofweekeveryonejustwantstogethomeasapsothereisunspoken pressurealthoughwearetoldtotakerestbreaks.Plusthosewhodon'tdriveoftenaresleepingoffa hangoverwhilstIwassober,whichisreallyannoying! Twochildren,mortgageandneedtoholddownanunsteadyjobsotrytobeinvaluabledoingjobs otherswon'tdo. 51

Allbut2oftheemployersstatedthatdriverswereallowedpaidrestbreaks.20%ofrespondentshad receivedadditionaldrivertraining,ofthesemosthadbeenon4WD/offroadcoursesorMIDAS minibuscourses. Employershavearesponsibilityforthehealthandsafetyofanyemployeedriving,or beingdriven,onworksbusiness.Employersarealsoresponsibleforthehealthandsafetyoftheir employeesdrivingtoworkifitisn'ttheirnormalplaceofwork(soanyonedrivingfromhometosite, iftheircontractedplaceofworkis'theoffice').Thisshouldbecoveredbyworkplacerisk assessmentsandthereisguidanceontheHSEwebsiteaboutdriving http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg382.pdfandfatigue http://www.hse.gov.uk/humanfactors/topics/fatigue.htm.

52

10

Viewsofawayworkandarchaeology

Thefinalsetofquestionsreflectedontheimpactofawayworkonemployees,andonhowtheyfelt abouttheirarchaeologicalcareersandprospects.Employeeswereaskedhowmuchawayworkand accommodationprovisionaffectedtheirchoiceofwhatjobstoapplyfor,for69%ofrespondentsit didaffecttheirdecisions(Figure51).

Doesawayworkandaccommodationaffect whichjobsyoucanapplyfor?
Notbotheredatall, 14

Verymuch,59 Neitherway,31

Afairbit,43

Figure51Doesawayworkandaccommodationaffectwhichjobsyoucanapplyfor?

Severalcommentedthatstayingawaywasapartofthejob,andtherewasawidespreadacceptance ofboththeneedtobeabletoworkaway,andawillingnesstomoveforagoodcontract.Most commentswerehoweverperhapsunsurprisinglynegative,particularlywheretheytouchedonthe difficultiesofsurvivingonanarchaeologistswage.Theyincludedthedifficultyofpayingfora secondhomeoralengthydailycommute: Withoutprovidedaccommodation,thereisnowayIcanaffordtowork, Ialreadypayforrentetcatmyownflat,Icannotaffordtopayforaccommodationforawaywork, InthecasewherenoaccommodationisofferedanditisbeyondareasonablecommuteIcannot seriouslyentertainapplyingforthatwork. UsuallyprovisionofaccommodationistheonlythingIlookforbeforeapplying Severaltimesofferedworkbuthadtodeclineduetoitbeingtofaraway Therewasanoteddissatisfactionwithdoinganendlesssuccessionofawayjobs,livingoutofa suitcasewhilstpayingrentforahomethatwasrarelyseen;thiscombinedwithaclearsenseof awayfatiguefrommanyemployees:

53

IusedtotakejobsintheRepublicofIreland,butgotfeduplivingoutofasuitcaseandhavingit affectmyprivateandfamilylife,soIwillonlytakeshorttermjobsawayfromhome. Notwillingtodoawayworkanylongerinanyfuturejobs Whilsttherewasaclearrecognitionoftheneedtodoawaywork,especiallywhentherewaslittle otherworkinaregion: Iwouldnotapplyforajobthatwasawayworkallthetimeasmylifewouldnotbesettled.butlike todosomefortheextramoneyandithashelpedkeepourjobsoverthelasttwoyearsasoffice basedworkwasn'tavailable. Therewasacknowledgementthatifaccommodationwasprovidedtherewasanopportunityto makemoremoney,butitseemsthatthiswasgenerallycomparedtothecostofrunningtwohomes, andsowasborneoutofthedesirenottobelosingmoneyonthis: Makeshugedifferencetobankbalance. Somecommentedthatitwashardtomoveforlessthanasixmonthcontract: Iamverywillingtoworkthroughoutthecountry,butIhavetobeabletoaffordtodoso. Accommodationforshortdurationprojectsisessential.Icannotupsticksandmoveforanythingless thanayear.Maybethatreflectsmyage. Familycommitmentswerementioned,aswasthefactthatsomeemployeeshadnowsettleddown andprioritiesmayhavechanged. NowthatI'vegotahouse,ahusbandandadogIcouldn'tdoajobifIwasexpectedtoworkaway mostofthetime. Severaltimesemployerswerenotedastakingpersonalcircumstancesintoaccount,howeverthere wasaconcernthatbeingtiedtooneplace,orunabletoworkawayforwhateverreasonaffectedjob security: Can'tworkawayfromhome(youngkids)sohavebeenviewedaslessdeployableduringrecent redundancysituations. Manyemployeesfeltthattheirflexibilityandwillingnesstoworkawaymeantthattheywerestill employedwhenotherswerenot. 'Deployability'isanimportantconsiderationwhentheaxecomesswingingdown. IfIcouldn'tdriveorworkawayIwouldhavebeenunemployedseveraltimesovertheyears. Otherswereconcernedabouttheimpactofaperipateticlifestyleinthelongrun: WhenIhadmoreregularemploymentIregularlyworkedaway.ItdidnotaffecthowIwasviewedin theunit.IthinkitaffectedmycareerdevelopmentthoughasIwasneverabletocommitto volunteerwork(communityoutreachetc)norcoursesforspecifictechnicaldevelopment.Asmyfield careeriscomingtoanendduetopoorjoints,Ireallyfeelthelackofthis.

54

Theonlycommentsfromthosethatwerenotbotheredwerefromthosethathadeithernotdone awaywork,orwerealwaysgivenaccommodation. 10.1 Worklifebalanceandlongtermeffectofawaywork Theeffectofawayworkandlonghoursonpersonallifehasbeentouchedoninpreviouscomments, mostemployeesdidnotfeelanypositiveeffectfromworkingawayalthough22%wereambivalent (Figure52).Respondentsmentionedthelackofnoticeofawaywork,andthelackoftimetosee partnersorfamilyorfriends,andthepressuretomakethemostofsharedtimetogetherwhenthey weretiredfromlongjourneys.

Howmuchdoyoufeelawayworkaffects yourhome/familylife?

Itdoesn'thelpmatters! Itdoesn'treallyaffectmeeither way Itismostlydetrimental

Figure52Howmuchdoyoufeelawayworkaffectsyourhome/familylife?

Alltherespondingemployersfeltthattheiremployeeswereabletoenjoyagoodbalanceofaway workandtravelworkingfortheircompany,allowingthemtohaveareasonablypredictablehome life: Weareawareoftheproblems,andgenuinelytrytomakesurethatthedemandsofworkandtravel donotunfairlyimpactonhomelife...butthenatureofourworkplacessomedifficultdemandson individuals. Therewasanacknowledgementthatawayworkcouldbetiring,stressful,andnotagoodthingto doforlongperiodsoftime.LongertermIdonotfellthatitisverybeneficialtostaff.Some employersfeltthatitwasanintrinsicpartofarchaeology:Weexplainthatitispartofthejobfrom theoutsetandifindividualsdonotwanttoundertaketravelanymorethentheyareprobablyinthe wrongjobandafeelingthatitwasatemporarystateofaffairsformost:Awayworkingispartand parcelofarchaeologicalfieldworkandformostwillbeafeatureoftheirearliercareers,ratherthana permanentstateofemployment.

55

Theeffectonmoralewasacknowledged,aswasthefinancialcost:Wedonotgenerallyconsider awayworktobecosteffectiveorconducivetostaffmorale.Askediftheyhadtriedtorecruitlocally toreducetravelandaccommodationcosts,severalemployersstatedthattheyhad,butwithmixed results.Onehadreducedcostsmarginallybyrecruitinglocally,othersdidthisregularlyandstated thatitwashardtowinlongdistancejobsifaccommodationcostswereincurred.Twoemployers saidthattheysubcontractedworktolocalorganisations. Commentsfromtheemployeeswerepossiblypredictablydownbeat: WhenIworkedawayalot,itwasverydifficulttobethereformylovedoneswhentheyneededme. Amnowinanewrelationship,prolongedawayworkwaslargelyresponsibleforthebreakdownof mypreviousrelationshipafteraperiodof2yearsworkingsolelyonawaysites. Ihaveaveryunderstandingpartner Itcanbeextremelydetrimentalmywifefeelsentirelyunsupportedwhencaringforourchild. Manycommentedthattheyweretiredattheweekendandspentmostofitasleep,washingclothes orpreparingforthenextweek: UsedtospendmostofFridaynightonpublictransportbeforeihadacar,spentmostofSaturday sleepinganddoingwashing.Onlygottoseefriends/boyfriendsatnight,andspentSundaypacking andtravelling ExhaustedatendofweekandbySundayhavingtopacktothinkaboutleavingearlyMonday morning Therewasalsoaneffectonhobbies,theabilitytoattendcourses,andtoseefriendsandkeepin touchwithpeople. Itaffectedmyabilitytonetworkinmyhomecommunity,notjustinHeritage,butlifeingeneral.Ino longerknowanyonewhoisn'tanarchaeologist. Ihavegivenupallofmyeveningactivities,includingbeingChairofanarchaeologicalsocietyas awayjobsaffectedmyinputintothesociety.IcannotjoineveningclassesasIdonotknowwhenI willbesentaway. Itmakesitdifficulttomaintainastableprivatelifeoutsidearchaeology. AsdeploymentissortedoutonaweekbyweekbasisIcannotcommittoseefriends,attend plays/functionsetc.orpursuehobbiesintheweekasIdon'tknowmyavailability. Somesawapositivesideinawaywork,andmanysawitintheround: divorcedandsinglesoIcandowhatIlike! Itsgreatinsmalldoses,butcanbecomewearingafterawhile.Hasn'treallyaffectedmemuch recently,buthavehadlongstintsinScotland,Turkey,andFranceinthepast.

56

Wecope.Itmeansmygirlfriendcan'tgetajobeasilyaswehaveadaughterandIneverknowwhen Iwillbehome.Wecan'tplangoingoutasImaybeaway/getting[back]late.Morenoticewouldbe good.Theplussides?Abitmoremoney,butifIdidn'tworkawaymyGFcouldgetajobsowe'dbe betteroff.Idoenjoythesocialsideofawayworkandtheopportunitytogettoknowcolleaguesas people. Andmanywerepragmaticaboutit,especiallythosewhowerenotinarelationship,ordidlittleaway travel: InsomewaysIlikeawaywork,asitisachangeofscene,anescapefromofficepoliticsandachance tospendsomequalitytimeinnicepubs.Also,ifaccommodationisclosetositeitcanmeanIgeta (relative)lieininthemornings.ItisactuallythehomebasedjobswhichIfindmoredishearteningas thereareearlierstarts,moredriving,andoftenlittleproblemstobedealtwithintheofficeevery night. Backatweekendssonottoomuchofaproblem. Idontdoitveryoften,butitwouldbecomeanuisancebalancinghome/worklife. Iammainlyacircuitworkerandhaveneverbeenpermanentwithacompany.Ienjoythelifestylefor themostpartbutmygirlfriendisanarchaeologistandshefeelsthatconstantlyfollowingtheworkis detrimentalassomeoneelseisalwaysincontrolofyourlifeandwhereyouareheading.Alsoliving outofabackpackisnotideal. Butmanysawalongertermeffectonthosewhowereperpetuallymovingaround: Awayworkmeansno''roots''setdowntooneplace. Inmanyways,Ifeeltheitinerantlifestyleretardedmyprivatelifeforseveralyearsandleftme 'ungrounded'toaparticularplace.Ifeelthislackofstabilityisaserioushindrancetofield archaeologistspersonallivesandonethatisnotcompensatedforinpay. 10.2 Thefuture Employeeshadmixedviewsonhowawayworkaffectedfuturecareerchoicesof155answers,22 saidtheyenjoyedthelifestyle,howevermanyofthesealsowantedamorepredictablelifeinthe futureandsomeofthemsaiditaffectedwhethertheywillstayinthefieldlongterm(Figure53).Of thosethatlikedtheextraincomeofawaywork(19)almostall(14)wantedamorepredicablelifein thefuture,11feltitwasajobandtheygotonwithit. Ofthe77whoagreedthatitsajob,Igetonwithit,30wantedamorepredictablelife,and18felt itaffectedwhethertheywouldstayinthefieldlongterm.Ofthosethatwantedapredictablelife (67)12wantedtogetoutnow. Manysaythattheyfullyacceptthatitispartofworkingintheprofessionbutthattheyhopethat theunpredictabilityofawayworkingwillnotaffectthemasmuchinthefuture.Thereisa 57

consensusthatlastminuteawayjobsaredifficulttomanageandaffectpersonalcommitments adverselywhilethereisarecognitionthatthosewithfamiliesarelesslikelytobeaskedto undertakeawayworkthereisaconsensusthatthosewithoutfamilycommitmentsareexpectedto sacrificetheirpersonallivesfortheirwork.Acommonresponsewasthatlimitednoticedoesnot allowforforwardplanningforpersonallife.Thereappearstobelittlewillingnessonthepartof thoseorganisingawayworktotakeaccountofpriorfamilycommitmentsandpersonal responsibilities,evenatweekends,andthisisevidentintheamountoftimethatfieldworkershave tospendtravellingoutofhours.Thistimeisoftenunpaid.Furthermore,abilitytotravelandhometo sitedistancearerarelyconsidered.

Howdoesawayworkaffectyourfuture careerchoices?
90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Ienjoythe lifestyle Ilikethe Itsajob,IgetIwouldlikeaIcanonlysee Itcertainly extracash onwithit more moretravel affects predictable andaway whetherIwill lifeinthe workifIam stayinthe fieldlong future promoted term Iamfedup withitand wanttoget outNOW

Figure53Howdoesawayworkaffectyourfuturecareerchoices?

Askedhowlongtheywouldstayinarchaeologytherewerealotofarchaeologistswhowereinitfor thelongrun,howevertherewerealsoalotwhowereeitheractivelylookingtogetout,orwereon thelaststraw.Therewasarealfeelingthattherewerealotofemployeeswhowantedtostaydoing ajobtheybothlovedandhatedforaslongaspossible,butforwhomtherewaslittlechanceof makingagoofitiftheywantedanythingfromlifeotherthanahandtomouthexistence. Hasitalwaysbeenthisway?Havewealwaystreatedouryoungarchaeologistsasdisposable? Therehasalwaysbeenarapidfallingawayofprofessionalsafterafewyearsastherealitysetsin, buthavewebecomeconditionedbythisapparentshorttermcareertonotcareaboutthosethat areonthejuniorrungsoftheladder,knowingthatmostwillleaveforgoodinayearortwo?Isthere awideranddeeperfallingawayatpresent,wherethereisanincreasingfeelingthattheprofession isnotservingthearchaeologists,orthearchaeology?Itmustberememberedthatmanyofthe respondentswhoaresodisillusionedareProjectOfficersandSupervisors,thosewhohadalready survivedthetraditionalearlyexodusfromarchaeologicalcareers,andwhoareinrelativelybetter paidpositions.Iftheseprofessionalsleave,andwearerightaboutthehiatusinnewrecruits,then 58

thealreadyshakyskillsfoundationsinarchaeologymaybeingravedanger,Archaeologycannot affordtolosetheseprofessionals. Thereisanincrediblefondnessforarchaeologyandarchaeologistsinmanycomments,howeverat thesametimethereisanincredibletirednesswiththepoorpayandconditions.Foraprofession thattraditionallyseesitselfasverywillingtocomplainandwhinge,thelevelofbitternessor resentmentinthecommentswasverylow.Itwasmostlysadness,tingedbytheoccasionalangerat theperceivedbetrayalbyotherarchaeologists.Thecommentsseemtoshowabodyofprofessionals whoarebynomeanswantingunreasonableconditions:theycanseethereasonswhyawayworkis needed,andarehappytodoit;howevertheyaretiredofbeingshabbilytreated. Therespondentswanttowork,andtheywanttodotheirjobwell,butthereisarealsensethata largeproportionofverytalentedandexperiencedarchaeologistswouldleavetheprofessionifthey could.Thisisacknowledgedbyemployerstosomeextent,butonpresentperformancethemeansof improvingtheprofessionseemstobebeyondthem. Justwishthatthoseinmanagementcouldrememberwhatitwaslikeworkingaway.Howknackered youget,howrundownphysicallyovertime,howmanyengagementsyouhavetobreakandthose youcan'tmakeinthefirstplace. Wehavetorealisethatarchaeologyisajob,andthatwewon'tgetfantasticconditionsallthetime, butpaidtraveltimeshouldbethere,eitherinpaidtime,orinincreasedbasicwages.Subsshouldbe setatanationallevelofsay15,andemployersshouldsetouttheirtravel/awayrulesonadvertsso wecanmakeaninformeddecision.Igetpaiddecenttravel/awayratesbutIamexpectedtodoalot, thereisaquidproquo.IftheydroppedtheratesIwouldleave. BeingstrandedinXXXXXXbecauseofsnow....isnotasbadasitsounds. Cantworkawaybecauseoffamilysohavenooptionotherthandrivingdailytosite.Thishasbeen 84mileseachwaydaily. Iactuallylikeworkingawayiftheweatherisniceitevenfeelslikeaminiholiday! Iamutterlysickoffieldstaffbeingtreatedlikedirtbyemployers.Thisusedtobeagreatjob,butnot anymore.Thelastcoupleofyearshaveleftmesick,exhaustedandpracticallybankrupt.Mostofmy matesareonthedole.Icanonlyseeitgettingworse. Ican'tcommentoncosts,butI'msureemployerswouldhaveabettermotivatedworkforceifthey didn'tmakepeopledrivesofareveryday. Ifeelthatawaywork/expensesshouldbestandardisedsothatunitscan'ttakeadvantagetocut costscostcuttingshouldnotbepassedtotheemployeeswhohaveitbadenoughalreadyand99% ofthetimethismeansthesiteassistants,thelowestpaid. Ihavealwaysthoroughlyenjoyedmyworkandthevarietyisexcellentasallmyemployershave been.

59

Youcannotseriouslybeinyour30'sandlivelikeastudent,sharingroomsandnotknowingwhere you'llbefromweektoweek.Youcannotusetheeveningstolookforotherwork,orattendinterviews ortraining. ifachildofmineexpressedadesiretobeanarchaeologistIwouldthrashitoutofthem.

60

11

Employeescenarios

Inordertocomparethedifferentapproachestopayingornotpayingandcompensatingfortravel andawayworkwehavecreatedaseriesoftypicalexamples.Thesearebasedoncommon scenariosrepresentativeofoursample.Noattempthasbeenmadetoquantifyhowmany archaeologistsarewithineachscenariowithinoursample. TokeepthingssimplethescenariosareallofSiteAssistantsearning15,836.80(304.55perweek, 8.12perhour)basedontheIfAminimaforPIfAlevelworkwhichcomesintoforceinApril2012. Thisisforworkinga37.5hourweekwith20dayspaidholidayplus8bankholidays.Scenariosare basedontwofictionalemployers,bothpayingthesamebasicwageandsubsistencepayment,but onepayingalltraveltime,theotherpayingnone.AsingleexampleofaLondonbasedSiteAssistant onawageof17,500isgivenforcomparison. Fuelcostshavebeenestimated,andwillobviouslyvarydependingonactualdistancesfromwork, andeconomyofvehicle.Forthosethatownacaradditionalcostsoftax,MOT,insurance,repairs anddepreciationhavetobetakenfromthefinalfigure(seebelowfordetails).Thesecostsarenot normallyincurredbyarchaeologistsbasedinLondon. Figureshavebeenadjustedtoshownocommutetimes/costsonholidaysorbankholidays.Iftravel timeisaccruedasTimeOffInLieu,thentheremaybeadditionalsavingsintransportcosts. Ithasnotbeenpossibletocovereverypermutationofpaymentandcircumstance,butthescenarios givegoodexamplesoftherangeofcommonexperience.Forvariableratesoftravelpayorawaysub thefigurescanbeadjustedupordown,inadditiontheproportionalvalueofawaysubsandtravel variesaccordingtoactualpayrate,contractualhoursandothervariables.Inadditionthosewhodo notmanagetobeemployedforthefullyearwillobviouslyreceiveless. ScenarioA AmyworksinLondon,sheispaid17,500toincludeanelementofLondonWeighting(335.25per week,8.94perhour).Shetravelsdirecttositebytubeandbuswhichtakes45minutesandcosts 34.20aweek.Hertotalworkrelatedhoursare37.5hoursaweek.Amydoesnotusuallydoaway work,andhasnotdoneanyinthelast12months.Sheishomeby5pmmostnights. Amydoesnotneedtorunacar,anddoesnot,soherdisposableincomeishigherthanappearsat firstglanceincomparisonwiththeotherworkers.Amycanalsousuallyrelyonbeingabletoget homeby5pmeachnightunlessworkingontheothersideoftown. ScenarioB BillworksinthesouthwestofEngland,heearns15,836.80andhehasdonenoawayworkthisyear andisnotpaidforthetenhoursaweekhetravelstoandfromsite.Helives15milesawayfromthe officeandcommuteseachdaybycar,taking30minuteseachwaywhichcosts25aweekinfuel.

61

Billswageisthebasicsalary,hehasnthadanyofthebenefitsofawaywork,butdoesnthaveany ofthecostsorinconvenience.HoweverthereisnoguaranteethatBillwillnotbesentonanaway jobnextweekfortherestoftheyear. ScenarioC Billscolleague,Charliedoesexactlythesamejob,andlivesthesamedistancefromtheoffice.He alsodoesntgetpaidfortravel,buthedidworkawayfromhomefor7weeksonasitewitha2hour driveonMondayandFriday,andanhoursdrivingeachdaytoandfromaccommodation.He receivedanightlysubof15whilstworkingaway. Charliesapparentincomeisincreasedbyhisawaysubsandhiscostswerereducedwhilstworking awayashedidnothavetocommuteeachday.HoweverifCharlieisputupinaB&Bhissubsmay wellallbeusedinbuyingfoodwhichiswhattheyareintendedforafterall.Ifhiscompanypaidless than15thenanymoneywouldbealmostcertainlyusedupandCharliemaybeindeficitfromthe awaystay. ScenarioD BillandCharliesfriendDawnworksforadifferentcompanybutispaidthesameastheminbasic pay,butsheispaidallhertraveltimeatTime,whichaveragesoutat10hoursperweekoverthe year.HercostsarethesameasBillandCharlie.Dawnhasdonenoawayworkthisyear. Dawnstravelhoursarepaidfor,andthismeansherincomeisgreaterthanthoseattheotherunit, howeverthereisnoguaranteethatshewillcontinuetogettheamountoftraveltimeshecurrently does,andshemayhaveamonthortwowhereaconvenientlysitedjobmeansshehasconsiderably lessincomefromtraveltime.Theextramoneycannotbereliedupon. ScenarioE EmilyworkswithDawn,shehasthesametravelcosts.Emilyhasdone7weeksofawaywork,also witha2hourdriveonMondayandFriday,andanhoursdrivingeachdaytoandfrom accommodation. Emilyispaidlesstraveltimewhilstworkingaway,butthecombinationofsubsandsometravelpay fromthereducedcommutemeansshestillearnsmoremoneythanwhenonahomejob. ScenarioF FredworksforthesamecompanyasBillandCharlie,butdoesnotliveinthelocalareaashehas beenonshorttermcontractsforthelastyear.Fredpaysrentinhishometown.Hecommutesfrom homefortheweekendswhichtakes2hourseachwayandcosts20aweekinfuel.Fredpaysfor digsneartheofficewhichcost50aweekandmustbepaidduringholidays.Hehasanadditional dailycommuteof5mileseachwaywhichtakes15minutesandcosts2infueladay.Fredhasnot doneanyawayworkforthecompanythisyear. Fredsextraaccommodationcostspenalisehimheavily.Ifhedidnthavetopayforhisdigswhilston holidayhewouldsavesomemoney,butwouldstillbesignificantlyworseoffthancolleagues.There maybemanyotherreasonswhyhewouldneedtokeephishomeinadditiontothesuccessionof shortcontracts,suchasfamilycommitments,partnerorchildren. 62

ScenarioG GaryworksforthesamecompanyasDawnandEmilybutisinthesamesituationasFred.Garyhas notdoneanyawayworkforthecompanythisyear. BecauseGarygetspaidtraveltimehisextraaccommodationcostsarecoveredbyhistravelcosts, meaningthatheiseffectivelybackatsquareoneincomewise. ScenarioH HowardworksforBillandCharliesemployersbuthasworkedawayfor24weeksthisyearonasite witha2hourdriveonMondayandFriday,andanhoursdrivingeachdaytoandfrom accommodation.Hereceivedanightlysubof15whilstworkingaway. TheextrasubsmeanHowardearnsslightlymore,butmaypaythisoutinextrafoodcostsandhehas beenawayfor6months. ScenarioI IvorworkswithDawnandEmily,butinthesamesituationasHoward,workingawayfor24weeks overthelastyear. Ivorsawayworkandtravelpaymakeshimthebestpaidworker,howeverheisworkingawayfrom homefor6monthsoftheyear.Theadditionalpayisproportionatetothedisruption. ScenarioJ JohannaworkswithBillandCharlie,butisusuallyonawayjobsasshelives100milesawayfromthe office.Johannawasrecruitedtoworkonamajorroadschemeandeachweekshecommutesby traintothesitewhichtakes2hours,beingpickedupfromtheneareststationbycolleagues. Johannahasonlyworkedfromtheofficefor4weeksoverthelastyear,whenshehadtotravelthere bytrain(taking1hour)andhadtosleeponcolleaguessofas,givingthem10aweektowardsbills. Whenworkingfromtheofficethesiteswereonehourtraveleachway.Thetrainfaretothesitepick upcosts40.50eachweek,thefaretotheofficecosts39.50inordertobeabletoleaveforsiteat 7am. Johannapaysmoreforherweeklycommuteasshetravelsbytrain,howevershedoesnothaveto payforacarsoshouldbebetteroff.Ifshecouldnotrelyoncolleaguestoputherupwhenworking attheofficeshemayhavegreatlyincreasedcosts.EvenwhenworkingawayJohannamay occasionallyalsohavetopayfortaxistogettosites,orleavethenightbeforeandpayforB&B accommodation. ScenarioK KevinworksforthesamecompanyasDawnandEmilyandisinexactlythesamesituationas Johanna,workingalongsideheronthesameJointVentureroadscheme. ThepaymentoftravelincreasesKevinsincome,eventhoughhestillhastopayheavilyforhis commute.

63

Scenario

Basic income (perweek)

Commute time(hours perweek)

Commute costs(per week)

Second accommodation costs(perweek)

Workrelated traveltime (hours)

Workrelated travelpay (perweek)

Awaysubs (perweek)

Weekly incomeafter additions

Weeklyincome afteradditions andcosts

Total additions peryear

Totalpay

Totalcosts peryear

Totalannualincomeaftertravel additionsandcostsbutbefore taxandNIdeducted

Amy Bill(home) Charlie (away weeks) Dawn (home) Emily (away weeks) Fred (home) Gary (home) Howard (away weeks) Ivor(away weeks) Johanna (away weeks) Kevin (away weeks)

336.54 304.55 304.55

7.5 5 1

34.20 25 5

0 0 0

0 10 8

0 0 0

0 0 60*

336.54 304.55 364.55

302.34 279.55 359.55

0 0 420

17,500 15,836.80 16,256.80

1,586.88 1160 1,020

15,913.12 14,676.80 15,236.80

304.55

25

10

81.20

385.75

360.75

3,767.6 8 4,074

19,604.48

1,160

18,444.48

304.55

64.96

60*

429.51

424.51

19,910.80

1,020

18,890.8

304.55

28

50

10

304.55

226.55

15,836.80

3,899.20

11,937.60

304.55

28

50

10

81.20

385.75

307.75

3,767.6 8 1,440

19,604.48

3,899.20

15,705.28

304.55

60*

364.55

374.55

17,276.80

680

16,596.80

304.55

64.96

60*

429.55

374.55

4,817.9 2 2,544

20,654.52

680

19,974.52

304.55

40.50

60*

364.55

309.05

18,380.80

1,939.50

16,441.30

304.55

40.50

32.48

60*

397.03

341.53

4,245.9 5

20,082.75

1,939.50

18,143.25

64

*Actualvalueofawaysubsisgreaterastheyareuntaxed

65

Forthestaffthatappeartobenefitfromawaysubsthequestionmustbeaskedwhetherthe apparentextraincomeisallspentwhilstawayfromhome.Areemployeescoveringtheircosts,or makinganyextrafromthesubs,especiallyifthesubislessthan15anight?Responsesfromthe employeessuggestitissometimespossibletosavemoneyfromsubs,butoftenyoulosemoney.It maybeswingsandroundaboutsformost,withanysavingsmadefromsubspayingforextralong commutesorbeingputtowardsvehiclerunningcosts. Additionalsavingsaremadebyreducedcommutingcostsforthosethattravelinworkvehicles,for thosethathavetopaytogettositethemselvestheremaybenosavingincosts,andthecostscan quicklystarttooutweighthebenefits,especiallyiftraveltimeisnotpaid. Fromthefiguresitisclearthattravelandawaypaymentscanmakeamassivedifferencetoapay packetandthatthoseworkingforthesamecompany,butdoingdifferentamountsofawaywork, canearnradicallydifferingsums.Theimpactofpayingstafffortheirhourstravellingtoandfrom sitesclearlymakesalargedifferencetofinalpay,asitshouldgiventhatmanystaffaretravellingan extra30%ontopoftheircontractedhours,asignificantincreaseontheworkingweek. ThefigureforLondonappearslowcomparedtoitsprovincialcolleagues,howeverLondon archaeologistsdonotusuallyownorruncars,makingalargesavingcomparedtorural archaeologistswhonearlyalwaysmusthaveacar.TheRAChascalculatedthecostofrunningaused carfor12,000milesat4,724ayearincludingfuel.Withoutfuelthecostis3,168,whichmeans thataLondonarchaeologistscostsaresignificantlylowerthantheirprovincialcolleagueswhorun cars,whichishandygiventhecostsoflivinginthecapital. Thescenariosshowthatthebiggestnegativeimpactisonthosewhohavetoruntwohomes,this canreduceactualincomedramatically,especiallyifthesecondrenthastobepaidallyear. Employersmaywellaskwhystaffdonotmoveclosertotheiroffice,howevergiventhatmany contractsareshortterm,uncertain,andmaynotbeextended,itisunsurprisingthatmany employeescommutelongdistancesand/orliveawayfromhomeduringtheweek.Thecostofa secondhomeisexacerbatedbythefactthatoftentherentmustbepaidevenifyouhavebeensent awayonajob.Forthoseunabletomovelocationduetoshorttermcontracts,familycommitments orapartnersjob,thereisahighcosttobear. Forthosestafftakenonforawaysitesthereareadditionalcostswhenthesesitesend,theemployee musteitherrelocatetoneartheoffice,orgettemporaryaccommodationthere.Thealternativeisto lookforajoblocaltotheirhome,andifthatisnotpossibletolookforanotherjobwith accommodation.Itisnotclearfromthesurveyhowmanyemployeesareinthissituation,butgiven thedistancesmanylivefromtheiremployersofficeitisclearlynotuncommon. Thosethatareinthelowestpaidjobs,andthereforegenerallyonthemostinsecurecontracts, appeartohavetotravelthemost,andhavetopaythemostintravel.Thesurveydidnotspecifically askgatherevidenceondifferencesintraveltimeandcostsbetweentemporarystaffandpermanent staffhowevertheresultsappeartoshowthatthepermanentstafftravelless,andpaylessasthey aregenerallynearertothehomeofficesotakeadvantageofworktransportfromtheoffice,rather thancommutingstraighttothesite. EmployerswanttobeabletoworkcountrywidealookattheIfAcontractorsmapshowsthatmost contractorsclaimtobeabletoworkanywhereintheUK,andcompaniesroutinelytenderforwork 66

beyondacommutabledistance.Inordertostaffsuchsitestheyrequireaflexibleandskilled workforcethatwillmoveforthework,andwhoarewillingtoworkawayfromhome.Thismeans thattheyhavetoprovideaccommodationforallstaff,andconsiderpayingforaccommodationfor staffhiredasawayworkersiftheyarerequiredtoworkfromthehomeoffice. Itishardtosaywhetherthereareanyclearwinnersintheworldofawaywork.Itistruethatthose thatlivefulltimeinprovidedaccommodation,donotpayanyrentandeitherlivewithparentsorgo travellingbetweenjobscanmakeadecentwagefromthebasicsalaryandsubs,howeverthiscanbe saidforanyonewhodoesnotpayrent.Itisalsoanunsustainablelifestyleinlongtermformost peopleandissurelynotthemodelwewantforaprofession? Thealternativesarestarkifyoudonotliveinanareathathasenougharchaeologicalworktosustain afulltimeworkforceandifthosesitesarenotdugasawayjobsbyunitsfromfarawaythatshipin theirownemployees.Ifyouwishtostaywithalocalemployerthenthatemployerwillprobablybe biddingforworkbeyondacommutabledistanceandyoumayneedtoworkawayfromhomefor longstretches.

67

12

Discussion,conclusionsandrecommendations

Wefeelthatoverallthishasbeenausefulsurveythataddstoourexistingunderstandingofthe archaeologicalprofession.Ithasgatheredinformationonareasthathaveneverbeenpreviously explored,andwhilstthesurveymayhavebeenoverlongitstillcapturedtheviewsofapproximately 8%ofthoseworkingincommercialUKfieldwork,and10%oftheemployers. Theareaofawaywork,travelandsubsisamassiveandlabyrinthinesubject,werealisethatthere areareasleftuntouchedbythissurvey,andthatthepicturewehavebuiltupmaybepatchyor incomplete.Somewillsayitdoesnotreflecttheirexperience,otherswillsaythatitisflawed.We acceptthatthissurveyisnotadefinitivestudyofthemodernarchaeologicalprofession,butwedo hopethatwehaveopenedthewayforinformeddebateontheareascoveredandlookforwardto this. Althoughthecircumstanceofeveryindividualaredifferent,thepaymentoftraveltimedoesseem tocompensateforthecostsofcommutingandtravel(andinsomecasesforhavingtopaytwosets ofrent)andthereforemakesforamoresustainablecareerandlife.Wehaveendedupinasituation wheresubsareusedtopaytherentandtransportcosts,ratherthanbeingforfood.Duetothelow wagesandoftenintermittentworkthereisnosparemoneytocoverunexpectedcosts,andtheloss ofaweekssubsortravelpaycanspellfinancialdisasterformanyprofessionals. Itmustberememberedthatevenintheboomyearsnotallarchaeologistscouldgetworkallyear round,andmucharchaeologyfieldworkistosomeextentseasonalbeingbasedaroundcropsand buildingprogrammes.Soanywagehasinsomesensetoallowforpeopletoliveallyearround,this isclearlynotthecaseatpresent. Asthecostoflivinggoesupwards,inparticularfuelandfares,theincomeofarchaeologists decreasesinrealterms.Thishasbeenkeenlyfeltinrecentyears,especiallyinfuel:thecostof runningacarisequivalenttoamileagerateof40p,anyonepaidlessthanthatismakingaloss. 12.1 Changingterms Oftheemployerswhoresponded,somehadseenarecentupturninwork,howevermostwere scepticalovertheprospectsforasustainedrecovery.Alltheemployerssaidthattherecessionhad littleornoimpactonaccommodation,subsortravelpayments.Aminorityofemployershadseenan increaseinawayworkaffectingcosts,butmostreportednochangeoverthepastfewyears. Employeeswereaskediftheirawayworkandtravelconditionshadchangedinthelastyear,2years and5years.Overtheprevious5years,stretchingbacktobeforetherecessionmemoriesweredim, howevertherehadbeenseveralimprovementsinsubsratesanddrivingtimepayments.Inthetwo yearsbeforethesurveymileagewasraisedatoneunit,subswentupby5atanother,anddriving timewasintroducedatanotherunit.Therewasevidenceofthestartofashifttolongercommutes ratherthanawayjobs. Overthelastyearafewemployershadchangedterms,withareductionintraveltimepaymentsat twounits,afreezeintravelpaymentsatanotherunit,andanendtosubsidisedaccommodationfor awaystaffworkingonhomejobsatanotherunit.Onapositivenoteonecompanyhadimplemented

68

a350annualcarmaintenancepaymentinthelastyear.Therewasanecdotalevidencethatmore jobswerebeingdoneashomejobswhereastheywouldhavebeenawayjobspreviously. 'Itusedtobeclassedasanawayjobifitwasoveranhourfromtheoffice.Withoutconsultationwith usthishasbeenabandonedtomakeusmorecompetitive.Thismeansthatweworklongerdays, facegreatertravelcostsandarenolongerpaidasubsistenceallowance(whichsubsidisedourlow wages).Wearecompensatedwithalimitedamountofovertimeifyouarepreparedtofightforit' Commentsthatsupportthisarefromthemanyrespondentshaveexperiencedawayworkingless frequentlyinthelastyearorso.Theyareexpectedtoworkmuchlongerhourstravellingbackand forthtositesinsteadofworkingaway.Thismayhaveincreasedstressesonemployees,especially thetemporaryemployeeswhoaremostaffectedbythelackofprovisionofawayaccommodation. Mileagerates,subsistenceratesandotherpaymentshadgenerallynotimprovedoverthelastfive years,despitelargeincreasesinthecostoftravelandfoodstuffs.Againstthisbackdropoflower incomesinrealtermssomeunitshavemanagedtoimprovetheirtermsandconditionsdespitethe recessionandthemassivedropinworkload,andwillhopefullyreapthebenefitsinhappierstaff. Employeesdidcommentthatoncetheyhadworkedforacompanypayingdrivingtime,they wouldntgobacktodrivingfornothing.Whocanblamethem. 12.2 Employerattitudestopay Theresponseoftheemployerstothesurveywasgood,ifmuted,withmessagesofsupportfrom severalemployers,andacommentthatthiswasanimportantsurveyforemployers.Whilst relativelyfewemployersfilledoutthesurvey,thosethatdidgavedetailedresponses. Alltheemployerswhorespondedfeltthattheyweregoodemployersoftenqualifyingthatasbeing comparedtoothersintheindustrywhichsuggesttheirviewsoftheprofessionarenotgood.One saidthatthiswasbasedonfeedbackfromemployees.Alltheemployersfeltthatopennessand transparencywasimportantinrelationswithstaffonestated: Itisveryimportanttobeopen.IneedstaffmoraletobehighinordertomeetthecommitmentsI havemadetoclients.Forstaffmoraletobehigh,theteamneedstounderstandexactlywhytheir contractsareacertainlength,whenandwhywewillbeabletoextendthemandwhenandwhywe willnotbeableto.Ihavefoundopennessensuresthatmostpeoplefeeltheyaretreatedfairly. 11employersrepliedYestothequestionofwhethertheypaidagoodwagetoyoursitestaff, severaloftheseemployerspaidsignificantlyaboveIfApayminima.Severalemployersrecognised thatarchaeologicalwagesarelow:relativetootherindustriesourwagesarealllow,Inrelative termsitiscomparabletocompetitors.Inabsoluteterms....Payratesandconditions,mostnotably forjuniorstaff,areverypoor.Unitsshouldnotbecompetingwitheachotheronthebasisof exploitingtheirstaff. AskedwhethertheysupportedhigherwagesintheformoftheIfAminima,BAJRminimaandthe (higher)IfARecommendedStartingSalariesmostemployersagreed. Oursisaskillbasedindustry,andwehavetoimproveonourabilitytorecruitandretaintalented archaeologists. 69

SeveralstatedthattheytookcaretopayabovetheBAJRminima,onenotedthatthismadethem lesscompetitive.NoopinionswereexpressedovertheRecommendedStartingSalaries,ortheIfA goalofincreasingpayminimaby13%.Concernswereraisedovertheeffectoftheminimain depressingwages: Mostrecentlytheyhaveservedtorepressanddepressthelevelsofpayonofferwhereweknow ourselvestobecompetingforcontractswithorganisationsthatpayatthoseminima.Sensibly increasedtheymighthaveamoreusefulrole. SeveralemployersfelttheIfAandBAJRminimawereirrelevantastheypaidabovethem,how relevanttheywillbeiftheseminimacontinuetoriseisunclear. Tenoftheemployersstatedthattheycouldsettheirownwagelevels,overtimeratesetc:these weremostlycommercialcompaniesandcharitabletrusts,with1universityunit.Interestinglyofthe 13whosaidtheycouldnotsettheirownwages2statedthattheywerecommercialcompanieswith 1soletrader;therestweretheexpectedlocalauthorityunits,governmentagenciesanduniversity units. Localauthorityunitswereworriedabouttheirabilitytokeepupwithminimashouldtheyrise(the IfAminimawillriseby5.2%fromApril2012),howeveronelocalauthorityunitheadstated: IfAminimaistheonlyinfluenceontheCouncil Anothersaid: IndicatorssuchasthoseprovidedbytheIfAandBAJRcanbeusedtosupportagradingappeal(but notforthemainprocessitself). Charteredstatuswasseenasaworthwhileobjectivevizavizimprovedpay.Enforcementof minimumstandardswasalsoseenasvitaltoimprovingconditions Noneoftheemployerssaidthatanypartofthebasicsalarywasspecificallyintendedtocompensate fortravelcosts,howeveritisclearthatthosethatpaybetterwagesmayfeelthattheyaremore entitledtonotpaytraveltime.Thevariationofwagesdoesnotseemtocorrelatewithtravelpay however,withseveralofthebetterpayingemployersalsopayingtraveltime,andnoguaranteethat acompanypayingrockbottomwageswillbepayinganytraveltime. 12.3 Levellingthefield Oneareathatisregularlyhighlightedbyunitmanagersinconversationsisthatthereisanuneven playingfieldforcompanies.Thosewhotryanddoagoodjob,orpaybetterarecompetingagainst thosethatwillcutcornersandpaytheminimum.Thosewhodonotpayanytraveltimeare competingagainstthosethatpayit.Thereisamutualresponsibilityasprofessionalstodothework toprofessionalstandards,andtotreatstaffprofessionallyandtorespecttheirprofessional aspirations.ThisisembodiedinPrinciple5oftheIfACodeofConductandtheDFwouldarguethis shouldextendtopayingstaffdecentprofessionalwages,andcompensatingfortraveltimeandthe disruptionandcostofawaywork.

70

Anyprofessionalarchaeologistswhocaninfluencethestandardsofarchaeologicalworkshould considertheirdutytoraisethestandardsoftheprofession,thisincludescurators,consultantsand managers.Someconsultantsalreadydictatethatsitestaffmusthavecabinsandtoilets,thispractise shouldwiden. Withincompaniesthekeyshouldbefairness,openness,andrespect.Transparencytoyourstaffis keyforallemployersiftheywantaproductiveworkforce;mostrecognisethis,butmorecouldbe doneasoursurveyhasshown.Manyemployeesclearlydidnotknowtheirowntermsand conditions,theywerentsurewhattheyweremeanttobepaid,andwhattheydidfornothing. Treatingemployeesfairly,openlyandwithrespectwillincreaseproductivity,andimprovethe qualityofthework. Oneareaofunfairnessiswherecertainunitsappeartopaydifferentratesoftravelpayfordifferent grades:onemajorunitappearstopaytraveltimetotheirsupervisorystaff,butnottoSite Assistants.Quitehowthisisjustifiedisunclear.Theunitinquestiondidnotparticipateinthesurvey. 12.4 Regionaloffices ThesettingupofregionalofficesisarecenttrendacrosstheUK,whilstsomeofficesarealmost standaloneunits,othersarelittlemorethanaspareroom.Theseofficescannotprovidestaffthe samefacilitiesasstaffattheparentoffice.Regionalofficesmustofferthesamelevelofsupportand facilitiestostaffastheparentoffice,ormechanismsputinplacetoallowstafftogotothatparent office. Therehavebeenseveralrecentprojectswheresitestaffhavebeenrecruitedforaspecificproject andtheirplaceofworkhasbeenstatedasthesite,thereisaperceptionamongstdiggingstaffthat thishasbeenspecificallydonetoavoidpayingaccommodationtostaffhiredforthatsite.Thismay notbethecaseinreality,butitisawidelyheldperception.Therearetaxissueswith accommodationforstaffhiredspecificallyforaproject,butarrangementscanbemadewithHMRC. Provisionofaccommodationonawayjobshasbeenanacceptedpracticeinprofessional archaeologyfordecades,anyremovalofthisisaclearvariationtotheacceptednatureofthejob, andshouldbecompensatedforbyanequivalentriseinwages. 12.5 Trainingandcareerdevelopment Thereisanunderlyingsensethatemployeesdonotfeeladequatelyvaluedbyemployers;several respondentsstatedthatmanagersfeltthatsincetheyhadputupwithsimilarorworseconditions, thatfieldstaffshouldstilldoso.Thismaybealliedtoafeelingthatasmanyarchaeologistscareers werenasty,brutishandshort,thatarchaeologistsaretosomeextentdisposablebelowacertain grade.Employerswantstaffwithexperienceandwhocanslotstraightintothesite,howeverif archaeologistsaredisposableandleavetheprofessionafterashortperiod,thenthiscannotbe possible. Issuesofdeskillingamongstarchaeologistshavebeenrecentlyhighlighted(Harward,2011)andare relevanthere.Ifwewanttohaveaprofessionwherewehaveskilledworkersatallgradesthenwe needtotreattheminsuchawaythattheywillstayintheprofession.Thereporteddifficultiesin 71

findinggoodcandidatesformoreseniorsiterolesmaybelinkedtoissuesofdeskillingofSite Assistantsandalackoftrainingopportunities.Ifitishardtofindexperiencedstaffforparticular roles,isitbecausewearenottrainingany,orbecauselowwagesmeanthatmostwillleaveafter initialtrainingandnotgettothelevelofrealcompetenceandskill? Althoughtrainingisnotcoveredinanydetailinthesurvey(althoughmanyfeltitwasimportantin lookingforasuitablejob)itmaybeakeytocreatingavalued,andvaluable,workforce.Ifwehavea disposableattitudetoemployeesthenanytrainingwillbewastedinthelongterm,creatingavicious cycleofdeskillingandpoortraining,andofpoorwork. Thesurveydidnottouchonprovisionoftrainingforawayworkers,howeverthereisariskthat thoseworkingfarfromtheofficewillnotbeabletoenjoythesametrainingopportunitiesashome basedstaff.Thiscouldhaveanegativeimpactontheirprofessionaldevelopment,andontheir careeropportunities,aswellasonmorale. Theprovisionoftraining(andallotherfacilitiesandopportunities)shouldbeasequalaspossiblefor allemployees,whethertheyarehomeoraway.Frequentawayworkingalsomeansthatstaffare unabletogainexperiencethroughvolunteering(communityoutreachetc.)ortocommittocourses forspecifictechnicaldevelopmentandcanbecomeeffectivelysidelined: 'InthecurrentclimateIdonotthinkthatthere'saunitwillingtotrainme"inhouse"'.Mostfield staffseetheirtimeinthefieldaslimitedduetodecreasedphysicalfitnesswithage,andbecome increasinglyfrustratedwhentheyfindthattheydonothaveaccesstoexperienceortrainingthatwill allowthemtomoveintootherareasofheritage. Anotheraspectisthathavingworkedinthissituationforanumberofyears,fieldstaffreferto themselvesas'deskilled'andhavenoticedthatthisisbecomingmorecommon.However,one professionalcommentedthattheir'understandingofarchaeology(features,soils,formation processes,howasiteworks,etc.)isbetterthanever.'Butothercommentsincludedexamplessuch as'fieldstaffareusedmerelyaslabourersinsideandoutsidetheoffice'. 12.6 ComparetheUnits.com Asourscenariosshow,thepaymentoftraveltimeandaccommodationmakesaconsiderable differencetowhetherajobiseconomicallyviableformanypotentialemployees.Itcanbeveryhard toknowexactlywhatisbeingpaidandatwhatrate.Itisalsoextremelyhardtocompareemployers astheydonotgenerallyadvertisespecificratesoftravelpayandsubsistencepayments.Anational registerofsubsratesandtravelpaymentswouldallowarchaeologiststoseeexactlywhatisonoffer atdifferentcompanies,andmakeaninformeddecisionaboutwhotoworkfor. InadditiontheDiggersForumwillconsidercreatinganExcelspreadsheetorapptoallowmembers toworkout,andcompare,theirincomeandcostsbasedontheratespaidbydifferentemployers. Thiswillgivemembersthetoolstoseetherealvalueoftheiremploymentandtoseewhich employersarepayingdecentrates,andwhicharenot.Whilsttheemployershavethegreatest responsibilitytoimprovethesituationitisalsotheresponsibilityofeveryemployeeandpotential employeetounderstandtheirrights,andtostandupforthem.WeintendtogiveDiggersthetools

72

tomakeinformeddecisionsaboutwhotoworkfor,butforanyimprovementstotakeholdthey mustactonthisinformation. TheDiggersForumaspirestoasustainableandfinanciallyviablecareerforall.Thissurveyhas shownthatdifferencesintravelandawaypayseriouslyaffectarchaeologistsincome,andthat travelandawayworkseriouslyaffectthearchaeologiststhemselvesonpersonalandprofessional levels.WerecognisethatmanypeopleintheUKtravellongdistancestowork,andthatformany thisisanormalpartofeverydaylifewhichisincreasingasworkopportunitiesgetscarcer.Weare notdemandingspecialpleadingforarchaeologists,weareaskingforclarityandfairnessforthegood oftheindividuals,theemployersandtheprofessionatlarge. Atpresentmanyemployersareattemptingtopaytheirstaffproperlyforthelonghoursspent travellingonworkbusiness,orlivingawayfromhomeandfamily;theseemployersarelosing contractstothosecompaniesthatchoosetonotpayanytraveltime,butdemandthesamelong hours.TheDiggersForumbelievesthattheemployees,alreadysufferingonlowwages,shouldnot betheonestosufferfurtherfinancialdistressforthebenefitoftheiremployers.WeasDiggersneed tostanduptobademployers,notbegratefulforanyworkatall.Thereisapricetopoorwagesand conditions,anditispaidforinourcolleaguesabandonedcareers.Bymakingthisissuepublic,and bycontinuingtoshinealightonpooremployerswewillstrivetolevelthefieldsothatcontractscan bewononstandardsandqualityofwork,notwhoispreparedtoripofftheiremployeesthemost. Theultimatequestionmustbeasked,whatkindofprofessiondowewanttoleavetofuture generationsofarchaeologists?Dowewanttomaintainthecurrentsystemofdisposable,deskilled workerslivingoftenhandtomouthandtravellingacrossthecountryinthehopeofjustkeeping going?Dowewanttomaintainakindoftwotiersystembetweenthosethathavepermanentjobs andthosethatareonshortcontracts;betweenthoseworkingasSiteAssistantsandthosewhohave climbedtheladdertoSupervisorandbeyond? Ifthissurveyhasshownanything,itishopefullythatbysimplylevellingthefieldregardingtraveland accommodationconditionswecanmakecommercialarchaeologyalessdysfunctionalandself abusingprofessionandsignificantlyimprovetheprofessionforall.

73

13

Recommendations

TheDiggersForumwouldliketopresentaseriesofrecommendationssettingoutwhatwefeelis achievablepracticeintheareaofawaywork,travelandsubsistence.Wearewellawareofthe diversenatureofarchaeologicalemployersintheUK,andofthediversewaysthattheypay,ordo notpay,fortheiremployeestimeandlabour.Thefollowingrecommendationsarenota proscriptivelist,ratherasetofaspirationsthatanyreasonableemployershouldaimtomeetor exceed.Byopeningupthissubjectitishopedthatthebestemployerswillberecognised,andwillbe rewarded,andthattheworstwillbeidentifiedandscorned.Weallhaveaclearprofessional responsibilitytostoptheracetothebottominstandardsandconditions,awayworkandtravelisa clearareawherethereisroomforimprovementonthepartofmanyemployers. Despitethecurrenteconomicsituation,manyarchaeologistshopetocontinuewithintheprofession andarewillingtoremainiftheyseesomepositivechanges.Thismustincludeafairandtransparent codeonawaywork,travelpayandsubs.Wewouldliketoinviteallstakeholderstoconsiderthe followingrecommendations: Alltraveltimeoutsideofcorehoursshouldbepaidtoallstaff,ortheequivalentTOILaccrued: thisshouldbepaidtoalldriversandpassengers.Staffshouldbepaidfortheirhours. AlldrivingandpassengertimeonSaturdaysshouldbepaidinfullattimeandahalf,orthe equivalentTOILaccrued;alldrivingandpassengertimeonSundaysshouldbepaidinfullat doubletimeortheequivalentTOILaccrued. Mileageshouldbepaidtoallemployeeswhousetheirownvehiclesforworkrelatedtravel. Wherecompanyfuelcardsareusedapaymentshouldbemadetocoverrunningcosts,wearand tearanddepreciationonaproratamonthlyrate. Mileagerateofatleast40ppermile,reviewedannuallyandincreasedinlinewiththeRACCost ofMotoringIndexorasimilarindex. Allsubsandmileage/expensesshouldbepaidwithinonemonthofsubmission,viaBACS. Awayworktobetriggeredafteradriveofamaximumof1.5hoursunlessitisforashort duration(12nightsmaximum),andallstaffarehappytotravel. Earliestleavingtimeinmorningclearlystatedbyeachemployer,wewouldrecommendthat 6.30amshouldbetheearliestforregulartravel,withonlyexceptionaljourneysstartedbefore thistime. Fridaynightreturntimetobesetbyeachemployer. Nationalminimumsubof15anightforstaysinB&B,risingto20anightinApril2013to reflectinflation. Minimumnoticeperiodforawayworkoftwoweeksexceptwhenabsolutelyunavoidable, possibilityofoncallandoffcallsystemforlastminuteawayjobs. Rotationofstaffonawayjobsinatransparentmanner. 74

Paiddriversbreaksforallstaff. Rotationofdriverstopreventfatigueandensuredrivingpayisspreadaroundtheteam. Employersshouldtakecopiesofinsurancecovertosatisfythatitisadequateiftheyrequire employeestoustheirownvehiclesforwork. Werecommendtheproductionanddistributionofafactsheetonbusinesscarinsurance,to raiseawarenessoftheissueamongstemployeesandemployers,thiscouldbebasedonthe recentDiggersForumarticleoncarinsuranceforworktravel. Flexibilityinprovidingtimeofffortemporaryornewstafftofindaccommodation. Nationalregisteroftermsandconditionsrelatingtotravelandawayworkallowingemployees tocomparedifferentemployers. TheDiggersForumwouldaskthattheemployers,tradeunions,professionalorganisationsand advertisingsitesconsiderthisreportandthetwosetsofrecommendationscontainedwithinit.We wouldwelcometheopportunitytodiscusswhatchangescanbemadetocurrentpracticetowork towardstherecommendations.

75

14

Bibliography

Aitchison,K.&Edwards,R.2008.DiscoveringtheArchaeologistsofEurope:UnitedKingdom. ArchaeologyLabourMarketIntelligence:ProfilingtheProfession200708. http://www.discoveringarchaeologists.eu/national_reports/DISCO_national_UK_final.pdf Aitchison,K.2011StateoftheArchaeologicalMarketOctober2011,LandwardResearch http://www.archaeologists.net/sites/default/files/nodefiles/JoblossesOctober2011.pdf Everill,P,2009TheInvisibleDiggers:AstudyofBritishCommercialArchaeology,HeritageResearch Series,1.Oxford,OxbowBooks Harward,C2011DeskillingtheDiggers:handingbackthemeansofinterpretation,unpublished paperpresentedtoCentralTAGDecember162011 RAC,2011RACCostofMotoringIndex2011http://media.rac.co.uk/pdf/raccostofmotoringindex 2011.pdfAppendixA:Employeequestionnaire

76

AppendixAEmployeequestionnaire
AlinktotheEmployeequestionnairewassenttoallmembersoftheDiggersForumbyemail,anda linktotheSurveyMonkeypagewasaddedtotheDFwebpageforthedurationofthesurvey.The surveywaspublicisedonBAJR,andbywordofmouth.

TheQuestionnaire:
TheDiggersForumiscommittedtocreatingapositive,sustainableandfinanciallyviablecareerfor allprofessionalarchaeologistsatallpointsintheircareer.TheDFisaSpecialInterestGroupofthe InstituteforArchaeologistsrepresentingallarchaeologistsworkingoutonsiteatwhatevergrade. MembershipoftheDFisopentoall. Thisonlinequestionnaireisintendedtogainaninsightintotherealitiesofworkrelatedtraveland awayworkwithincommercialarchaeologyintheUK.Wewanttofindoutwhattherealpictureisin ordertoestablishbestpracticeandhelpachievethisacrosstheboard.Wehopethatthissurveywill providevaliddatathatcanleadtoinformeddiscussiononthesubject. Pleaseanswerallquestionsasaccuratelyaspossible,ifyouhaveadiaryorpayslipstohandthen youllprobablyfindthishelpsalotinansweringsomequestions,youwillneedtosetasideabitof timetoanswerthequestionnaireproperly,wereckonifallthequestionsapplytoyouitmaytakeup to30minutes.Thereisopportunitytomakeanyadditionalcommentsattheendofthesurvey.Paper copiesofthequestionnaireareavailableonrequestfromgroups@archaeologists.net.Thesurveywill beonlineuntiltheendofMarch. TheresultsofthesurveywillbeinitiallypublishedintheForumDispatch,thenewsletterofthe DiggersForum. Wewillnotidentifytheresponsesofanyonewhotakespartinthesurvey,althoughwemaypublish comments.Nonameswillbeassociatedwithanyresponsesorcomments.

77

AboutYou 1. Whatisyourage? 2. Maleorfemale? 3. Doyouhaveanydependantchildren?Howmany? one two morethantwo Dependantchildrenarethosewholivewithyouorforwhomyouarefinanciallyresponsible. 4. Whatisyournationality?Pleasestatenationality UKnational EUnational NonEUnational 5. Pleaseindicatethetypeofhousingyouliveinatthemoment Nofixedabode(sofasurfer) Livewithparentsfulltime Lodger Multipleoccupantrentedflatorhouse Cohabit/singleoccupantrentedflatorhouse Owneroccupierflat/house Other(pleasespecify) 6. Whereisyourmainresidence?PleasegiveusthefirsthalfofyourpostcodeegBN2 Education We'dliketoknowalittleaboutyourlevelofeducationandwhenyoufinishedstudyingfulltime. 7. Whatisyourlevelofformaleducation?Pleasetickthe'highest'levelthatyouhave achieved. GCE/GCSE/CSE Alevel HND Degree Masters Doctorate Yearoffinishingfulltimeeducation Findingwork Whatdoyoulookforinajob?Wehopetheseanswerswillhelpemployersgettherightinformation intofutureadverts

78

 8. Howdoyoufindaboutoutaboutpotentialjobswhenlookingforwork?Pleaseplacethe followinginorderofimportancetoyou,ifyoudonotuseaparticularmethod,thenplease leaveitblank IFAJIS BAJR Otherjobsite Facebook/enetworking Fromfriendsandcolleagues/wordofmouth Phone/emailroundunits OtherSpecifyany'other' 9. Pleaserankthefollowinginorderofimportancetoyouinaprospectivejoband whetheryouwillapply: Inorder:essential,important,fairlyimportant,notthatbothered,irrelevant,notapplicable. TheDiggers'ForumandtheIfA 10. AreyouamemberoftheIfA? 11. WhatisyourIfAgrade? Student Affiliate Practitioner(PIFA) Associate(AIFA) Member(MIFA) 12. DidyouvoteinthelastIfAcouncilelections? 13. Ifnot,whynot?Tickallthatapply Didntknowtherewereanyelections. Nosuitablecandidates. Whatsthepoint? Couldntbebothered. Couldntfindastamp. Didntgetthevotingpapersintime Other(pleasespecify) Good basic pay Convenient or good location Away subs/accommodation/driving time Training opportunities Length of contract Reputation of employer Quality of expected archaeology Other (please specify)

79

14. HowwelldoyouthinktheDiggersForumfulfilsitsroleofrepresentingfieldworkerswithin archaeology? NeverheardofDiggersForum Badly,theyneveractuallyachieveanything OKIguess Theyseemtodoalotofworkbehindthescenes Theydoalltheycangiventhesystemweallworkin Other(pleasespecify) 15. WouldyoubepreparedtohelpwiththeDF?Pleaseleaveyouremailaddresssowecan contactyou? 16. Areyouaunionmember? Yes No No,notinterestedatall No,butmaybeinterested Yes:Prospect Yes:Unison Yes:Unite Other(pleasespecify) Youandyourjob Weneedtoknowalittleaboutthejobyoudonow.Wewanttocapturethesituationasitexists NOWsopleaseanswerthequestionsastheyrelatetoyouandyourCURRENTemployer.Ifyouare unemployedthenpleaseuseyourLASTemployer.Ifyouhavecommentsrelatingtoprevious employerspleaseusethefreetextattheendofthesurvey. 17. Whatisyourcurrentposition? Student Unemployed Trainee Siteassistant(standarddiggerrole) Supervisor(smallsitesorareasupervisor) ProjectOfficer(Largeexcavations,soleresponsibility,publicationwork) Other(pleasespecify) 18. Pleasetellusyourcurrentjobtitleandbasicsalary 19. Whatisthehighestgradeatwhichyouhaveeverworked? Student Unemployed Trainee Siteassistant(standarddiggerrole) Supervisor(smallsitesorareasupervisor) ProjectOfficer(Largeexcavations,soleresponsibility,publicationwork) Other(pleasespecify)

80

20. Howlonghaveyouworkedincommercialarchaeology? 21. Overthelastyearhaveyougenerallyworkedasafreelanceroremployee? Freelanceronly Either Employeeonly 22. Currentemployer.Ifunemployedthenlastemployer 23. Whattypeofemployerisyours? charitabletrust commercialcompany localauthority universityunit Other(pleasespecify) 24. Approximatelyhowmanypeopleworkforyouremployer? Verylargeunit(>100staff) Largeunit(5099) Mediumunit(2049) Smallunit(119) Awaywork Weneedtoknowalittleaboutthejobyoudonow.Wewanttocapturethesituationasitexists NOWsopleaseanswerthequestionsastheyrelatetoyouandyourCURRENTemployer.Ifyouare unemployedthenpleaseuseyourLASTemployer.Ifyouhavecommentsrelatingtoprevious employerspleaseusethefreetextattheend. 25. Areyouofficeorfieldbasedinyourcurrentrole? Officeonly Fieldonly:onlygetinsideforfindswashingorsimilar Fieldbased,withofficetimeforwritingreports,processingdataetc Mostlyofficebasedbutsomefieldwork,lessthan25%fieldworkoverayear 26. DoyouhaveafullUKdrivingLicence? 27. DoyoueverworkawayforyourCURRENTemployer?Thismeansworkwhereyouspendone ormorenightsawayfromyourhome.Thismaybeanawayjobforyouremployer,orwhere youhavetomovetogetwork,whilstkeepingyouroriginalhome. 28. Approximatelyhowmanynightshaveyoustayedawayfromhomeduetoworkinthelast12 months?PleaseanswerintermsofNIGHTSspentaway,ieMondaytoFridayisusually4 nightsaway.Includeweekendnightsonlyifyoustayedawayattheweekendduetowork. 29. Whatisyourlongestcontinuousstretchofawayworkinlast12months?Pleaseanswerin termsofWEEKSspentaway.Pleasespecifyifyoustayedawayweekendsornot(e.g.4 weeks,weekendsathome).

81

30. HowreasonabledoyoufeelyourCURRENTemployeriswhenconsideringwhotosendon awayjobs?Forexampledoesyouremployertakeanyfactorsintoconsiderationwhen selectingstaffforawayjobssuchasfamilycommitmentsorwhereyoulive?Isthererotation ofstaffforawayjobs? veryreasonable reasonable neitheronenorother unreasonable completelyunreasonable Pleaseexpand 31. DoyoufeelthateveryoneatyourCURRENTemployeristreatedthesamewithregardto awaywork? Yes No Pleaseexpand 32. ArethereclearguidelinesonawayworkatyourCURRENTemployer,suchashowfarasite mustbebeforeitisclassedasawayjob? Yes,thereareclearguidelinesalthoughthereissomeflexibilityasyouwouldexpect Thereareguidelinesbuttheyarenotkeptto Therearenoguidelinesitseemscompletelyrandom! Idon'tknow Pleaseexpand 33. DoesyourCURRENTemployerarrangeaccommodationforyou? Yes No Sometimes Pleaseexpand 34. Whattypeofaccommodationisprovided? B&B HostelegYHA/backpackers Selfcateringaccommodationholidaycottageetc) Campsite Other(pleasespecify) 35. Doyouhavetosharearoom? Yes No Sometimes Comments: 36. Howhappyareyouwiththestandardofaccommodationprovidedbyyourcurrent employer? Veryhappy,itmaybeatshortnoticebuttheydotheirbest Happy,itsokmostly Notfussed/seemsreasonable Fairlyunhappymoretimesthannot Veryunhappy 82

 37. Pleaserankthefollowinginanyprovidedaccommodation: Rankas:veryimportant,fairlyimportant,nicetohave,notthatbothered,irrelevant Accommodationandsubs 38. Ifyouhavetoprovideyourownaccommodation,(inadditiontoyourmainresidence)how muchdoesthiscostyouaweek? 39. Ifyouhavetosortyourownaccommodationforwork(inadditiontoyourmainresidence), whatisthisnormally: Sofasurfing Sharedhouse/lodgings B&B HostelegYHA/backpackers Selfcateredaccommodation(holidaycottageetc) Campsite Other(pleasespecify) 40. Ifyouhavetosortyourownaccommodationforwork(inadditiontoyourmainresidence), howhelpfulisyourCURRENTemployer? Extremelyhelpfulegtheyprovidesitehousesfordiggers Veryhelpful,egtheytryandarrangeaccommodationfornewstafforgivetimeoffto lookforaccommodation Helpful,egtheygivelistsofaccommodationagenciesandhostelsbutitsuptometo sortitfromthere Nohelpgiven:itsuptometosortitallout Pleaseexpandonthis Subs 41. DoyougetanightlysubsistenceallowancefromyourCURRENTemployerforstayingaway fromhome? Yes No Howmuchpernight? Near to site Near to Pub(s) Near to Shops En suite/decent bathroom Good breakfast (that you can actually get before work) Space to relax after work Good quality /clean/good facilities Wifi/broadband Own room

83

 42. Approximatelyhowmuchhaveyoureceivedinsubsoverthelast12months? 43. Howimportantareanysubstoyourtotalincome? Very,couldntsurviveonmybasicpaywithoutthem Theymakeadifferencetomypaypacketbutitsnotessentialtogetthem TheycovertheextracostofawayworkbutIdontmakeanymoneyoutofthem Notbotheredatall Theydontcovertheadditionalcosts Pleaseexpand Travelanddriving Weneedtoknowalittleaboutthejobyoudonow.Wewanttocapturethesituationasitexists NOWsopleaseanswerthequestionsastheyrelatetoyouandyourCURRENTemployer. IfyouareunemployedthenpleaseuseyourLASTemployer.Ifyouhavecommentsrelatingto previousemployerspleaseusethefreetextattheend. 44. HowfardoyoulivefromyourCURRENTemployer'soffice(inmiles)? 45. Whatisyourprincipalmethodofgettingtoyourcurrentplaceofwork? Walk Bike Owncar/motorbike Companyvehicle Publictransport Lift Other(pleasespecify) 46. Ifyougotoanofficefirst,howdoyounormallygetfromyourofficetosite? Walk Bike Owncar/motorbike Companyvehicle Publictransport Lift Other(pleasespecify) 47. Doyouownacar/motorbike? 48. Couldyoudoyourjobifyouhadnocar/motorbike? 49. Doyoucarshare?Areyoudependantoncolleagues/familyfortravel? 50. Doyouuseyourownvehicleforwork(otherthandrivingto/fromtheoffice)Isyourvehicle insuredforthis? Yes,butnotsureifitsproperlyinsuredforwork No Yes,anditisinsuredforwork Weneedtoknowalittleaboutthejobyoudonow.Wewanttocapturethesituationasitexists NOWsopleaseanswerthequestionsastheyrelatetoyouandyourCURRENTemployer. IfyouareunemployedthenpleaseuseyourLASTemployer.Ifyouhavecommentsrelatingto previousemployerspleaseusethefreetextattheend. 84

51. 52. 53. 54.

55. 56.

57. 58. 59. 60.

61. 62. 63. 64. 65.

66.

LengthofCURRENTbasiccontractedweekinhourseg37.5hours Whattimedoyounormallyleaveforwork?Gethomefromwork? Istherealimitontheearliestyoucanleavetheoffice/arrivebackattheoffice? LengthofnormalworkingweekincludingworkrelatedtravelforCURRENTemployer(donot includetravelfromhometoofficeandback).E.g.youwork37.5corehours+10hours travel=47.5hours WithyourCURRENTemployer,intotalhowmanyhourseachweekdoyouspendtravelling withoutbeingpaid(bothgettingtoofficeortogetpickedup,andanyunpaidtraveltime)? WhatisyourweeklyexpenditureonworkrelatedtravelforyourCURRENTemployment, subtractinganytravelsubsidies/mileagepaidbyyouremployer?Pleasedonotincludeany paiddriver/passengertime. Doyouhaveanyadditionalannualtravelcostssuchasroadtax,MOT,service,costof vehicle?Thesemaynotbe100%workrelatedbutpleasegiveusanapproximatefigurefor theseannualcosts Doyougetpaiddrivingtimefordrivingcompanyvehiclesoutsidecorehours?Whatrate(eg getpaidforthefirst30minutesat'time'thenpaidrestofjourneyathalf'time')? Doyougetpaidasapassengeroutsidecoreworkhours?Whatrate(eggetpaidforthefirst 30minutesathalf'time'thenrestofjourneypaidat'time')? Whatmileageratedoyougetifyouuseyourownvehicleforworkbusiness(penceper mile)?Arethereanylimitsonthemileage? Onanaveragemonthhowmuchdoyoureceivefortravelrelatedtimeandcostsfromyour CURRENTemployer?Thiswouldincludeanymileage,driverorpassengertimeoranyother paymentrelatingtotravellingforwork DoyoueverdopaiddrivingforyourCURRENTemployerjusttogettheextramoney? DoyougetanyadditionaldrivertrainingfromyourCURRENTemployeregSAFEdriving courses,4WDcourse? HowmanypassengersdoyounormallytakeinaworkvehicleforyourCURRENTemployer? Doyoucurrentlyeverfeelpressurisedintodrivingwhenyouaretired?Thismayberealor perceivedpressurefrommanagers,colleagues,friendsorfamily CouldyoudoyourCURRENTjobwithoutadrivinglicence? Yes No Itwouldbeverydifficult Howimportantareexpensesfromtraveltoyourtotalincome? Very,couldntsurviveonmybasicpaywithoutthem Theymakeadifferencetomypaypacketbutthey'renotessentialtome TheycoverthecostoftravelbutIdontmakeanymoneyoutofthem Notbotheredatall Theydontcovertheadditionalcosts Pleaseexpandonthis

Overview 67. Haveyourawayworkandtraveltermschangedoverthepastyearwiththesameemployer? Overthepast2years?5years? Overthelastyear 2years 5years 85

68. Howmuchdoesawayworkandprovisionofaccommodationaffectwhichjobsyoucanapply for? Verymuch Afairbit Neitherway Notbotheredatall Pleaseexpand 69. Doesyourabilitytodoawayworkaffect/hasitaffectedemploymentwithaunit? Yes No Anycomments: 70. Howmuchdoyoufeelawayworkaffectsyourhome/familylife? Itismostlyapositiveeffect Itdoesn'treallyaffectmeeitherway Itdoesn'thelpmatters! Itismostlydetrimental Pleaseexpand 71. Howdoesawayworkaffectyourfuturecareerchoices?Tickallthatapply ItcertainlyaffectswhetherIwillstayinthefieldlongterm IamfedupwithitandwanttogetoutNOW IcanonlyseemoretravelandawayworkifIampromoted Itsajob,Igetonwithit Iwouldlikeamorepredictablelifeinthefuture Iliketheextracash Ienjoythelifestyle Anycomments: 72. Howlongdoyoufeelyouwillstayinarchaeology? 73. Gotanythingelsetosay?Tellusaboutanygoodorbadexperiencesoftravel/awaywork. Thankyoufortakingthetimetorespond!

86

AppendixBEmployerquestionnaire
AlinktotheEmployerquestionnairewassentbyIfAstaffwiththefollowinglettertoalistof employersemailaddressesheldbytheIfA: Dearcolleague, TheDiggersForum(DF)iscurrentlycarryingoutresearchintothenatureandeffectofawaywork andtravelonarchaeologyandarchaeologistsintheUK.Travelandawayworkisamajorissue amongstfieldarchaeologistsandaffectsalmostallarchaeologistsworkingonsiteinsomeway. Anecdotalevidencesuggeststravelandstayingawayaremajorcontributingfactorstothelossof skilledstaffeveryyear,howeverthereisawoefullevelofinformationonthisimportantareaofour profession.ThatisasituationthattheDFwantstoaddressinapositiveway. Wehavesuccessfullycarriedoutanonlinesurveyoffieldstaff,andarenowextendingthissurveyto includeemployers.Thisduplicationisessentialsothatwecanseetheissuesfromallperspectives andcreateaninformedreportonthesituation.Wearethereforewritingtoyoutoinviteyour organisationtoparticipateinthesurveywhichisavailableonlineat https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DFemployersaway.Thesurveywilltakeashortwhiletofillout andthereisamplespacetoexpressyourorganisationsterms,requirements,andviewpoints. Thesurveycanbecompletedanonymouslyifyouwish(seesurvey),orifyouareproudofyour termsandconditionsyouareverywelcometoincludeyourorganisationsname.Wedounderstand thatorganisationsmaynotbeabletoincludedetailedanswerstoeveryquestion,howeverplease doanswerallthequestionsthatyouareableto,andusethefreetextboxestoelaborateorexplain. Thesurveywillbeavailableonlineuntilthe30thJuly2011. Followingthesurveywewillbeworkingtowardsasetofrecommendationsforimprovementsand bestpracticeinthissphereofwork.Wewillbepublishingtheresultsofthesurveyinareporton awayworkandtravel.ThiswillgotoourmembersintheDF,totheIfA,andtoFAMEaswellasbeing madeavailableonourwebpage(http://www.archaeologists.net/groups/diggers). Thissurveyhasthepotentialtoshinemuchneededlightonapoorlyunderstoodareaof archaeologicalwork,andwehopeitcanleadtoabetterunderstandingofwhatmatterstostaffand employers,andhow,byworkingtogether,wecantakesimplestepstoimprovearchaeological careersforusall. Wehopethatyoufeelabletocontributetothissurveyandhelpmakearchaeologytheprofession wealldeserve.IfyouhaveanyquestionsaboutthissurveypleasecontacttheDiggersForumat [email protected]. Yours, TheDiggersForumCommittee

87

TheDiggersForum(DF)iscommittedtocreatingapositive,sustainableandfinanciallyviablecareer forallprofessionalarchaeologistsatallpointsintheircareer.TheDFisaSpecialInterestGroupof theInstituteforArchaeologistsrepresentingallarchaeologistsworkingoutonsiteatwhatever grade.MembershipoftheDFisopentoall.

88

TheQuestionnaire
Thisonlinequestionnaireisthesecondpartofoursurveyintoworkrelatedtravelandawaywork withincommercialarchaeologyintheUK.Wehavealreadyaskedforresponsesfromthoseworking outonsite,wewouldnowliketocomplementthiswithinformationandperspectivesfromthe employers.Wehopethatthissurveywillprovidevaliddatathatcanleadtoinformeddiscussionon thesubject. Pleaseanswerallquestionsasaccuratelyaspossible,thereisopportunitytomakeanyadditional commentsattheendofthesurvey.Papercopiesofthequestionnaireareavailableonrequestfrom groups@archaeologists.net.Thesurveywillbeonlineforonemonth.Theresultsofthesurveywillbe initiallypublishedintheForumDispatch(thenewsletteroftheDiggersForum)withcopiessentto theIfAandtoFAME. Ifyoudonotwantyourorganisationsnametobeassociatedwithyouranswersthenpleasestate thisandwewillrespectthiswishandyourorganisationnameandaddresswillbestrippedfromthe rawdataafterinitialprocessing. TheDiggersForumiscommittedtocreatingapositive,sustainableandfinanciallyviablecareerfor allprofessionalarchaeologistsatallpointsintheircareer.TheDFisaSpecialInterestGroupofthe InstituteforArchaeologistsrepresentingallarchaeologistsworkingoutonsiteatwhatevergrade. MembershipoftheDFisopentoall. YourOrganisation Whatisthenameofyourorganisation? Doyougivepermissionforyoursurveyresponsestobemadepublic? Pleasestateyourname,positionandrolewithinyourorganisation Whereisyourheadoffice?Addressincludingthefirsthalfofyourpostcodeplease IsyourorganisationaRegisteredOrganisationwiththeIfA? IsyourheadofunitaMemberoftheIfA? IsyourorganisationamemberofFAME? Whattypeoforganisationisyours? charitabletrust commercialcompany localauthorityunit universityunit soletrader Other(pleasespecify) 9. Canyousetyourownratesforwages/expenses/overtimerates/subsetcorareyouboundbya parentorganisationsuchasaparentcompany,localauthorityorbyActofParliament? 10. Ifyouhaveanysubsidiaryorregionalofficespleasespecifywhichofficeyouareansweringon behalfof,andwhereitislocated.egBrightonOffice,BN1. 11. Doyourecogniseaunion?Ifso,whichone? None Prospect Unison 89 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Yourcolleagues Approximatelyhowmanypeopleworkforyourorganisationatpresent? Howmanypermanentsiteworkersdoyouemployatthemoment? Howmanytemporarysiteworkersdoyouemployatthemoment? Doyouusefreelancesiteworkers? Yes,regularly Occasionally Onlyforspecialistroles Never 16. Aretermsandconditionsforstaffidenticalatalloffices?Ifstaffaresecondedtoanotheroffice dotheyreceivethesamepayandconditionsandarethesamefacilitiesandservicesavailableto them? 17. Pleaseusethisspaceforfurthercomment. Advertisingforstaff 18. Wheredoyouadvertisefornewstaff? IfAJIS BAJR otherjobsite contactformerstaff cvskeptonfile wordofmouth Other(pleasespecify) 19. Whatspecificaspectsofyourtermsandconditionsdoyouincludeinyouradvertsoverand abovetheheadlinesalaryrate? 20. Wouldyouconsideraddingfurtherdetailsofyourtermsandconditionstofutureadverts? 21. Howeasydoyoufindittogetexperienced,qualifiedstaff?Hasthischangedoverthepasttwo years?Andoverthepast5years? 22. Arethereanyrolesthatareparticularlyhardtorecruitfor? 23. Haveyouchangedyourrequirementsforfieldstaffapplicantsrecentlyforexampletoincludea CSCScard? 24. Whatdoyouespeciallylookforinnewsitestaff? Rankedbyveryimportant,important,useful,notimportant: 12. 13. 14. 15.

90

relevantpracticalexperience jobspecificskills goodreferencesabilitytostartimmediately cleandrivinglicenceCSCScardorsimilar proximitytooffice/siteofapplicant gooddegreeresults postgraduate qualification (e.g.MSc/PhD) goodprevious employmenthistory Other(pleasespecify) 25. Doyouhaveanytraineeschemesforsitestaff?Howdothesework? 26. Pleaseusethisspacetomakeanyfurthercommentonadvertisingfor,andrecruiting,newstaff. Youasanemployer 27. Doyoufeelthatyoupayagoodwagetoyoursitestaff? 28. Doyoufeelyouareareasonableemployerwhencomparedtoothersimilaremployersorto yourmaincompetitors? 29. Howimportantdoyoufeelopennessandtransparencyiswhendealingwithcurrentand prospectivestaff?Haveyouhadanyproblemsinthepastwiththis? 30. DoyouagreethatarchaeologicalemployersshouldbeworkingtowardstheIfArecommended startingsalaries? 31. HowdosalaryminimasuchastheIfAminimaandIfArecomendedstartingsalaries,andtheBAJR minimaaffectyourwagelevels? 32. Pleaseusethisspaceforfurthercomment. Employeewages 33. DoyourwagelevelsincludeanyelementofLondonWeightingorsimilar? 34. Doyourwagestakeintoaccounttheamountofawayworkandtravelundertakenbystaff?Is anypaymentforthisbuiltintotheheadlinepayrate? 35. Whatisyourcurrentsalaryforsiteassistants? 36. Whatisyourcurrentsalaryforsitesupervisors? 37. WhatisyourcurrentsalaryforProjectOfficers? 38. What,ifany,annualpayincreasedidyouawardthisyear? 39. Howmanyhoursaweekareyoursiteworkerscontractedtowork?e.g.37.5hourweek 40. Howmanyhoursdositeworkersusuallyworkeachweekincludingpaidorunpaidtraveltime? Includealltimetravellingfromtheoffice/pickuppointtosite.E.g.37.5hoursplus10hours travelfromofficetositeandback=47.5hourstotal 41. Pleaseusethisspaceforfurthercomment.

91

Awaywork 42. Doyoursitestaffeverundertakeawaywork? 43. Whatproportionoftheworkyoursitestaffundertakeinvolvesanawaystay? 44. Doyouhaveclearguidelinesregardingawayworkandwhenajobshouldbeclassedasaway work?Aretherulesfreelyavailabletostaff? 45. Howareawayjobsdefinedfor Staffemployedformanyprojects Staffemployedspecificallyforacertainproject anddosubs/travelpaymentsdifferforthesetwogroups? 46. Doyouhaveasetdistance/traveltimebeforeajobisclassedasanawayjob? 47. Doyouhavealimitontheearliesttimestaffcanleavetheoffice/setoffforworkinthe morning?e.g.5.30am 48. Howdoyouselectstaffforawayjobs?Whatfactorsdoyoutakeintoaccountwhenselecting staff? 49. Doyouhaveanyformofrotationofsitestaffonawayjobs? 50. Doyoumonitorhowmuchawayworkandtravelyourstaffaredoing? 51. Howmuchnoticedostaffusuallygetthattheywillbesentonanawayjob? 52. Pleaseusethisspaceforanyfurthercommentonawaywork. Accommodationandsubsistencepayments 53. Doyouhelpnewstaffwithfindingaccommodation?Doyoufeelyouare: Extremelyhelpfulegprovidesitehousesfordiggers Veryhelpful,egtryandarrangeaccommodationfornewstafforgivetimeofftolookfor accommodation Helpful,eggivelistsofaccommodationagenciesandhostelsbutitsuptostafftosortitfrom there Nohelpgiven:itsuptostafftosortitallout 54. Doyoueverprovideaccommodationforstaffworkingnearthehomeoffice? 55. Doyouprovideaccommodationforstaffworkingawayfromthehomeoffice? 56. Whattypeofaccommodationdoyouprovidestaff? 57. Arestaffexpectedtosharerooms? 58. Doyoumakeasubsistencepaymentforstaffonawaywork?Howmuchisitanight?Whenisit payable?Howdoyouqualifyforthepayment?Arethereanyconditions/limitsonthispayment? 59. HaveyouhadanyissueswithHMRCaboutaccommodationandexpenses? 60. Pleaseusethisspacetofurthercommentonaccommodationandsubsistencepayments. Driving 61. Doyourequirestafftohaveadrivinglicense?Atwhatlevelofpostisadrivinglicence compulsory(ifatall)? 62. Doyouprovideanydrivingorvehiclemaintenancetrainingforstaff? 63. Areallsuitablylicensedstaffallowedtodrivecompanyvehicles?Whattrainingortestingdo theyhavetoundertakebeforetheyareallowedoutinacompanyvehicle? 64. Doyoumonitormileagedrivenbystaff? 65. Dostaffgetpaidrestbreaksonlongdrives? 66. Doyoupayanyformoftraveltime/drivingtime/passengertime?Ifso,howmuchandwhen? E.g.alldrivingtimepaidattime,passengertimeaccruedasTOILafterfirsthalfhouroftravel 67. Doyoupayfortravelbypublictransport,andifsoarethereanyconditions? Useofemployeevehiclesforwork 92

68. Doyoueverrequireemployeestousetheirownvehiclesforwork? Ifyes,thenwhenandwhere,andwhy? 69. Doyoucheckandrecordthevehicleinsuranceofemployeeswhousetheirownvehiclesfor work? 70. Whatsystemsdoyouhaveinplaceforemployeeswhousetheirownvehiclesforwork? 71. Whatmileageratesdoyoupayforemployeesusingtheirownvehiclesforwork? 72. Pleasemakeanyfurthercommentsondriving,travelanduseofemployeevehicles. General 73. Doyoufeelworkispickingupandhowconfidentareyouthatthereisasustainablerecoveryin theeconomy? 74. Howhastherecessionaffectedtheprovisionofaccommodationonawayworkandthelevelof subs/mileage? 75. Howdoyoufeelawayworkandtravelaffectssitestaffinthemediumandlongerterm? 76. Doyoufeelthatthereisagoodbalanceofawayworkandtravelinyourcompanyallowingstaff tohaveareasonablypredictablehomelife? 77. Haveyouhadtosendyourstaffawaymoreoverrecentyearsandhasthisresultedinincreased costsforyourcompanyintermsofaccommodationetc? 78. Haveyoutriedtorecruitmorelocalstaffwhenplanningawayjobsinordertoreducecosts? Howhasthisworkedinpractice? 79. Whatquestionsshouldwehaveasked,andwhatareyouranswerstothem? Comments 80. Pleaseusethisspacetomakeanyfinalcommentsonthesurvey,oncurrentemployment practiceoronanyrelevantsubject.Yourinputisverymuchappreciated. Thankyouforcompletingthesurvey,ifyouwouldliketogetintouchthenpleaseemailusvia [email protected] Oncethesurveyisclosedwewillbeanalysingtheresultsandpublishingareportwhichwillinclude recommendationsonawayworkandtravel.ThisreportwillbesenttoDiggers'Forummembersvia theDFnewsletter,totheIfAandtoFAME. TheDiggers'Forum

93