A. Nature and extent of caring responsibilities

I'd like to discuss what kind of caring responsibilities you have.

1. What are your current caring responsibilities?

   Number and age of children or adults

   Extent of care (e.g. number of days you have are for chid/ren; frequency of care for elderly parent)

2. How long have you been caring for children/mother...etc?

   E.g. birth of first child

3. Since your caring responsibilities started, how have they changed?

   E.g. birth of another child

Those caring for children:

1. Do your children go to ECE/OSCAR or do you have childcare arrangements?

   Details of these arrangements - type, hours, cost?

Those caring for adults:

1. Do you have other support to help you care for x?

   Details?

2. Do you have any other caring responsibilities we haven't already discussed?

   E.g. elderly person, child or other person with a disability

3. What sort of support do you have for the caring responsibilities you have

   Do you have a partner?

   How much of a role does your partner play with these responsibilities?

   Do you have any [other] support [in-house or other] with these responsibilities?

   Paid help vs. unpaid help?

4. How is the unpaid work managed in your household?

   Household work? Partner's role?

5. Are there any other factors involved that relate to your caring responsibilities?

   E.g. shared custody arrangements or partner's children?

B. Paid work history [prior to and after onset of caring responsibilities]

Now I'd like to discuss your involvement in paid work before and after your caring responsibilities started.

Before you had children/caring responsibilities started:

1. Were you in paid work? If no, move to Q4 below. If yes:
2. What kind of work did you do?

   Occupation, work from home, shift work, weekend/night work?

   Permanent/contract work?

   Self employed?

3. How many hours did you usually work each week?

   Hours per day

   Days per week

Since the onset of your caring responsibilities

1. Have you been involved in any paid work since your caring responsibilities began. If no, move to Q10 below. If yes:
2. What kind of work?

   Occupation, work from home, shift work, weekend/night work?

   Permanent/contract work?

   Self employed?

3. How many hours have you normally worked each week?

At the present time (check to see if different from situation described in questions 4, 5, 6)

1. Are you in paid work? If no, move to Q10 below. If yes:
2. What kind of work?

   Occupation, work from home, shift work, weekend/night work?

   Permanent/contract work?

   Self employed?

3. How many hours do you normally work each week?

If have partner:

1. Is your partner in paid work? If yes:

   Full time/part-time (hours per day & days per week)

   Occupation, work from home, shift work, weekend/night work?

   Permanent/contract work?

   Self employed?

If not in paid work now...

1. Have you ever done any paid work? [Check any participation in paid work ever]
2. Would you like to be doing any paid work now? If yes:

   What sort of work do you want? How many hours?

   If no go to 'decision making' below.

Study/Training

1. Are you doing any study or training at the moment?

C. Decision making about participating in paid work in your current situation

Now I'd like to discuss your current situation and decision making about whether or not you are in paid work.

1. At the moment, you are (describe situation e.g. not working, doing part time work, etc), how have you come to be in the situation you are in now in relation to paid work?
2. What kinds of things have influenced why you are (describe their situation e.g. not working, working part-time etc) at the moment?

a) [If not mentioned] I'd like to discuss some of these other factors with you:

• Financial need or circumstances - ascertain income [personal/household, if not working check earning potential]
• Attitudes, preferences and expectations [of the participant, their partner and family, their community and society generally] - towards caring responsibilities [e.g. desire to have time with children] and towards paid employment [e.g. career orientation]
• Impact of media, church, community
• Was there any information you had that helped you make your decision (what information, where from etc)?
• Personal rewards and satisfaction gained from paid work e.g. social contact, time out from caring responsibilities, mental stimulation
• Factors related to caring responsibilities e.g.
  • impact of decisions on children/other care respondents
  • availability and affordability of childcare, satisfaction with, and quality of childcare arrangements, availability and affordability of other caring support mechanisms, extended family, respite care, and satisfaction with these
  • Age of children - issues for those with teenagers vs. younger children
  • Extent of care required, level of dependency
  • Division of labour within family/household
  • Paid work related factors
    • Pay rates
    • availability of part time work, flexible work provisions
    • employer/colleagues attitudes
    • cost of working [including loss of income support entitlements]
    • transport issues
    • partners work situation and demands
    • stress levels
  • Maintenance of skills/work related experience
  • Stress of being in work or at home?
  • Any other factors?

1. Can you talk a bit about the relative importance of these influences on your decision making?

   Least important? Most important/? Inter-related factors?

2. How did you make the decision about your current situation and whether or not to do paid work?

   Would you say you have made deliberate decision/s or did things just happen?

   Did you look for information, if so about what?

   Did you assess the different options? What did this assessment involve?

   Who was involved in the decision making?

   Role of your partner, other family members

   How much control do you feel you had over the decision, i.e. do you feel there was a real choice involved?

If have partner

1. Did you ever consider your partner taking up the role of caring for the children/adult
2. How satisfied are you with your current situation in terms of the paid work you do/not?

   E.g. if working, do you want to be working or would you prefer more time with children or other caring responsibilities [why/why not]?

   If not working do you want to be [why/why not]?

   How happy are your partner/other family members (e.g. children) about you working/not working?

   How satisfactory is the flexibility of your situation?

3. Would anything have made it easier for you to make decisions about whether to be in paid work or not?
4. For example:

   More information [e.g. about childcare costs and subsidies, or effects of childcare]

   Attitude and preference changes [societal and individual]

   Financial pressures

   Structural changes [including organisation of unpaid work, paid work]

5. [If working:] Do you feel that having caring responsibilities has stopped you from progressing in your job, or from getting any training that you would have liked?
6. Has your experience or information since making the decision (to work or not) changed how you feel about the decision you made? i.e., would you do anything differently now?
7. Since you made the decision to (describe situation), have you been aware of any information about the longer term effects of working/not working - the effects on yourself, your family?

   E.g. information about the financial effect, or the effect on your children?

D. Demographic information to be collected

Now I'd like to ask you for some basic demographic information:

1. How old are you?
2. What ethnicity are you?
3. What's your highest educational qualification?
4. Note geographical location [rural/urban/small town] of participant
5. [If not gathered previously] what is your income before tax, from all sources?

   (Annual income, but record whatever is easiest for them to specify e.g. if paid monthly)

   Family income

   Personal (now, or previously if not in paid work - how long ago was this)

   1 - 5,000

   5,001- 10000

   10,001 - 15,000

   15,001- 20,000

   20,001 - 25,000

   25,001 - 30,000

   30,001 - 40,000

   40,001 - 50,000

   50,001 - 70,000

   70,001 - 100,000

   100,001 +

E. Any further comments you would like to make about your work and caring responsibilities?

Thank participant, check whether they want a summary of the report. Give gratuity for participating.

Research project: Decision making surrounding paid work by parents and others with caring responsibilities

Researchers: Kirsten Gendall Louise Fawthorpe

Telephone: x x

1. Researchers' statement

We are asking you to be in a research study funded by the Department of Labour and the National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women. This research looks at decision making about paid work by people with caring responsibilities. This consent form gives you information to help you decide whether or not to be in the study. Please read the form carefully. You may ask questions about the purpose of the research, any possible risks and benefits, your rights as a volunteer, and anything else about the research or this form that is not clear. When all your questions have been answered, you can decide if you want to be in the study or not. This process is called 'informed consent.'

2. Purpose of the research

This research looks at how and why people with caring responsibilities make decisions about being in paid work, and how much paid work they do. This research is meant to provide a better picture of how various factors interact for different groups of people and how these factors influence their decision making. This research will inform policy development related to workforce participation. Participants will receive no personal benefits.

3. Procedures

The research will involve you being interviewed by one researcher. A second researcher will take notes and may also ask some questions. The interviews will also be audio taped to make sure our notes are accurate when analysing data. Interviews are expected to take up to an hour and a half. This research will involve interviews with 50 people. A list of participants will be supplied to the Department of Labour. This is done to ensure research quality, that is the Department is assured that people were actually interviewed. Participants' identity will be kept confidential.

Interview questions will cover the following areas:

• The type of caring responsibilities people have
• Their pattern of participation in paid work
• The factors that influence participants' labour market decisions
• How people make decisions about paid work
• How satisfied people are with their decisions about paid work
• The information available to people when making decisions
• Demographic details including questions about income.

You may refuse to answer any question in the interview, and you may refuse to have the interview audiotaped.

4. Participation

Participation in the research is entirely voluntary. You may refuse to participate or withdraw from participation at any time without jeopardy. You will receive $50 upon completion of the interview in acknowledgement of the time spent participating in the research.

5. Risks or stress

It is not expected that participation in the research will cause participants any risk or stress.

6. Other information

Interview transcripts will be confidential (i.e., no one will be named in the report prepared for the Department). Access to identifiable data will be limited to the researchers and to selected personnel at the Department of Labour. Data will be used to produce a report as described. Data will be retained by the Department of Labour for one year and then all records, notes and transcripts will be destroyed. Any information derived from this research project that personally identifies you will not be voluntarily released or disclosed without your separate consent. You may withdraw from the study or refuse to participate in the study at any time without any penalty.

7. Contact information

If at any time you have questions regarding the research or your participation, you should contact the principal researcher, Kirsten Gendall, who will answer all questions. Her telephone number is x. If at any time you have comments regarding the conduct of this research or questions about your rights as a research participant, you should contact the research project manager, at the Department of Labour.

Participant's statement

I have read the above, and understand my role in participating in the research. I volunteer to take part in this research. I have had a chance to ask questions. If I have questions later, about the research, I can ask the researcher listed above. I understand that I may refuse to participate or withdraw from participation at any time without penalty. The researcher may withdraw me at his/her professional discretion. If I have questions about my rights as a research participant, I can call the research project manager, at the Department of Labour.

I certify that I am 18 years of age or older and freely give my consent to participate in this study. I will receive a copy of this document for my records.

Participant's signature/consent: __________________________

Date: _______________

Print participant's name: ________________________________

Researchers' statement

I have discussed the proposed research with this participant, and in my opinion, the participant understands the benefits, risks and alternatives (i.e. non-participation) and is capable of freely consenting to participate in the research.

Researcher's signature: _______________________________

Date: _________________

Print name: ________________________________________