APPENDIX 1: QUANTITATIVE METHOD

The project used a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative and qualitative research methods:

Phase 1 - Initial survey

The initial survey was a 3-5 minute telephone survey of employers carried out in October - November 2009. This survey was intended to identify the prevalence of trial periods, rest and meal breaks and breastfeeding breaks and facilities among employers, and employer knowledge of these amendments to the Employment Relations Act 2000. Employers were also asked if they were willing to take part in a follow-up survey. Consenting employers were then sent an internet link to the follow-up survey, or were posted a questionnaire, depending on their preference.

Sampling frame

The sampling frame was an employer database, which, when cleaned of incomplete and duplicate entries gave a sampling frame of 33,576 employers. From this a random sample of 3,600 employers was drawn. This random sample was an approximate match of the actual industry distribution in New Zealand.

Response rate

The sample size for the employer survey was intended to be 1,200.

Of the 3,532 employers contacted:

• 1,391 (39%) completed the initial initial survey, of whom 771 went on to do the follow-up survey (10% by post, 90% online)
• 324 (9%) declined to take part
• 685 (19%) were unattainable because of invalid contact details
• 1,132 (32%) were unavailable when contacted

Firm size distribution

Table 18: Firm size distribution of the initial survey compared to the population

Firm size	Number in initial survey	Percent in initial survey	Percent in population[9]
1-19 employees (small)	989	71%	91%
20-49 employees (medium)	206	15%	6%
50+ employees (large)	196	14%	3%
Total	1391	100%	100%

The industry distribution of the sample is shown in Table 19. Note that this table shows the number of firms not the number of employees in each industry.

Table 19 : Industry distribution of the initial survey compared to the population

Industry	Number in initial survey	Percent in initial survey	Percent in population [10]
A   Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing	59	4%	14%
B   Mining	4	0%	0%
C   Manufacturing	207	15%	8%
D   Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste	1	0%	0%
E   Construction	109	8%	13%
F   Wholesale Trade	105	8%	6%
G   Retail Trade	233	17%	9%
H   Accommodation and Food Services	88	6%	7%
I   Transport, Postal and Warehousing	71	5%	3%
J   Information Media and Telecommunications	5	0%	1%
K   Financial and Insurance Services	27	2%	2%
L   Rental, Hiring and Real Estate	210	15%	4%
M   Professional, Scientific and Technical	31	2%	10%
N   Administrative and Support Services	42	3%	3%
O   Public Administration and Safety	97	7%	0%
P   Education and Training	28	2%	4%
Q   Health Care and Social Assistance	42	3%	5%
R   Arts and Recreation Services	10	1%	2%
S   Other Services	2	0%	8%
Unknown	20	1%	-
Total	1,391	100%	100

Phase 2 - Follow-up survey

The follow-up survey was 8-14 minutes in duration, and administered by postal questionnaire or over the internet, depending on the employer's preference. The aim of the survey was to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of employers' knowledge of the amendments, any changes employers had made, and their perceptions of compliance costs relative to benefits. To maintain respondent confidentiality, responses from the initial and follow-up surveys could not be linked, thus some questions from the initial survey were repeated in the follow-up survey.

Consenting employers from the initial survey made up the sampling frame for the follow-up survey. The sample size was intended to be between 400 and 500 employers.

The follow-up survey was completed online or on paper by 771 employers with a completion rate of approximately 88%. These respondents are a subset of the respondents from the initial survey. Respondents self-reported firm size, industry and location.

Table 20 : Firm size distribution in the follow-up survey compared to the population

Firm size	Number of employers	Percent in follow-up survey	Percent in population[11]
1-19 employees (small)	527	69%	91%
20-49 employees (medium)	117	15%	6%
50+ employees (large)	127	17%	3%
Total	771	100%	100%

 

Respondents in the follow-up survey self-reported their industry. However, nearly 19% selected 'Other Services' and described their business. These were allocated appropriate industry codes based on the description.

Table 21: Industry distribution of the follow-up survey compared to the population

Industry	Number in follow-up survey	Percent in follow-up survey	Percent in population[12]
A  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing	40	5%	14%
B  Mining	2	0%	0%
C  Manufacturing	101	13%	8%
D  Electricity, Gas, Water & Waste Services	17	2%	0%
E  Construction	64	8%	13%
F  Wholesale Trade	43	6%	6%
G  Retail Trade	125	16%	9%
H  Accommodation and Food Services	43	6%	7%
I  Transport, Postal and Warehousing	40	5%	3%
J  Information Media and Telecommunications	12	2%	1%
K  Financial and Insurance Services	37	5%	2%
L  Rental, Hiring & Real Estate Services	9	1%	4%
M  Professional, Scientific and Technical Services	70	9%	10%
N  Administrative and Support Services	20	3%	3%
O  Public Administration and Safety	5	1%	0%
P  Education and Training	45	6%	4%
Q  Health care and Social Assistance	60	8%	5%
R  Arts and Recreation Services	10	1%	2%
S  Other Services	28	4%	8%
Total	771	100%	100%

Table 22: Employer location

Location	Number	Percent
Auckland	230	31%
Auckland and North Island	5	1%
Auckland and South Island	1	0%
Hamilton	29	4%
Wellington	68	9%
Christchurch	55	7%
Canterbury	4	1%
Dunedin	17	2%
Main centres	13	2%
Nationwide	23	3%
North Island	226	30%
South Island	84	11%
Total	755	100%

 

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