The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of information on the structure and distribution of earnings in the UK. ASHE provides information about the levels, distribution and make-up of earnings and paid hours worked for employees in all industries and occupations. The ASHE tables contain estimates of earnings for employees by sex and full-time or parttime status. Further breakdowns include by region, occupation, industry, age group and public or private sector.
PAYE (payrolled income from employment) and Self-Assessment (SA; self-employment and other income) from the HMRC administrative records, for the 1% of the population who should be represented in the ASHE sample.
The linkage of ASHE with the PAYE data helps to address information gaps concerning changes in the labour market within the 12-month intervals between ASHE surveys. This has the potential to enhance our understanding of earnings and labour market transitions in Britain. Linking ASHE to PAYE and SA allows us to understand better a person’s whole interaction with the labour market.