FOI reference: FOI-2025-2677
You asked
Following up on FOI-2025-2611 regarding the furloughing of interviewers:
1. Is there any information of the projects worked on over the period March 2020 to June 2021?
2. Also, if no one was furloughed, is there any information available as to the reason for the loss of 102 interviewers over that period? Then, where are the current 343 vacancies being advertised?
3. Finally you have confirmed that these are all face to face interviewers. Does the Authority employ any telephone interviewers?
4. If so, can you kindly supply the same information on numbers of telephone interviewers.
We said
Thank you for your request.
1. All in-home interviewing was moved to telephone interviewing during the period March 2020 to June 2021, so all interviewer colleagues moved to the new operational model until restrictions were subsequently lifted. They worked on: The Labour Market Survey; The Family Resources survey; The Living Costs & Food Survey; The Wealth & Assets survey and the Survey on Living Conditions. Thereafter they could go back to in-home interviewing. A small number of ONS interviewers worked on the Covid Infection Survey (CIS) for a short time during that period.
2. Interviewers who left during the pandemic made a personal choice to leave. Many brought forward their retirement or chose to leave for employment elsewhere.
Interviewer vacancies are currently being advertised by the ONS on Civil Service Jobs. In addition, Alexander Mann Solutions Limited and Randstad Recruitment Agency are advertising roles on behalf of the ONS.
3. We employ Telephone Interviewers, as well as Interviewers working on the International Passenger Survey.
4 . As at 31 January 2025, the ONS employed 142 part-time, Telephone Operators (Interviewers).