Paint a period when there were no permanent workers? (7)
I believe the answer is:
tempera
'paint' is the definition.
(type of paint)
'a period when there were no permanent workers?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'a' could be 'per' (eg 'one a day' means 'one per day') and 'per' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'tema' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tempera that I've seen before include "decorative style" , "Paint made using egg-yolk" , "Artist's emulsion" , "Artist's medium" , "Emulsion paint" .)