HUMAN RESOURCES

answer key
The recruitment process (pages 46 + 47) continued
Part 3:
1. seven-point plan 2. potential 3. appearance 4. intelligence 5. skills 6. interests 7. disposition 8. circumstances
9. references 10. offered 11. induction programme 12. temporary 13. probationary 14. open-ended / fixed-term 15. fixedterm
/ open-ended 16. follow-up
Personal qualities (page 48)
1. popular 2. decisive (verb = to decide) 3. rapport 4. punctual 5. willing 6. reliable (verb = to rely on) 7. critical (verb = to
criticise) 8. sensitive 9. sensitive (note the differences in meaning of sensitive in these two sentences. The opposite of sensitive in
sentence 9 is insensitive) 10. practical 11. judgement (spelt judgment in American English) 12. reserved (this is similar in meaning
to shy) 13. impulsive 14. obstinate (we can also say stubborn) 15. selfish 16. sociable 17. industrious (this is not the same as
industrial) 18. professional 19. conceited 20. ambition (adjective = ambitious) 21. motivation (verb = to motivate. A good
worker is self-motivated) 22. relationship 23. confidence (adjective = confident) 24. abrasive 25. confrontational (verb = to
confront)
Other qualities are also considered during interviews and appraisals. These may include neatness of appearance, general attitude and
approaches to the job, knowledge of the organisation and / or field of work, knowledge of colleagues' work (the adjective is
knowledgeable), the ability to communicate clearly, effectively and appropriately (verbally and on paper), the ability to follow
instructions, the ability to inform managers and colleagues of problems and / or progress, body language and general intelligence.
Contract of employment (page 49)
1. Term = Terms, conditionals = conditions 2. employ = employer 3. employed = employee 4. titel = title 5. descriptive =
description, duty = duties 6. locally = location 7. Celery = Salary, anum = annum, rears = arrears 8. Started = Starting (or Start)
9. labour = work, until = to (Monday through Friday in American English) 10. Undertime = Overtime, rat = rate 11. enticement =
entitlement, anum = annum 12. Absent = Absence (or Absenteeism from work) 13. sceme = scheme (x2) 14. Dissiplinary =
Disciplinary, grieving = grievance, handybook = handbook, police = policies 15. Probbation = Probation (x2), subjective = subject,
employees = employment, note = notice 16. Terminator = Termination, probbation = probation (or probationary), note = notice
17. Referrals = References (x2) (a person who writes a reference is called a referee), apointments = appointments 18. singed = signed
Contracts of employment can be temporary, permanent, short term, long term, fixed-term or open-ended.
Contracts contain express terms (those that both the employer and the employee agree on), and implied terms (these are not stated in
the contract, but impose obligations on both the employer and the employee).
Some contracts may contain a restrictive covenant (a clause which prevents an employee from doing something. For example, it may
prevent the employee working for another similar company when s/he finishes work in his / her current company).
Contractual liability is a legal responsibility for something as stated in a contract.
Working hours (pages 50 + 51)
Across: 1. punctual (the opposite is unpunctual or late) 5. clock off (we also say clock out. When we arrive for work we clock on or
clock in) 8. double 9. transfer 12. Regulations 13. time-keeping 15. allowed 17. half 18. graveyard 19. differentials
21. roster 24. entitlement 25. overtime 26. fixed 27. rotating
Down: 2. twilight 3. job-share 4. homeworking 6. full 7. part 10. flexileader 11. unsocial 14. core 16. flexilagger
20. flexitime 22. sheet 23. rotation
Note: The four main types of shift work are: 1. double day 2. day and night alternating 3. permanent night 4. 3-shift (continuous
or discontinuous)
In Britain, the Working Time Directive of 1998 (based on guidelines set by the European Union) sets out the following regulations:
Employees should work no more than 48 hours a week, and should receive a minimum of 4 weeks' paid leave a year. They should have
a weekly rest period of at least 24 consecutive hours, a daily break of at least 20 minutes for every six hours worked, and a daily rest
period of 11 consecutive hours. There are different directives for some groups (e.g., pilots, bus drivers, doctors, etc) whose jobs are
more stressful, demand greater concentration, or whose performance might affect other people.
Appraisals (page 52)
The questions in this exercise are typical questions that might be asked at an appraisal / assessment interview (sometimes informally
called job chats).
1. standards 2. knowledge 3. quality 4. objectives 5. improvement 6. strengths / weaknesses 7. training 8. schedule
9. progression 10. challenging 11. encouragement 12. least 13. workload 14. description 15. defined 16. advancement
17. improving 18. morale 19. relationships 20. discipline 21. treatment 22. promptly 23. complaints 24. progress
25. praise 26. facilities 27. provisions 28. benefits 29. recommend 30. comments
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Normally before an appraisal, employees fill in a self-appraisal form. Note that appraisals / assessments are normally knowledge-based
(what the employee knows), and performance-based (how well the employee has worked, and the results s/he has achieved).
Appraisals can be two-way, with the employee telling the company how s/he feels about it, and his / her role in it. A good company will
always listen to the feedback it receives from its employees.
Performance-based appraisals often use a method known as BARS (behaviourally-anchored rating scales), where performance is based
on a typical performance criteria set for each individual employee.
continued on next page
© Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. For reference see Dictionary of Human Resources and Personnel Management (ISBN 0 7475 6623 2)