Test your HR knowledge

Julie is 15 years old and has agreed to work for you for the minimum wage over the summer. How much will you pay her per hour?

The 'youth rate' minimum wage of £3.64 per hour.
The 'apprentice rate' minimum wage of £2.50 per hour.
Whatever you like - you can agree an amount with Julie.

Gavin, who only started working with you recently, has called in to tell you he is taking the day off because his wife is unwell and needs to go to hospital. What rights do you believe Gavin has?

As this is an emergency Gavin can take the day off on full pay.
As this is an emergency, Gavin can take the day off unpaid.
Gavin has no right to take the day off without your agreement.

You believe that one of your employees is under-performing because they are addicted to drugs and alcohol. You have a Health & Safety Policy which enables you to carry out random testing. What do you do?

Advise the employee that they must submit to the test and that they may be disciplined.
Ask the employee to agree to submit to the test and advise them that you will offer them help with their addiction.
Start a performance management process - during which you will explore all the causes for under-performance.

You hired Michelle three weeks ago and she is the worst secretary in the world. You have been thinking of sacking her but she has just told you that she is pregnant. What do you do?

Sack her anyway - she was pregnant before she joined the company so she doesn't qualify for any maternity rights or protection.
Put Michelle on a performance management programme and advise her that if she does not meet the standards she may lose her job.
Don't do anything. Sacking pregnant employees is a high risk business and you'd rather have a useless secretary than have to deal with a sex discrimination claim.

James is on a fixed term contract which expires in one week's time. You would like to renew this contract but are worried about James then assuming statutory and contractual rights. What do you do?

Extend the contract but formally agree with James that he will not be entitled to statutory and contractual rights.
Allow the contract to expire and then have a break in service - perhaps a week or two - before issuing a new fixed term contract.
Extend the contract on its existing terms, and advise James that even if he assumes statutory rights he will not be offered standard contractual rights.

Your contracts provide for 30 days' annual leave (including 8 bank holidays). You allow a maximum of 2 days to be carried forward into a subsequent year. David has worked very hard this year and asks if he can carry-forward 5 days. What is your position?

Allow him to carry-forward the extra days.
Don't allow him to carry-forward the extra days and advise him that he must take all his statutory leave days within the current year.
Don't allow him to carry-forward the extra days but pay him for the extra days that he has worked.

During a recent redundancy process Margaret - one of your most valued employees - was offered an alternative role. After four weeks in the new role Margaret tells you that she feels the new role is too difficult and she would like to resign. What do you think is the best course of action?

As Margaret's new role has not been made redundant she is not eligible for redundancy pay. Allow her to resign and offer her pay in lieu of any outstanding notice.
Offer Margaret training and an extended trial period - and allow her to retain her redundancy rights.
As the standard trial period in new roles is four weeks, Margaret's redundancy rights have fallen away. Allow her to resign but ask her to work through her notice.

You promoted Malcolm, but you didn't promote Anthony. Anthony has longer service, and his performance record is arguably on a par with Malcolm's. Your decision for promoting Anthony is based on your belief that he shows more potential for career development. Since Malcolm's promotion Anthony has been sulking and his performance has deteriorated. When you talk to him about this he tells you that you are harassing him and that he has been constructively dismissed. What do you do?

Promote Anthony to the same level as Malcolm - it will help to keep the peace and it may motivate Anthony to perform better.
Treat Anthony's complaint as a grievance and investigate formally.
Put Anthony onto a performance management programme.

Three part-time members of staff have complained because they did not receive the £500 bonus that applied to all other employees. You justify this decision on the basis that their contributions were not the same as full-time staff but the part-timers threaten to take you to court for violation of the Part-Time Workers Directive. What do you do?

Nothing - the bonus is discretionary, and that means that you can apply it as you wish.
Give them the £500 bonus - this will cost you a lot less then a trip to the tribunal.
Give each part-timer a pro-rata bonus, calculated against their working time.

Lee - who is a serial hypochondriac in your opinion - has been off sick for five days and has failed to provide a doctor's note from his GP. Your contracts clearly state that evidence of sickness must be provided after 4 consecutive days off sick. Your contracts also state that failure to comply with this regulation may result in disciplinary action. What and how do you communicate with Lee in respect of his obligations?

Write to Lee and let him know that you are extending the timeline for evidence to 7 days and that unless he returns to work within 3 days he must provide you with a GP's note on or before the 7 day deadline.
This is a breach of contract which you can treat as gross misconduct which is a dismissible offence.
Write to Lee and advise him that he must face a disciplinary upon his return to work. Advise him also that you will exercise your right to withhold his statutory sick pay.

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