1. PizzaExpress recently hired actor Karl James to train its staff to:

a) speak more clearly
b) flirt with customers
c) be more child-friendly

2. Which of the following rights at work do carers have?

a) the right to work flexibly
b) the right not to receive ‘less favourable treatment’ because of the attributes of the person they care for
c) the right to have their holiday requests considered before other employees’

NOTE: Being a carer is not a protected characteristic under discrimination law. But carers have a right to protection from ‘associative discrimination’ – discrimination on the grounds of being associated with someone who has a protected characteristic (age, disability etc). This was dealt with in the Coleman v Attridge Law case and is now covered by the Equality Act 2010. Carers do have a right to request flexible working but not to have that right granted.

3. What proposed new hiring policy got the Met Police into the headlines in September?

a) to hire only people with a BMI below 30
b) to hire only people with at least two A levels
c) to hire only people from its volunteer programme

4. You discover an employee working for another employer while ‘off sick’. Can this justify dismissal?

a) yes – those off sick must be confined to their sick bed at all times
b) no – employees have the right not to be dismissed while on sick leave, even when working for someone else
c) yes – if you are paying the employee while they are on sick leave

NOTE: In the case of McCann v Clydebank College, ‘working for financial gain while drawing sick pay’ was found to be a reason for dismissal, although the EAT commented that an illness which prevented employees from performing their contractual duties may not prevent them doing other kinds of work while off sick. Each case will depend on its facts.

5. How much did Reckitt Benckiser’s Bart Becht earn, to make him the highest paid FTSE-100 boss last year?

a) £9.3m
b) £93m
c) £139m
d) £39m

6. An employee fails to return to work in the New Year, saying he’s ‘snowed in’ at a ski resort. Do you:

a) sack him – he’s been late for work on countless other occasions during the previous year
b) accept his excuse, pay him as usual, and say he’ll have to make the time up when he returns
c) insist that he extends his holiday to cover the extra time

NOTE: b) is the safest approach. Answer a) risks an unfair dismissal claim, and c) is only an option if the employer has an express contractual right to require employees to take holiday at a particular time

7. Which top HR executive got an OBE in the New Year’s Honours list for services to diversity and equal opportunities?

a) Transport for London’s Frank Douglas
b) McDonald’s’ David Fairhurst
c) BT’s Caroline Waters

8. Your employee’s fit note suggests a phased return to work following sick leave. Should you follow the advice?

a) yes – a doctor’s opinion is always final
b) no – you’re the best judge of what’s right for the employee and the organisation
c) yes, especially if the employee could be disabled and it’s reasonably practical for you to make the adjustment

NOTE: Employers only have to consider ‘reasonable adjustments’ for disabled employees under discrimination law, but they could open themselves up to other claims if they flagrantly ignore advice when they could easily have made the adjustment.

9. What green perk did M&S introduce for staff as part of its ‘Plan A’ environmental programme?

a) free loft insulation
b) a grant for double-glazing their homes
c) free “bags for life” for life

10. After the default retirement age (DRA) stops operating on 1 October 2011, employers will only be able to retire employees if they:

a) follow the existing statutory retirement procedure using their own compulsory contractual retirement age
b) can objectively justify the direct age discrimination and operate a fair dismissal process
c) are sure the employee has reached state pension age

NOTE: Employers could operate a compulsory contractual retirement age but they would still have to be able to justify the discrimination and dismiss fairly.

11. Cadbury used 720 degree feedback for its leaders this year. This involved:

a) getting input from competitors
b) getting input from people who don’t eat chocolate
c) getting input from family and friends
d) getting input from previous employers

12. What are ‘gagging clauses’ in employment contracts?

a) a form of restrictive covenant preventing ex-employees from using the trade secrets of their former employers
b) contract clauses preventing employees from discussing their pay rates with colleagues
c) measures that prevent employees from ‘blowing the whistle’ on their employers

NOTE: Provisions in the Equality Act 2010 prevent employers from imposing pay secrecy clauses on their employees. Only ‘relevant pay disclosures’ are affected – other forms of contractual secrecy clauses will still be enforceable.

13. Who won the contract to hire and train 2012 Olympic volunteers?

a) Jobcentre Plus
b) B&Q
c) McDonald’s

14. The government has said that additional paternity leave, effective from next April, is an ‘interim measure’. Why?

a) a ruling due from the Court of Justice of the European Union is likely to force an alteration to the UK’s regulations
b) the European Parliament has voted in favour of a minimum 20 weeks’ paid paternity leave
c) the regulations may be amended or repealed because the government is considering introducing a new system of flexible parental leave

NOTE: The government is considering a new system of flexible parental leave. Currently parents of children under the age of 17 (or 18 if disabled) can request to work flexibly and this right will be extended to all parents with children under 18 years from April 2011. But employers still need to plan for the additional parental leave regulations applying to babies born or adopted on or after 3 April 2011.

15. A new category of minimum wage came in to force on 1 October 2010. Who was it for?

a) those working beyond the age of 65
b) interns
c) apprentices

NOTE: Apprentices are entitled to £2.50 an hour if they are under 19 years of age or in the first year of their apprenticeship

16. What Tory manifesto plan on improving the quality of teachers caused outrage in classrooms at the start of the year?

a) that graduates would need at least a 2:2 degree to get state funding for teacher training
b) that graduates from the Russell Group of top universities would get priority places on teacher training courses
c) that graduates with a first class degree in a traditional subject would be eligible for extra funding for teacher training

17. Which of the following employee rights requires a length of service qualification?

a) protection from discrimination
b) right to request time off to train
c) protection from unfair dismissal connected with making a whistleblowing claim

NOTE: The right applies to employees with 26 weeks’ service working for organisations employing 250 or more. The original plan to roll the regulations out to smaller organisations from April 2011 is under review, as is whether to retain the right at all.

18. Which of the following has been classified a ‘religion or belief’ by tribunals?

a) spiritualism
b) astrology
c) reiki

NOTE: In the case Greater Manchester Police Authority v Power the EAT decided spiritualism, listed as the eighth largest faith group in Britain, fulfilled the test for a religious or philosophical belief set out in the case of McClintock v DCA.

19. A computer error uncovered at HMRC this year resulted in:

a) thousands of self-employed people being taxed as employees
b) thousands of employers facing fines for non-compliance on employers’ contributions
c) thousands of employees getting demands for under paid tax

20. There will be an extra bank holiday in 2012. This is to commemorate:

a) the Olympic Games
b) the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee
c) an Act of 1912 giving shop-workers half a day off a week to compensate them for working all day Saturday.

NOTE: There will be an additional bank holiday on Tuesday 5 June 2012. The late May bank holiday will be moved to Monday 4 June to create a long weekend of celebration.