We Regret …

Here are the interviewer’s notes on a job applicant, together with three possible letters to the applicant. Which letter do you think is the best? Why?

Post: bilingual secretary / receptionist Applicant: Alice Prior, age 23 April 13, 2.30 Nervous, unconfident; silly laugh; physically unattractive – spots; French not very good; slight stutter; lack experience NO!

Dear Ms Prior Thank you for coming for interview on April 13. We have considered your application carefully, but regret that we are unable to offer you the post. Yours sincerely

Dear Ms Prior Thank you for coming for interview on April 13. We regret that neither your linguistic qualifications nor your interpersonal skills are up to the level we require. We are therefore unable to offer you a post. Yours sincerely

Dear Ms Prior Thank you for coming for interview last Tuesday. We have considered your application carefully, but regret that we are unable to offer you the post. While your secretarial skills are well up to the standard required, I did not feel that your command of French was sufficiently good for our purposes. In addition, you appear to lack confidence in dealing with people, which would certainly be a handicap if you were to work as a receptionist. May I suggest that you might do better to look for a job involving routine office work? With kind regards Yours sincerely

Work in groups of six: three interviewers and three applicants and be ready to demonstrate your job interview.

1. The group chooses a job for which applicants will be interviewed.

2. Interviewers prepare their questions; applicants prepare details of their qualifications and experience.

3. Applicants are interviewed in turn.

4. Each group of three interviewers chooses the best applicant and writes letters to all three.

Task 4: YOU AND YOUT WORK

It is more important now than it has ever been to understand your rights and entitlements relating to work. This task seeks to provide the answers to the most common questions asked by employees at some time in their career, from when you first get a job and need to know what your contract must include to when things go wrong at work. This comprehensive, up-to-date guide is essential reading for everyone, whether in or out of work.

Read the following questions and try to give extensive answers under the Ukrainian employment Law. Then match the questions with the given answers under the UK Employment Law. Is there any difference in Ukrainian and UK Employment Laws?

Questions:

1. I want to apply for a job in a café but the advert specifies “waitress”. Can I apply even though I am a man?

2. I have been looking for a job since I was made redundant at the age of 51. Many advertisements seem to specify an age limit below this. Is this legal?

3. The application form I have to fill in for a job asks me to state my ethnic origin. Doesn’t this suggest racial discrimination?

4. I recently had an interview for a job in a supermarket but they told me that I would have to wear their uniform which includes a knee-length skirt. My religion and culture do not allow me to wear such clothes. What can I do?

5. I have been offered a job which I would like to accept. However, there is only two weeks’ paid holiday in the first year of working. Can I reasonably ask for more?

6. There is no work to do at the moment so I have to fill my days doing crosswords and reading novels. I’m bored silly. Does my employer have to provide me with something to do?

7. If I go on strike will I still be paid?

8. We can’t go to work at the moment because a bomb has destroyed the office. Does our employer have to pay us?

9. I’ve worked for the same employer for 12 years and have always been provided with a company car, even though my contract doesn’t state I am entitled to one. My job isn’t changing but from next year I will have to provide my own car. Is this fair?

10. During my maternity leave everyone in my company was offered computer training. My employer says that I can’t have it. Can they do this?

11. My company wants to introduce a ban on smoking in the office. Although I have been a heavy smoker for over 20 years, I actually believe this is a good move. However, we have been told there will be no smoking areas at all in the building. Is this fair?

12. I’ve been working for a company for the last 8 months and have been dismissed with one week’s notice. My employer refuses to discuss the reason for this. Can I claim unfair dismissal?

13. I have been working in a clothes shop for over 10 years. The management now wants to introduce Sunday opening. My contract specifies five days’ work between Monday and Saturday; can I be made to work on Sundays?

Answers:

1. Smoking is a matter of company policy. Employers can specify whether they want to employ smokers or non-smokers, and to put smoking-related terms and conditions into contracts. If your employer wants to introduce a no-smoking policy they can as long as everyone is informed individually of the ban, plenty of warning is given, and help is offered to give up. There is no legal right to smoking rooms or smoking breaks.

2. Although Sunday work is now common you cannot generally be forced to do it or be sacked if you refuse. If you were employed with a company before the Sunday trading Act was passed in August 1994 you count as a ‘protected shop worker’ and do not have to work Sundays even if you are requested to. Dismissal, or any other less favourable treatment, on account of refusal to work Sundays is automatically unfair.

3. It is unlawful for an advert to discriminate on the basis of sex, except where there is a genuine reason. It is unlikely that there is a genuine need for a female employee in a café, so they must consider applications from men and women equally.

4. It depends. The traditional view is that as long as an employer is paying you for setting aside time for work they do not, necessarily, have to provide you with work. Recent cases have questioned this stance. You may try to argue that your employer has a duty to provide you with work if, for example, you are engaged in specialized or technical work and you have to work to maintain your skills.

5. Yes. Employees are entitled to a minimum of 4 weeks’ paid holiday per year.

6. Unfortunately there are no laws which specifically protect people from discrimination on the basis of their age. This has meant unemployment for thousands of very capable men and women in their fifties.

7. It is illegal to treat an individual less favourably because of their race, nationality, colour, ethnic origin, or national origin. In this case, there is indirect discrimination against women whose culture forbids them to wear short skirts. You should seek legal advice from a Citizens Advice Bureau.

8. No. if you are denied a training course because you are pregnant or on maternity leave you may have a case for sex discrimination.

9. No. Any pay that you receive on a regular and, consistent basis over a long period of time may become part of your contract by ‘custom and practice’. An employer cannot change these terms without being in breach of contract. A company car, as well as bonuses and benefits such as holiday pay, count as pay for legal purposes.

10. No. If you have been employed for less than 2 years you may be dismissed with notice for any reason, providing it is not discriminatory. However, after 2 years your employer may only dismiss you for valid reasons such as incompetence or poor conduct. You must be given written reasons and at least 2 weeks’ notice.

11. No. Employers do not have to pay you if you are on strike or taking any sort of industrial action.

12. No. If circumstances wholly beyond his\her control prevent you from working, your employer does not have to pay you. You may be suspended without pay until the office is returned to a safe condition.

13. Probably not. Companies are encouraged to monitor the race of job applicants and selected candidates in order to spot any discrimination that is happening, intentional or not. Questions about national status and ethnic origin on an application form are therefore not discriminatory unless some evidence can be provided that they are being used in this way.

Task 5: DISCRIMINATION.

Ex. 1. Be ready to answer the questions.

1. Employment discrimination can be based on age, gender and race-are there other categories you can think of?

2. Are women and men employed as equals in your country, in terms of pay and conditions?

Ex. 2. Read the text about an important case about discrimination against women in the workplace and answer these questions.

1. What is the case about?

2. Where is the case being heard?

3. Who brought the appeal-the ADA or Ms Kolstad?

4. What types of discrimination are mentioned in the text?

5. Why did Ms Kolstad sue the ADA?

6. Was there any dispute about the facts of the discrimination against Ms Kolstad?

7. What was the lower Appeals Court’s decision?

8. Which organisation is mentioned that supports the ADA?

9. If the Supreme Court decides in favour of Ms Kolstad, how much may she receive in damages?

Ex. 3. Choose the best explanation for each of these words or phrases from the text.

1.	knock-on effect blow to the body wider consequences entry requirement	3.	reckless indifference a) driving without care b) heartless and cruel c) not caring about the consequences	5.	brief a) short letter b) legal document c) kind of case
2.	malice friendliness with bad or cruel intention unintentional	4.	upholds a) reverses b) agrees with and supports c) sets a standard	6.	caps a) sets an upper limit b) interferes c) is the head