Let`s improve your reading skills

b)just basic working hours

c)protesting against the law

d)themselves

3.How many companies now need to recalculate their holiday pay? a) hundreds of thousands

b) 17,872

c) thousands d) millions

4.From how long ago can workers claim backdated pay?

a)1998

b)2002

c)2006

d)2008

5.What else is now part of holiday pay besides voluntary overtime? a) hotels and flights

b) tax breaks

c) stand-by for emergency call-outs d) standing room only

6.What percentage of British workers do overtime?

a)14

b)15

c)13

d)16

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7.Who said the change in employment law was "ludicrous"? a) Workers of the World Unite

b) labour unions c) Joe Bloggs

d) Britain's government

8.What did a business organisation say there might be implications for? a) Britain's economy

b) workers

c) overtime being banned d) national holidays

9.Who was pleased with the new law?

a)Jo Bloggs

b)people who refuse to do overtime

c)a labour union

d)Britain's government

10. What did a labour union say employers had to get in order?

a)their numbers

b)their house

c)who is to be paid first

d)documentation

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ROLE PLAY

Role A – Health cover

You think health cover is the most important thing in a job. Tell the others three reasons why. Give three reasons why their things aren't so important. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): a good desk, a nice boss or chances for promotion.

Role B – A good desk

You think a good desk is the most important thing in a job. Tell the others three reasons why. Give three reasons why their things aren't so important. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): health cover, a nice boss or chances for promotion.

Role C – A nice boss

You think a nice boss is the most important thing in a job. Tell the others three reasons why. Give three reasons why their things aren't so important. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): a good desk, health cover or chances for promotion.

Role D – Chances for promotion

You think the chance for promotion is the most important thing in a job. Tell the others three reasons why. Give three reasons why their things aren't so important. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): a good desk, a nice boss or health cover.

AFTER READING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words 'holiday' and 'pay'.

Share your findings with your partners.

Make questions using the words you found.

Ask your partner / group your questions.

2.ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

Share your questions with other classmates / groups.

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Ask your partner / group your questions.

3.GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4.VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5.TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

LANGUAGE – CLOZE

Companies in the UK (1) ____ a multibillion-dollar bill after a court ruled that overtime should be a (2) ____ in the calculation of holiday pay. This means the more overtime a worker does, the higher his or her holiday pay should be. An employment tribunal said it was wrong for companies

(3) ____ to consider basic working hours when (4) ____ holiday pay. It ruled that thousands of companies must recalculate their holiday pay. Tens of thousands of workers can now make (5)

____ from their employers backdated to as long ago as 1998. The tribunal also stipulated that voluntary overtime and time spent being (6) ____ stand-by for emergency call-outs should be included when calculating holiday pay.

Over 15 per cent of British workers do overtime. The British government has said the new change (7) ____ employment law is unacceptable and "ludicrous". It said: "We do not believe voluntary overtime should be included in holiday pay and are concerned about the (8) ____ impact on employers." An organisation of British companies said the cost to businesses will be "unbearable" and may have (9) ____ implications for Britain's economy. A labour union was (10)

____ with the tribunal's announcement. It said: "This ruling not only secures justice for our members who were (11) ____-changed, but means employers have got to get their house in order." It said it would fight for workers to "receive their (12) ____ entitlement".

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

SPELLING

Paragraph 1

1.Companies in the UK face a niilllumtobi-dollar

2.the lintcuaaclo of holiday pay

3.meiinegrtdn holiday pay

4.kaddtaceb to as long ago as 1998

5.rauoyvlnt overtime

6.meengyecr call-outs

Paragraph 2

7.unacceptable and liudrcsuo

8.the itepltona impact on employers

9.the cost to businesses will be "naauebelbr"

10.serious ainliscipmot

11.secures suiejtc for our members

12.receive their full emeeintttnl

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PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

Companies in the UK face / head a multibillion-dollar bill after a court ruled that overtime should be a factor / fraction in the calculation of holiday pay. This means the more overtime a worker doing / does, the higher his or her holiday pay shouldn't / should be. An employment tribunal said it was wrong for companies just to consider basically / basic working hours when determining / determination holiday pay. It ruled that thousands of companies must recalculate their holiday pay. Tens for / of thousands of workers can now make claims / calms from their employers backdated to as long ago as 1998. The tribunal also stipulated that voluntary / volunteers overtime and time spent being on / in stand-by for emergency call-outs should be included when calculating holiday pay.

Over 15 per cent of British workers do / act overtime. The British government has said the new change in employment lawyers / law is unacceptable and "ludicrous" / "luscious". It said: "We do not believe voluntary overtime should be included / includes in holiday pay and are concerned about the potential impact on / by employers." An organisation of British companies said the cost / costly to businesses will be "unbearable" and may have series / serious implications for Britain's economy. A labour union was pleased / pleasing with the tribunal's announcement. It said: "This ruling not really / only secures justice for our members who were short-changed, but means employers have got to get their house in order." It said it would fight for workers to "receive their full / fully entitlement".

Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

Write about holiday pay for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper.

_____________________________________________________

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_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

HOMEWORK

1.VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2.INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about holiday pay. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3.HOLIDAY PAY: Make a poster about holiday pay. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4.OVERTIME: Write a magazine article about overtime. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against it.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5.WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

6.LETTER: Write a letter to an employment expert. Ask him/her three questions about holiday pay. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to make the system better. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

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UNEMPLOYED YOUNG PEOPLE VERY STRESSED

A new survey from Britain shows that a third of young, unemployed people regularly "fall apart" emotionally. They are so stressed or unhappy that they cannot control their emotions, so they have problems living a "normal" life. The survey is from a youth charity called the Prince's Trust. Its researchers asked questions to 2,200 people who did not have a job. Almost half of them said they often felt anxious about everyday situations, and that they tried not to meet new people. One in eight of those surveyed said they were too stressed to leave the house. The charity said: "Thousands of young people feel like prisoners in their own homes. Without the right support, these young people become socially isolated."

Many of these young people struggle with day-to-day life, which means they find it more and more difficult to find a job. Britain's Employment Minister Esther McVey said: "Our young people are some of the best and most talented in the world." She said it was important to try and match these people with the right jobs. Researcher David Fass added: "Young people are our future and it is important that we invest in them and provide them with the tools they need to reach their full potential." Jack, 25, explained how hard it was for him to be unemployed. He said: "I would wake up and wouldn't want to leave the house. I stopped speaking to my friends and I had absolutely no confidence speaking to people."

WARM-UPS

1.BEING UNEMPLOYED: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about being unemployed. Change partners often and share your findings.

2.CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?

survey / unemployed / fall apart / stressed / emotions / charity / prisoners / isolated / struggle / day- to-day life / talented / our future / full potential / speaking / confidence

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. STRESS: How can we help unemployed people with these stressful things? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

Bills

Boredom

School fees

Job interviews

No confidence

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Social isolation

4. NORMAL LIFE: Students A strongly believe no one lives a "normal" life; Students B strongly believe most people lead a normal life. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. EVERYDAY SITUATIONS: Rank these with your partner. Put the most stressful at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

6. JOB: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "job". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

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