BEST IELTS General Reading Test 294

Table of Contents

IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – PASSAGE – 2

IELTS GENERAL READING TEST

READING PASSAGE – 1

Life’s Circumstances

If you want to transfer to a division of the company in another city, you should write a job transfer application letter to your Departmental Head or Human Resources expressing your reasons.

Employees may seek a transfer:

• to undertake professional development (e.g. learn new skills or a new line of business)

• to confront new challenges (e.g. you have mastered all the duties related to your current position which has now become routine and you feel the need for a change)

• to break away from unrelenting tension or conflict within a team

IELTS General Reading Test

• to cope with a change in life’s circumstances (e.g. family illness, marriage, divorce, birth of a child)

• to recover from illness or manage the aging process (e.g. physical pain, fatigue) – in this instance, you may want to request reduced working hours or lighter duties

• to change the nature of your job (e.g. from on-the-road to a non-travelling role)

• to repatriate (i.e. return to country of origin)

A job transfer request made for personal reasons should state those reasons clearly and succinctly. However, you should also highlight your achievements, strengths and abilities, draw attention to your familiarity with the organization’s values and practices, and demonstrate how the company will benefit from the transfer. If appropriate, include a transition plan, which includes training a new person for your current job.

IELTS General Reading Test

The job transfer request letter should be written in formal business format with a polite and respectful tone. The employee should keep copies of all communications concerning the transfer request.

Note that, if you want to apply for an existing, advertised vacancy within the company, you should fill in the application document, write a cover letter, and treat it as you would an external application.

IELTS General Reading Test

Questions 15-20

Complete the summary using the list of words, A–L, below.

Write the correct letter, A–L, in boxes 15–20 on your answer sheet.

How to request a transfer

To get a job with a different (15)………. of the firm, write a formal letter stating your reasons. These may include professional development; adjusting to a different family (16)………..; leaving a stressful work environment; ill health or old age; desire for a different type of (17)………..; or repatriation.

Apart from personal reasons, you should focus on your (18)……….. : what advantages there are for the firm, and your knowledge and understanding of company (19)………. . You may need to attach a transition plan.

IELTS General Reading Test

If the job you would like has been advertised, you need to complete the appropriate (20)…………

A. emplyoment	B. company	C. change
D. talents	E. situation	F. letters
G. hardships	H. evidence	I. form
J. culture	K. conflict	L. branch

Read the text below and answer Questions 21-27.

REDUNDANCY

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Getting laid off can be distressing and demoralizing for the employee. Two features differentiate redundancy from other grounds for termination. Firstly, the position must be justifiably superfluous to the employer’s requirements and, secondly, the employee must not be at fault. Redundancy cannot be used as a means of dispensing with a poorly performing employee, or one who has been guilty of misconduct in the workplace.

Whether a position is truly redundant is a matter of business judgment for the employer. Whereas minimal modifications to a job role do not amount to grounds for redundancy, a worker who has an obsolete skill set because of the introduction of new technology, for example, can be made redundant. Sometimes the reason for redundancy is obvious to employees, such as the relocation of the business to another city or province, closing down, or selling the business;

but sometimes it is less obvious, such as a takeover by another firm. A company can also make redundancies in order to operate more efficiently and cost effectively, if there are financial issues leading to downsizing or if it is no longer using a certain department, for example. In some situations, a company may decide to lay off part of its workforce because it can no longer sustain some in-house services and it wants to outsource certain business functions.

IELTS General Reading Test

The employer must consult ‘in good faith’ (sincerely and honestly) with the affected workers before making the ultimate decision. Reasons for the reorganisation must be presented and workers must have an opportunity to have their say. The employer must take into account any feedback that employees provide. Where possible, the employer should weigh up the alternatives, such as transfer within the company or a reduction in hours. The final decision,

however, rests with the employer. The notice period for redundancy will usually be stipulated in the original employment contract. If not, then ‘reasonable notice’ is required and this will depend on the circumstances, such as seniority and length of service.

IELTS General Reading Test

In some situations, employees may wish to challenge their redundancy in court, and this must be done within 90 days of the decision. The employer must show that the redundancy was genuinely decided on commercial grounds and that there was a frank and honest consultation with the employee before the final decision was made. The business must give evidence to show that the grounds for redundancy were objective, reasonable and fair. The court will then perform its own assessment of whether the restructure was necessary.

Questions 21-24

Choose FOUR letters, A–H.

Write the correct letters in boxes 21–24 on your answer sheet.

Which FOUR of the following are genuine reasons for redundancy?

the company moves to a new place
the company wants to hire a younger workforce
the company has recently taken on other people
the company no longer requires as many employees
the company wants to get rid of badly behaved employees
the employer contracts another firm to perform the work
the employer has no need of underperforming employees
the employer’s need for a particular type of work has ceased

Questions 25-27

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the text for each answer.

25. The company has to consult with workers before making the final redundancy decision; it must provide reasons and consider the workers’ …………………. .

26. A period of …………………. of redundancy is needed, where this is not stated in the contract.

27. If employees contest their redundancy, employers must provide …………………. for the redundancy decision.

IELTS General Reading Test

ANSWERS ARE BELOW

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