Would Your Business Benefit from Temporary Help?
You may just find that this hiring arrangement is something that is well-suited for your business right now.
1. Enables your business to adjust more easily and quickly to workload fluctuations
Temporary help agencies can quickly provide your business with qualified staff. Some common reasons companies hire temps:
2. Maintains staffing flexibility
With the popularity of flexible work arrangements, employers need to stay current with the needs of today’s work force. Representative Denise Ridenour of renowned Kelly Services foresees that “the employment pool will increasingly include a mix of temporary and full-time employees. The result is a more efficient workplace, a more flexible job market, and greater opportunities for both employers and employees. Additionally, improving productivity enhances a company’s bottom line and employee job security.”
3. Can evaluate worker without commitment
Based on your evaluation or preferences, you can employ a temp for a designated short term or, if desired, offer a full-time position to a worker who suits your business. Some businesses employ temporary workers as an excellent and cost-efficient way to recruit and test the abilities of their new workers before signing them on full-time. Other companies will repeatedly use the services of a temp worker who has proven to be a company asset. Hiring a temp can also be a good way to continue getting work done while you search for the perfect candidate for a particular job.
4. Can save time and money
The cost of hiring temp workers is often cheaper than the cost of hiring permanent employees with benefits. In the short term, it is generally more cost-efficient to hire a temp. For jobs that are expected to last six months or longer, it may be better to hire a full-time employee.
When you employ an agency, it – not you – becomes the temp worker’s employer. The agency is responsible for and bears the financial burden of recruiting, screening, testing, and hiring workers; payroll expenses and paperwork; payroll and withholding taxes; unemployment and workers’ compensation insurance; and any employee benefits they may wish to provide.
5. Temporary employees can provide specialized skills to all types of industries
Temporary help agency workers are now employed in virtually every industry. Today, temporary workers increasingly include highly skilled individuals with a wide range of educational backgrounds and work experience. These individuals can deal with critical one-time projects that are limited in time and scope. In the field of law alone, recent years have seen a dramatic growth and acceptance of hiring lawyers on a temporary basis.
Read the above passage and look at the statement below.
1. If an employee quits the company due to his or her illness or childbirth, it is a suitable time to employ a temporary worker.
2. A mix of temporary and full-time employees contributes to the flexible job market and enhances productivity in the company. T
3. Some employers hire temporary workers to test their abilities before recruiting them as regular workers.
4. Productivity in the workplace is most enhanced when the rate of temporary workers is less than half of the total workers.
5. Companies can spend longer time until they choose the best worker if they hire temporary workers.
6. Despite the fact that it is cost-cutting to hire a temporary worker, there are some cases where hiring a full-time employee can be profitable.
7. The workers belonging to the temporary help agency are exempted from paying taxes.
8. Companies always seek temporary workers for lower-skilled positions.
Working Hour Time Limits
The legislation states that you cannot work for more than 48 hours per week, which is normally measured over a 17-week “reference period.”
However, this 17-week reference period can be amended under certain circumstances:
Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR NUMBERS from the text for each answer.
How many working hours per week is normally allowed by the law?
What is the maximum reference period which can be extended if there is a workforce agreement?
What is the reference period if an employee needs to be present all the time?
What are workers required to sign when they work more than 48 hours per week?
How many working hours a day are allowed for a 17-year-old boy?
Apart from workers in air, sea, and road transport, what type of worker is excluded from weekly working hour limits?
When Your Credit Card Is Lost or Stolen
On the list of things you’d hate to lose, credit cards rank high on the list, somewhere between your kids and car keys. Because the last thing you want is damage to your credit at someone else’s hand, it’s crucial that you know what to do when your credit card has been lost or stolen.?
The first thing you should do is report your missing credit card to the card issuer. Don’t wait a day or even a minute. Most card issuers print their customer service phone number on your billing statement. Locate a recent copy of your statement to find the number to reach your card issuer.?
When you contact your creditor, you should have the following:?
Even after you’ve contacted the card issuer by phone, it’s wise to follow-up with a letter. The letter should state that your credit card was lost or stolen and include the account number, date of loss or theft, first date the loss was reported, and the last authorized transaction. This letter will provide proof that you reported the loss if that fact should ever come into question.
The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) protects you when fraudulent charges are made with your lost or stolen credit card. If the charges are made after you report the card lost or stolen, you have no liability. However, if the charges are made before you report the loss, your creditor can ask you to pay up to £50. That’s why it’s important to report your missing credit card as soon as possible.
Choose the correct answer.
15 What are you most afraid of if you lose a credit card?
16 What should you do first if you lose a credit card?
17 To prove that you reported the loss of the credit card to the issuer, you should
18 According to the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), card holders do not have responsibility for any unauthorized charges
When Your Credit Card Is Lost or Stolen
On the list of things you’d hate to lose, credit cards rank high on the list, somewhere between your kids and car keys. Because the last thing you want is damage to your credit at someone else’s hand, it’s crucial that you know what to do when your credit card has been lost or stolen.?
The first thing you should do is report your missing credit card to the card issuer. Don’t wait a day or even a minute. Most card issuers print their customer service phone number on your billing statement. Locate a recent copy of your statement to find the number to reach your card issuer.?
When you contact your creditor, you should have the following:?
Even after you’ve contacted the card issuer by phone, it’s wise to follow-up with a letter. The letter should state that your credit card was lost or stolen and include the account number, date of loss or theft, first date the loss was reported, and the last authorized transaction. This letter will provide proof that you reported the loss if that fact should ever come into question.
The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) protects you when fraudulent charges are made with your lost or stolen credit card. If the charges are made after you report the card lost or stolen, you have no liability. However, if the charges are made before you report the loss, your creditor can ask you to pay up to £50. That’s why it’s important to report your missing credit card as soon as possible.
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage?
19. In the follow-up letter, you must state your account number.
20. Your creditor will pay all money back for transactions which were made after the loss of credit card.
21. Carrying every card with you is the best way to avoid the loss of a credit card.
22. An insurance company dealing with card theft covers any damage made by the loss of a credit card.
23. You are recommended to store the card issuer’s phone number to protect your credit from the loss of a credit card.
The Australian Road Rules
The Australian Road Rules contain the basic rules of the road for motorists, motorcyclists, cyclists, pedestrians, passengers, and others. They are “model laws” that were initially created in 1999 under an agreement in which each Australian state and territory agreed that it would adopt the Rules into its laws. The purpose of the agreement was to provide uniformity across Australia in relation to road rules so that people were not confronted with different requirements as they travelled from one state or territory to another. Thus, the Rules now form the basis of the road rules in each state and territory. As “model laws,” however, they have no legislative force of their own.
The Rules were first approved in 1999 by the former Australian Transport Council (now the Standing Council on Transport and Infrastructure [SCOTI]). The Council consists of the Ministers responsible for road traffic matters in each state and territory as well as the Commonwealth Minister responsible for transport matters.
As mentioned above, the Rules have no legislative force of their own. Although each state and territory has by and large copied the Rules into their own laws, not every provision of the Rules has been copied exactly in each state and territory. Also, there are a number of provisions in the Rules that specifically leave certain matters to state and territory governments to determine.
This means that the Rules can be used only as a guide as to what road rules apply in any particular state or territory. The only way to be sure what the road rules are in a particular state or territory is to look at the road rules of that state or territory.
Because the Rules form the basis of the road traffic laws of each state and territory, it is important that they continue to be as up-to-date as possible. To this end, they are changed fairly frequently.
The National Transport Commission (NTC) is responsible for reviewing and updating the Rules as part of its maintenance process of its legislative reforms. The NTC has an Australian Road Rules Maintenance Group which consists of representatives of road traffic authorities and the police from the states and territories and of the Commonwealth. This Group provides advice to the NTC on changes to the Rules.
The official version of the Rules and each amendment made to the Rules is published on the Federal Register of Legislative Instrument (FRLI) website http://www.frli.gov.au/
However, although there is usually a lag between when an amendment to the Rules is approved and when it is published on the FRLI website, it is initially published on this FRLI website. A copy of the most recent sets of amendments can be found under the tab “Amendments” on this website. Copies of the Regulatory Impact Statements that were prepared for the most recent sets of amendments can be found under the tab “Amending Regulatory Impact Statements” tab on this website. Once the official version of an amendment to the Rules is published, the copy of the amendment on this site is changed to a link to the official version of the amendment.
It is not possible to republish the Rules officially each time an amendment is made to them, so it has been a longstanding practice to publish an unofficial consolidation of the Rules on this FRLI website. The current consolidation of the Rules contains all the approved changes made to the Rules including 23 December 2011, which is when SCOTI approved a 9th Package of amendments to the Rules.
Choose the correct answer.
24 The purpose of the agreement mentioned above was
25 The “Standing Council on Transport and Infrastructure (SCOTI)”
26 The Rules mentioned in the passage are model laws under an agreement between each Australian state and territory because
27 An “Australian Road Rules Maintenance Group”
The Development of Clocks
It was probably around 3,000 years ago that people first began making things to help them measure the passage of time. Having observed that shadows move around trees as the sun moves across the sky, someone drew a circle and put a stick in the center. As the sun passed overhead, he marked even divisions on the circle as the shadow of the stick crossed it. This circle was called a “sundial.” Later, they were made of stone and metal, which made them last longer.
Of course, a sundial did not work at night or on cloudy days, so men kept inventing other ways to keep track of time. One invention was a water clock to tell time. A container had a line with a number beside it for every hour. It also had a tiny hole in the bottom. The container was filled with water that dripped through the hole. When the water level reached the first line, people knew that an hour had passed.
Water clocks helped people know how much time had gone by. But water clocks had to be refilled. So, after glass blowing was invented, the hourglass came into use. Glass bulbs were joined by a narrow tunnel of glass, and fine, dry sand was placed in the top bulb. The hourglass was easy to use, but it had to be turned over every hour so the sand could flow again.
It was about 600 years ago that the first clock with a face and an hour hand was made. One of the first such clocks was built for a king of France and placed in a tower of the royal palace. The clock did not show minutes or seconds. Usually it did not even show the correct hour! Since there were no planes or trains to catch, however, people were not concerned about knowing the exact time.
Gradually, clocks began to be popular. They still did not keep correct time, but they were unusual, and they could be beautifully decorated. One clock was in the shape of a cart with a horse and driver. One of the wheels was the face of the clock.
The pendulum clock was invented in 1657. This was the beginning of the style of clocks we call “grandfather clocks,” which were enclosed in tall wooden boxes. Pendulum clocks showed the hours more exactly than earlier clocks, since the weight on the pendulum could be moved up or down to make the clock go faster or slower. Forty years later, minute and second hands were put on some clocks. Grandfather clocks are very much in demand again today. They are usually very expensive, however, and require more space than other styles of clocks.
As people began to go to more places and do more things, they became more interested in knowing the correct time. By 1900, almost every house had a clock, and nearly every well-dressed gentleman wore a watch on a chain tucked in his vest pocket.
Today, of course, we have electric clocks that keep giving the right time until they are unplugged or the electricity goes off. Scientists have invented clocks that look like large machines and tell the correct time to a split second.
The most modern electric clocks for home use do not have faces or hands. These clocks are called digital clocks, and they tell the time with a set of numerals which appear in a little window. The seconds are counted off like the tenths of a mile on the odometer of a car.
Many electric clocks are combined with radios, which can sometimes be set to turn on automatically. Thus, instead of an alarm ringing in your ear in the morning, you can hear soft music playing when it is time to get up. Some clocks will even start the coffee maker!
Complete the summary below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR NUMBERS from the passage and write them in boxes 28–34 on your answer sheet.
| DATE | EVENT |
|---|---|
| ago | People began to find ways to measure the passage of time. |
| After | People invented a clock available even at night or on cloudy days. |
| About ago | The first clock with a face and an hour hand came into existence. |
| In 1657 | The was invented. |
| in | Minute and second hands began to appear on some clocks. |
| By | The clock had become a household item. |
The Development of Clocks
It was probably around 3,000 years ago that people first began making things to help them measure the passage of time. Having observed that shadows move around trees as the sun moves across the sky, someone drew a circle and put a stick in the center. As the sun passed overhead, he marked even divisions on the circle as the shadow of the stick crossed it. This circle was called a “sundial.” Later, they were made of stone and metal, which made them last longer.
Of course, a sundial did not work at night or on cloudy days, so men kept inventing other ways to keep track of time. One invention was a water clock to tell time. A container had a line with a number beside it for every hour. It also had a tiny hole in the bottom. The container was filled with water that dripped through the hole. When the water level reached the first line, people knew that an hour had passed.
Water clocks helped people know how much time had gone by. But water clocks had to be refilled. So, after glass blowing was invented, the hourglass came into use. Glass bulbs were joined by a narrow tunnel of glass, and fine, dry sand was placed in the top bulb. The hourglass was easy to use, but it had to be turned over every hour so the sand could flow again.
It was about 600 years ago that the first clock with a face and an hour hand was made. One of the first such clocks was built for a king of France and placed in a tower of the royal palace. The clock did not show minutes or seconds. Usually it did not even show the correct hour! Since there were no planes or trains to catch, however, people were not concerned about knowing the exact time.
Gradually, clocks began to be popular. They still did not keep correct time, but they were unusual, and they could be beautifully decorated. One clock was in the shape of a cart with a horse and driver. One of the wheels was the face of the clock.
The pendulum clock was invented in 1657. This was the beginning of the style of clocks we call “grandfather clocks,” which were enclosed in tall wooden boxes. Pendulum clocks showed the hours more exactly than earlier clocks, since the weight on the pendulum could be moved up or down to make the clock go faster or slower. Forty years later, minute and second hands were put on some clocks. Grandfather clocks are very much in demand again today. They are usually very expensive, however, and require more space than other styles of clocks.
As people began to go to more places and do more things, they became more interested in knowing the correct time. By 1900, almost every house had a clock, and nearly every well-dressed gentleman wore a watch on a chain tucked in his vest pocket.
Today, of course, we have electric clocks that keep giving the right time until they are unplugged or the electricity goes off. Scientists have invented clocks that look like large machines and tell the correct time to a split second.
The most modern electric clocks for home use do not have faces or hands. These clocks are called digital clocks, and they tell the time with a set of numerals which appear in a little window. The seconds are counted off like the tenths of a mile on the odometer of a car.
Many electric clocks are combined with radios, which can sometimes be set to turn on automatically. Thus, instead of an alarm ringing in your ear in the morning, you can hear soft music playing when it is time to get up. Some clocks will even start the coffee maker!
Choose the correct letter, A,B,C,D or E
Clocks using only the sun and a stick lasted longer because
Although the first clock made for a king of France had a face and only an hour hand, it did not matter because
Pendulum clocks showed the hours more exactly because
The Development of Clocks
It was probably around 3,000 years ago that people first began making things to help them measure the passage of time. Having observed that shadows move around trees as the sun moves across the sky, someone drew a circle and put a stick in the center. As the sun passed overhead, he marked even divisions on the circle as the shadow of the stick crossed it. This circle was called a “sundial.” Later, they were made of stone and metal, which made them last longer.
Of course, a sundial did not work at night or on cloudy days, so men kept inventing other ways to keep track of time. One invention was a water clock to tell time. A container had a line with a number beside it for every hour. It also had a tiny hole in the bottom. The container was filled with water that dripped through the hole. When the water level reached the first line, people knew that an hour had passed.
Water clocks helped people know how much time had gone by. But water clocks had to be refilled. So, after glass blowing was invented, the hourglass came into use. Glass bulbs were joined by a narrow tunnel of glass, and fine, dry sand was placed in the top bulb. The hourglass was easy to use, but it had to be turned over every hour so the sand could flow again.
It was about 600 years ago that the first clock with a face and an hour hand was made. One of the first such clocks was built for a king of France and placed in a tower of the royal palace. The clock did not show minutes or seconds. Usually it did not even show the correct hour! Since there were no planes or trains to catch, however, people were not concerned about knowing the exact time.
Gradually, clocks began to be popular. They still did not keep correct time, but they were unusual, and they could be beautifully decorated. One clock was in the shape of a cart with a horse and driver. One of the wheels was the face of the clock.
The pendulum clock was invented in 1657. This was the beginning of the style of clocks we call “grandfather clocks,” which were enclosed in tall wooden boxes. Pendulum clocks showed the hours more exactly than earlier clocks, since the weight on the pendulum could be moved up or down to make the clock go faster or slower. Forty years later, minute and second hands were put on some clocks. Grandfather clocks are very much in demand again today. They are usually very expensive, however, and require more space than other styles of clocks.
As people began to go to more places and do more things, they became more interested in knowing the correct time. By 1900, almost every house had a clock, and nearly every well-dressed gentleman wore a watch on a chain tucked in his vest pocket.
Today, of course, we have electric clocks that keep giving the right time until they are unplugged or the electricity goes off. Scientists have invented clocks that look like large machines and tell the correct time to a split second.
The most modern electric clocks for home use do not have faces or hands. These clocks are called digital clocks, and they tell the time with a set of numerals which appear in a little window. The seconds are counted off like the tenths of a mile on the odometer of a car.
Many electric clocks are combined with radios, which can sometimes be set to turn on automatically. Thus, instead of an alarm ringing in your ear in the morning, you can hear soft music playing when it is time to get up. Some clocks will even start the coffee maker!
Read the above passage and look at the atatement below.
37. One disadvantage of hourglasses was that it was bothersome to turn it over repeatedly for the sand to flow again.
38. When clocks became popular, some carts used to decorate their interiors with beautiful clocks.
39. People’s demands towards knowing accurate time grew and it led them possess clocks.
40. Most electric clocks can even work when the electricity is unplugged as long as they are electrically charged.