English Comprehension Test for Employees

in association with the e-Learning Hub/ECM College

North Kildare Chambers in partnership with the E-learning Hub can provide you with the tools to assess an employee's comprehension of employment duties, documentation and regulations.

This test which has been developed by the European College of Management, is designed to examine English language comprehension in a work environment in terms of a person’s ability to read and understand:

• Contracts of employment
• Health & safety documentation
• Company handbooks

By incorporating this test into the recruitment procedure show that the employer is doing their due diligence as far as is reasonably possible.

"It is the right of every employee to have their contract of employment company handbooks and health and safety material presented to them in a language that they understand"

This is the foundation for the findings of the equality tribunal in the DEC-E2008-020 case. An award of €5000 euro per employee for discrimination was granted on the grounds that employment documentation and training records were not supplied in a language that was understood by their non-native speaking employees. Despite the companies attempt at having the documentation verbally translated by another fluent speaking employee the equality officer still found this to be unsatisfactory.

While larger firms may have a budget to translate all their employment documentation into a multitude of languages, this is not feasible for smaller companies due to the high cost involved. Even the larger companies can be faulted for not keeping records updated and this in turn can cause problems for them.

No matter how good an employee's spoken English seems to be, some may show up to tribunal hearings accompanied by an interpreter. They suddenly lose the ability to speak and comprehend the English language, although you may have personally evaluated their English abilities during the recruitment process you may not have the qualifications required to assess their comprehension of language. Because a person may be deemed by you to speak reasonable English there is no guarantee they can understand the written word

'North Kildare Chamber recognises it can be a minefield for employers who may be considering employing non-native speakers but who don't have the means or resources to have the relevant documentation translated in compliance with legislation. By introducing this comprehension test and making it easily assessable to employers and potential employees we see it as a valuable tool in supporting you and your business when it comes to providing proof that your staff have undergone training and inductions etc in a language they understand'
- Allan Shine North Kildare Chamber

Call: 045-894-074

Any queries?

Phone: 045-894-074 or email: info@northkildarechamber.ie