PSEE Reading Comprehension 3

Question 1

Policy: 'Employees may carry forward up to 15 days of unused vacation leave to the next fiscal year.
Carried-forward leave must be used within the first six months or it is forfeited.' An employee carries forward 15 days and uses 10 of them in month 7.
What happens to the remaining 5 days?

Accepted Answer

They are forfeited because month 7 is beyond the six-month limit.

Answer

They are added to the current year's vacation entitlement.

Answer

They carry forward again into the following year.

Answer

They are compensated in pay at the employee's request.

Question 2

Bulletin: 'Effective immediately, all employees must use the new electronic time management system. Paper timesheets will no longer be accepted after June 30. Employees unable to access the system due to technical issues must contact IT Services and document the issue.' An employee submits a paper timesheet on July 5 and cites IT problems. Is this compliant?

Accepted Answer

It depends on whether the employee contacted IT and documented the issue.

Answer

Yes, IT problems are a valid excuse for paper submissions after June 30.

Answer

No, paper timesheets are not accepted after June 30 under any circumstances.

Answer

Yes, if the manager approves the paper submission.

Question 3

Passage: 'Canada's Privacy Act protects personal information held by federal government institutions. Individuals have the right to access their own personal information. Federal institutions cannot disclose personal information without consent unless specific exceptions apply, such as law enforcement investigations.' A federal employee is asked by a friend at a bank to share a client's file. What applies?

Accepted Answer

Sharing is not permitted without the client's consent or a valid legal exception.

Answer

Sharing is acceptable if the friend promises confidentiality.

Answer

Sharing is permitted between professional contacts.

Answer

Sharing is acceptable if the file does not include financial data.

Question 4

Memo: 'Requests under the Access to Information Act must be acknowledged within 30 calendar days. A 30-day extension may be taken with notice to the applicant. Further extensions require approval from the Information Commissioner.' An institution receives a request on May 1, acknowledges it on May 28, and sends an extension notice on May 30. Is the process compliant?

Accepted Answer

Yes, acknowledgement was within 30 days and the extension was properly noticed.

Answer

No, the extension notice must be sent at the same time as acknowledgement.

Answer

No, acknowledgement was too late.

Answer

Yes, but only if the Information Commissioner also approved the extension.

Question 5

Report: 'Employee engagement scores increased from 62% to 67% between 2021 and 2023. The biggest gains were in workload management (+9%) and career development (+7%). Satisfaction with pay remained unchanged at 55%.' Which inference is best supported?

Accepted Answer

Overall engagement improved despite no improvement in pay satisfaction.

Answer

Pay satisfaction is the primary driver of overall engagement.

Answer

Workload management is the only factor that matters for engagement.

Answer

Career development scores declined between 2021 and 2023.

Question 6

Directive: 'Managers must document all performance conversations with employees. Documentation must be signed by both the manager and the employee. If an employee refuses to sign, the manager must note the refusal and the reason in writing.' An employee refuses to sign the documentation. What should the manager do?

Accepted Answer

Note the employee's refusal and the stated reason in writing.

Answer

Cancel the documentation since it cannot be completed without both signatures.

Answer

Obtain the employee's verbal confirmation instead of a signature.

Answer

Escalate to HR immediately and take no further action.