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

Carried-forward leave must be used within the first six months. Using days in month 7 means the deadline has passed — the remaining 5 days are forfeited.

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

The bulletin requires employees with technical issues to contact IT and document the problem. Whether the employee followed this process determines compliance.

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

The Privacy Act prohibits disclosure of personal information without consent unless a legal exception applies. A bank friend's request is not a legal exception.

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

Acknowledgement on May 28 = day 27 (within 30 days). Extension notice sent May 30 = day 29 (before the 30-day deadline). Both steps comply.

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

Overall engagement rose from 62% to 67% even though pay satisfaction did not change, supporting the inference that other factors drove the improvement.

PSEE - Public Service Entrance Exam Practice Test

PSEE - Public Service Entrance Exam Practice Test

PSEE Reading Comprehension 3