Dictionary of Human Resources
and Personnel Management
A
AA /_e _e / same as attendance allowance
ability /ə_b l ti/ noun the capacity or power to do something Ability to sell is essential for the job.
ability test /ə_b l ti test/ noun same as aptitude test
able /_e b(ə)l/ adjective capable or working well She’s a very able manager.
able-bodied /e b(ə)l _bɒdid/ adjec-tive with no physical handicap The work is strenuous and only suitable for the young and able-bodied.
abroad /ə_brɔ_d/ adverb to or in an-other country The consignment of cars was shipped abroad last week. The chairman is abroad on business. He worked abroad for ten years. Half of our profit comes from sales abroad.
absence /__bsəns/ noun the fact of not being at work or at a meeting in the absence of when someone is not there In the absence of the chairman, his deputy took the chair. unauthor-ised absence from work, absence without leave being away from work without permission and without a good reason
absent /__bsənt/ adjective not at work or not at a meeting He was ab-sent owing to illness. Ten of the work-ers are absent with flu. The chairman is absent in Holland on business.
absentee /_bsən_ti_/ noun a person who is absent or an employee who stays away from work for no good reason
absenteeism /_bs(ə)n_ti_ z(ə)m/ noun the practice of staying away from work for no good reason Low produc-tivity is largely due to the high level of
absenteeism. Absenteeism is high in the week before Christmas.
‘…but the reforms still hadn’t fundamentally changed conditions on the shop floor: absenteeism was as high as 20% on some days’ [Business Week]
absenteeism rate /_bsən-
_ti_ z(ə)m re t/ noun the percentage of the workforce which is away from work with no good excuse The rate of ab-senteeism or the absenteeism rate al-ways increases in fine weather.
ACAS /_e k_s/ abbr Advisory, Concil-iation and Arbitration Service
accept /ək_sept/ verb 1. to take some-thing which is being offered to accept delivery of a shipment to take goods into the warehouse officially when they are delivered 2. to say ‘yes’ or to agree to something She accepted the offer of a job in Australia. He accepted £2000 in lieu of notice.
acceptable /ək_septəb(ə)l/ adjective which can be accepted Both parties found the offer acceptable. The terms of the contract of employment are not acceptable to the candidate.
acceptance /ək_septəns/ noun ac-ceptance of an offer the act of agreeing to an offer to give an offer a condi-tional acceptance to accept an offer provided that specific things happen or that specific terms apply we have their letter of acceptance we have re-ceived a letter from them accepting the offer
acceptance bonus /əkseptəns _bəυnəs/ noun a bonus paid to a new
employee when they agree to join an or-ganisation (NOTE: an acceptance bonus
can be a feature of a golden hello and is designed both to attract and to retain staff)
acceptance sampling 2 account
acceptance sampling /ək_septəns / accident-prone / workersɑ_mpl ŋ/ noun the process of testing a / /_ks d(ə)nt prəυn _w__kə/ noun a
small sample of a batch to see if the / worker who is more likely to have acci-
whole batch is good enough to be / dents than other workers
accepted / accident report / /__ks d(ə)nt / r -
access /__kses/ noun to have ac- / pɔ_t/ noun a report of an accident
cess to something to be able to obtain / which has taken place at work
or reach something She has access to / accommodate /ə_kɒməde t/ verb to
large amounts of venture capital. verb / provide someone with a place to live in
to call up data which is stored in a com- / The company accommodates its em-
puter She accessed the address file on / ployees near their workplace.
the computer. / accommodation /əkɒmə_de ʃ(ə)n/
accession /ək_seʃ(ə)n/ noun the act
noun 1. money lent for a short time 2. a
of joining an organisation / place to stay temporarily or live in
accession / rate / /ək_seʃ(ə)n / re t/ / Visitors have difficulty in finding hotel
accommodation during the summer.
noun 1. the percentage of employees in
‘…any non-resident private landlord can let
an organisation who have joined it dur-
ing a particular period of time 2. a rate / furnished or unfurnished accommodation to a
tenant’ [Times]
of pay for employees when first hired
‘…the airline providing roomy accommodations
After the first year, pay went up consid-
at below-average fares’ [Dun’s Business Month]
erably despite the low accession rate.
accommodation / address / /ə-
The accession rate depends on whether
the entrants are skilled or unskilled. / kɒmə_de ʃ(ə)n ədres/ noun an ad-
access time /__kses ta m/ noun the / dress used for receiving messages but
which is not the real address of the
time taken by a computer to find data / company
stored in it / accordance /ə_kɔ_dns/ noun in ac-
accident /__ks d(ə)nt/ noun some-
cordance with in agreement with, ac-
thing unpleasant which can be caused / cording to, as someone says or writes
by carelessness or which happens by / In accordance with your instructions we
chance such as a plane crash / have deposited the money in your cur-
COMMENT: Fatal accidents and accidents / rent account.I am submitting the
which cause major injuries or which pre- / claim for damages in accordance with
vent an employee from working for more / the advice of our legal advisers.
than three days must be reported to the / accordingly /ə_kɔ_d ŋli/ adverb / in
Health and Safety Executive.
agreement with what has been decided
accidental /_ks _dent(ə)l/ adjective / We have received your letter and have
happening by chance, not done inten- / altered the contract accordingly.
tionally accidental destruction of the / according to /ə_kɔ_d ŋ tu_/ prepo-
computer files / sition as stated or shown by someone
accident book /__ks d(ə)nt bυk/ / The computer was installed according
noun a book in which details of acci- / to the manufacturer’s instructions.
dents at work are noted down / ‘…the budget targets for employment and
accident / frequency / rate / growth are within reach according to the latest
figures’ [Australian Financial Review]
/_ks d(ə)nt _fri_kwənsi re t/ noun the / account /ə_kaυnt/ noun 1. a record of
number of accidents involving injury or
financial transactions / over a period / of
death during / a specified number of
time, such as money paid, received, bor-
man-hoursThe / accident frequency
rowed or owed Please send me your
rate has risen since the new machinery
account or a detailed or an itemized ac-
was installed.
count. 2. accounts of a business, a
accident prevention /_ks d(ə)nt / company’s accounts a detailed record
pr _venʃən/ noun measures taken to / of a company’s financial affairs 3. a
prevent accidents / customer who does a large amount of
accountability / 3 / accrue
business with a firm and has an account / accounting systeman accounting
with it Smith Brothers is one of our / machine
largest accounts. Our sales people / ‘…applicants will be professionally qualified
call on their best accounts twice a / and have a degree in Commerce or Accounting’
month. 4. to keep the accounts to / [Australian Financial Review]
write each sum of money in the account / accounting / period / /ə_kaυnt ŋ
book The bookkeeper’s job is to enter / p əriəd/ noun a period of time at the
all the money received in the accounts. / end of which the firm’s accounts are
5. notice / to take account of inflation, / made up
to take / inflation into / account / to / as- / accounts / department / /ə_kaυnts
sume that there will be a specific per-
d pɑ_tmənt/ / noun a department in a
centage / of / inflation / when / making
company which deals with money paid,
calculations verb to account for to
received, borrowed or owed
explain and record a money transaction
accounts / manager / /ə_kaυnts
to account for a loss or a discrepancy
The reps have to account for all their / m_n d"ə/ noun the manager of an ac-
expenses to the sales manager. / counts department
accounts / payable / /əkaυnts
accountability / /əkaυntə_b l ti/
_pe əb(ə)l/ / noun / money owed by a
noun the fact of being responsible to
company
someone for something (such as the ac-
countability of directors to the / accounts receivable /əkaυnts r -
shareholders) / _si_vəb(ə)l/ noun money owed to a
accountable /ə_kaυntəb(ə)l/ adjec- / company / /əkred _te ʃ(ə)n/
tive referring to a person who has to ex- / accreditation
plain what has taken place or who is / noun the process of certifying the com-
responsible for something (NOTE: you / petence of a person in a certain area
are accountable to someone for / accreditation of union officials official
something) / recognition by a company that certain
accountancy /ə_kaυntənsi/ noun the / employees are representatives of a trade
union and / are / treated / as such by the
work of an accountant They are study-
company
ing accountancy or They are accoun-
tancy students. (NOTE: American / accreditation of prior / learning
English is accounting in this meaning) / /əkred te ʃ(ə)n əv pra ə _l__n ŋ/
accountant /ə_kaυntənt/ noun a per- / noun a process that enables people to
obtain formal recognition of qualifica-
son who keeps a company’s accounts
tions and / experience / that / they have
The chief accountant of a manufactur-
gained before / joining / an organisation
ing group. The accountant has shown
a sharp variance in our labour costs. / (NOTE: accreditation of prior learning
account / director / /ə_kaυnt / da - / may be used to support the award of a
vocational qualification)
rektə/ noun a person who works in an / accredited /ə_kred t d/ adjective re-
advertising / agency / and / who / oversees
various account managers who are each / ferring to an agent who is appointed by
a company to act on its behalf
responsible for specific clients
accrual /ə_kru_əl/ noun a gradual in-
account / executive / /ə_kaυnt / -
zekjυt v/ noun an employee of an or- / crease by addition / accrual of interest
automatic addition of interest to capital
ganisation such as a bank, public rela-
tions firm, or advertising agency who is / accrual rate /ə_kru_əl re t/ noun the
responsible for looking after particular / rate at which an employee’s pension in-
clients and handling their business with / creases as each year of service is com-
the organisation / pleted, so forming the basis for
accounting /ə_kaυnt ŋ/ noun the / calculating their pension
work of recording money paid, re- / accrue /ə_kru_/ verb 1. to record a fi-
ceived, borrowed or owed accounting / nancial transaction in accounts when it
methods accounting procedures an / takes place, and not when payment is
accurate / 4 / Action Programme
made or received 2. to increase and be / on our behalf. to act as someone to
due for payment at a later date Inter- / do someone’s job while he is away
est accrues from the beginning of the / She will act as marketing manager
month. / while Mr Smith is on holiday. 2. to do
accurate /__kjυrət/ adjective correct / something The board will have to act
The sales department made an accu- / quickly if the company’s losses are go-
rate forecast of sales. The designers / ing to be reduced. The lawyers are
produced an accurate copy of the plan. / acting on our instructions. / to act on a
accurately /__kjυrətli/ adverb cor- / letter to do what a letter asks to be done
acting /__kt ŋ/ adjective working in
rectly The second quarter’s drop in
sales was accurately forecast by the / place of someone for a short time act-
computer. / ing manager the Acting Chairman
accuse /ə_kju_z/ verb to say that / action /__kʃən/ noun 1. a thing which
someone has committed a crime She / has been done / actions short of dis-
was accused of stealing from the petty / missal ways of disciplining an em-
cash box. He was accused of indus- / ployee who has committed an offence,
trial espionage. (NOTE: you accuse / which stop short of dismissing them
someone of a crime or of doing / (such as demotion, removal of privi-
something) / leges, etc.) 2. to take industrial ac-
achieve /ə_tʃi_v/ / verb to succeed / in / tion to do something (usually to go on
strike) to show that you are not happy
doing something, to do something suc-
with conditions at work 3. a case in a
cessfully / He / has achieved / his
law court where a person or company
long-term / training / objectives.The
sues another person or company to
company has achieved great success in
take legal action to sue someone an
the Far East. We achieved all our ob-
action for libel or a libel action an ac-
jectives in 2001.
tion for damages She brought an ac-
‘…the company expects to move to profits of
FFr 2m next year and achieve equally rapid / tion for wrongful dismissal against her
growth in following years’ [Financial Times] / former employer.
achievement /ə_tʃi_vmənt/ noun / actionable /__kʃənəb(ə)l/ adjective
success or something that has been / referring to writing, speech or an act
achieved / which could provide the grounds for
achievement test /ə_tʃi_vmənt / bringing an action against someone
test/ noun a test designed to measure / Was the employer’s treatment of the em-
the skills which someone is currently / ployee actionable?
using (as opposed to an aptitude test, / action-centred / leadership
which measures the skills a person / /_kʃən sentəd _li_dəʃ p/ noun a
could use in the future) (NOTE: also / theory of leadership which focuses on
called attainment test) / what leaders actually have to do in order
achiever /ə_tʃi_və/ noun a person who / to be effective, rather than on the per-
is successful or who tends to achieve his / sonal qualities that they need to be good
or her objectives It was her reputation / leaders, and which believes that leader-
as a high achiever that made us think of / ship can / be / taught / (NOTE: ac-
headhunting her. / tion-centred leadership is usually
across-the-board /əkrɒs ðə _bɔ_d/ / illustrated by three overlapping circles,
which represent the three key activities
adjective applying to everything or
undertaken by leaders: achieving the
everyone an across-the-board price
increase an across-the-board wage / task, building and maintaining the
increase / team and developing the individual)
act /_kt/ noun a law passed by parlia- / action learning /__kʃən / l__n ŋ/
noun the process of learning by doing or
ment which must be obeyed by the peo-
participating in an activity
ple verb 1. to work He has agreed / /__kʃən
to act as an agent for an American com- / Action / Programme
pany. The solicitor is acting for us or / prəυ r_m/ noun an EU initiative con-
active 5 additional award