A Level Business: Human resource management (HRM) (Cambridge 9609) – Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs – examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers from your board or school.

These questions cover section 2.1 Human resource management (HRM) of the Cambridge International AS & A Level Business 9609 syllabus for examination in 2026, 2027 and 2028, an AS Level section that A Level candidates also study. Businesses and figures are invented; money is in dollars. Teaching is in the study guide and the revision notes. Broader Topic 2 practice is in the Topic 2 practice questions. Course links: the Cambridge A Level Business hub and the printable checklist.

Questions

1. State two reasons why a business prepares a workforce plan. [2]

2. Lindisbury Bakeries employed 85 staff at the start of the year and 75 at the end. During the year 24 employees left.

(a) Calculate Lindisbury’s labour turnover for the year. [3] (b) State one implication for Lindisbury if its labour turnover is high. [1]

3. Pennacre Telecare answers 90,000 customer calls a month with 60 agents. Each agent handles 1,500 calls a month. Pennacre forecasts that calls will rise by 20%. On past evidence, 10% of its current agents will leave during the year.

(a) Calculate the number of agents Pennacre will need to handle the forecast calls. [2] (b) Calculate the number of agents Pennacre must recruit. [3]

4. Explain the difference between a job description and a person specification. [3]

5. Orlesby Furniture must fill a production supervisor post. It could promote a skilled assembler with eight years’ service who has never led a team, or advertise through an employment agency, which would take about ten weeks and cost a fee. Orlesby plans to double output within two years.

Recommend which option Orlesby should choose. Justify your answer. [6]

6. Explain one advantage and one limitation of using an assessment centre to select employees. [4]

7.

(a) Distinguish between voluntary redundancy and involuntary redundancy. [2] (b) Explain why a dismissal for repeated, serious breaches of safety rules would be likely to be fair. [2]

8. Crowhaven Logistics had 120 warehouse staff at the start of the year and 100 at the end. A total of 44 left. Recruiting and inducting each replacement costs 1,600, and training each costs a further 800. Managers think staff leave because fixed rotating shifts leave little time for family life. They propose a choice of shift patterns, including part-time and compressed hours.

(a) Calculate Crowhaven’s labour turnover. [3] (b) Calculate the direct cost of recruiting and training replacements for the year. [2] (c) Evaluate whether Crowhaven should introduce the choice of shift patterns. [7]

9. Ottersett Care Trust’s home-visit teams are mostly women over 40, with few male or younger staff. It is considering widening recruitment and reviewing how promotions are decided. Analyse two ways in which greater diversity and equality might affect Ottersett. [6]

10. Kilnbrook Print runs six presses with six crews of three operators, and each crew only knows one press. When an operator is absent the press often stops. The owner proposes training all 18 operators to run any press, with three days of off-the-job training each, then on-the-job practice.

Evaluate the owner’s proposal. [8]

11. Pennacre Telecare (see question 3) has a payroll of 950,000 a year. The union representing its agents claims a 5% pay rise. Management offers 2.5%.

(a) Calculate the difference in annual cost between the union’s claim and management’s offer. [3] (b) Evaluate the impact on Pennacre and its employees of trade union involvement in pay talks. [6]

12. Explain one way in which cooperation between management and the workforce can benefit both sides. [3]

Answers

1. Any two of: to avoid shortages of staff or skills that lose sales; to avoid surplus staff who add cost; to give time to recruit and train before the staff are needed; to prepare for expansion, new technology or other change. One mark for each reason, up to two marks. [2] [1] [1] Examiner insight: two separate reasons are needed, and “to plan the workforce” repeats the question without giving one.

2. (a) Average employed = (85 + 75) ÷ 2 = 80 [1]. Labour turnover = 24 ÷ 80 × 100 [1] = 30% [1]. (b) Any one of: higher recruitment and training costs, disruption to teams, loss of skills and experience, or a sign of low morale [1]. Examiner insight: show the average as a separate step, because a figure built on the opening headcount of 85 (28.2%) departs from the standard form.

3. (a) Calls = 90,000 × 1.2 = 108,000 [1]. Agents = 108,000 ÷ 1,500 = 72 [1]. (b) Leavers = 10% × 60 = 6 [1]. Recruits = agents needed - agents now + leavers [1] = 72 - 60 + 6 = 18 [1]. Examiner insight: ignoring leavers gives 12, which misses the point of a workforce plan, so add them as a separate step.

4. A job description sets out the job: its title, purpose, main duties and reporting line [1]. A person specification sets out the person wanted: the qualifications, skills, experience and qualities needed [1]. The first describes what is to be done, the second who could do it, and advertisement and selection use both [1]. [3] Examiner insight: a contrast needs both sides, and a definition of only one document earns less than a clear comparison.

5. Recommendation: advertise externally (or, accepted with justification, promote the assembler) [1]. For external recruitment: Orlesby plans to double output, so it needs leadership experience the assembler lacks [1]; an agency can screen for it, reducing the risk of a poor appointment [1]. Against: it takes ten weeks and costs a fee [1], and passing over a loyal employee could harm morale [1]. Judgement: doubling output makes a proven leader more important than the time and fee, so external is better, provided the assembler is encouraged to apply or offered development [1]. [6] Examiner insight: a choice justified from the case details (eight years’ service, no team experience, plan to double output) beats a general list of advantages.

6. Advantage: it gives direct evidence of how candidates perform on real tasks, group work and tests, so it predicts suitability better than an interview alone [1]; this lowers the risk of a costly bad appointment [1]. Limitation: it is expensive and takes management time, often more than a day [1], so it is hard to justify for routine posts [1]. [4] Examiner insight: each point needs its consequence for the business, so “it is expensive” earns less than saying why that matters for routine posts.

7. (a) Voluntary redundancy: the job is no longer needed and the employee chooses to accept an offer to leave [1]. Involuntary redundancy: the job is no longer needed and the business selects who goes [1]. (b) A dismissal is fair when there is a valid reason [1]. Repeated, serious safety breaches are misconduct that puts others at risk, and fairness is likelier if warnings and a proper procedure came first [1]. [4] Examiner insight: in redundancy the job is removed, while in dismissal the cause lies with the employee, so say which applies.

8. (a) Average employed = (120 + 100) ÷ 2 = 110 [1]. Turnover = 44 ÷ 110 × 100 [1] = 40% [1]. (b) Cost per leaver = 1,600 + 800 = 2,400 [1]. Total = 44 × 2,400 = 105,600 [1]. (c) For: with 40% turnover and a suspected link to fixed shifts, a choice of patterns could improve work-life balance and lower turnover [1]; each leaver avoided saves 2,400 [1]; it could widen the applicant pool to people needing part-time hours [1]. Against: mixed patterns are harder to schedule and may leave gaps in cover [1]; shifts may not be the real cause (pay or management could be), so turnover might not fall [1]; results take time, so the 105,600 cost continues meanwhile [1]. Judgement: worth trying, as turnover is costly and the link is plausible, but Crowhaven should first check the reasons leavers give and trial the change on one shift [1]. [12] Examiner insight: a judgement that uses the earlier calculated figures and names the extra evidence needed is stronger than a bare opinion.

9. First way: a wider talent pool [1]. Recruiting from groups it has not reached lets Ottersett fill vacancies more easily and find missing skills [1]; this costs money in advertising and in training managers [1]. Second way: better understanding and reputation [1]. A mixed workforce can reflect the varied people Ottersett cares for, raising service quality and the Trust’s standing as a fair employer [1]; if handled badly, existing staff may feel overlooked and morale could suffer [1]. [6] Examiner insight: analysis needs a chain from the change to an effect on the business, which a bare list of “more ideas, better image” lacks.

10. For: when someone is absent, another trained operator can cover, so presses stop less often and output is protected [1]; operators gain skills and variety, which may raise morale and reduce turnover [1]; people can be moved to where work is most urgent, giving flexibility [1]. Against: 18 operators × 3 days = 54 training days away from the presses [1], costing lost output and course fees [1]; trained operators may ask for higher pay, or leave for a rival [1]; some may be less expert on each press [1]. Judgement: likely worthwhile if stopped presses are costly, since cover is the main problem, but training could be staged, starting with the crews whose absences stop production most [1]. [8] Examiner insight: a recommendation that sets cost against benefit and suggests how to reduce risk earns more than a list of pros and cons.

11. (a) Claim = 950,000 × 5% = 47,500 [1]. Offer = 950,000 × 2.5% = 23,750 [1]. Difference = 47,500 - 23,750 = 23,750 [1]. (b) For employees: collective bargaining gives agents more power than negotiating alone, so pay and conditions may improve [1]; for Pennacre it means one negotiation rather than many and a clear channel of communication [1]. Against: a settlement above the offer raises costs, for example 3.5% would add 33,250 a year [1]; talks may delay decisions [1]; if talks fail, industrial action could stop calls being answered and lose customers [1]. Judgement: the effect depends on how cooperative both sides are, but a well-run process is likely to benefit both, and the gap of 23,750 is small beside the risk of failed talks [1]. [9] Examiner insight: the question asks about both parties, so covering only employees limits the evaluation.

12. Managers consult employees before a change and share the reasons [1]. For the business, change is accepted more easily and disputes are fewer, so output is less disrupted [1]. For employees, a say in decisions that affect them and more job security raise morale [1]. [3] Examiner insight: “both sides” needs a benefit to the employer and one to employees.

Where marks are usually lost

• Giving a headcount instead of a percentage for labour turnover.
• Using opening staff instead of the average, and not showing the average as a step.
• Forgetting to add leavers when working out recruitment.
• Describing a job description and person specification as the same thing.
• Choosing internal or external recruitment without using the case details.
• Confusing redundancy (the job goes) with dismissal (the person’s conduct or performance).
• Treating training as a cost only, or a benefit only.
• Writing only about the business when the question asks about employees as well.
• Finishing an evaluation without a judgement that says which side is stronger.

Next steps

• Re-read the revision notes and study guide.
• Tick off the printable checklist from the course hub.
• Try the free diagnostics.
• Book a free trial class for help from a teacher.

Frequently asked questions

Which section of Cambridge AS and A Level Business 9609 do these questions cover? Section 2.1 Human resource management (HRM), including workforce planning, recruitment and selection, redundancy and dismissal, training, and employee-management relations.

How do you calculate labour turnover? Divide the number of staff leaving by the average number employed and multiply by 100. Show the average as a separate step and give the answer as a percentage, not a headcount.

What is the difference between redundancy and dismissal? In redundancy the job itself is no longer needed. In dismissal the cause lies with the employee’s conduct or performance.

What do I need to cover in an HRM evaluate question? Use the case details and figures on both sides, and cover employees as well as the business when the question asks about both. Finish with a judgement that says which side is stronger.

Official syllabus

Cambridge International AS & A Level Business 9609 syllabus for examination in 2026, 2027 and 2028, published by Cambridge University Press & Assessment, section 2.1 Human resource management (HRM).