A Level Business: Human resource management (HRM) (Cambridge 9609) – Revision Notes

These revision notes condense section 2.1 Human resource management (HRM) of the Cambridge International AS & A Level Business 9609 syllabus for examination in 2026, 2027 and 2028. It is an AS Level section that A Level candidates also study. For full explanations and worked examples, read the study guide first, then test yourself with the practice questions.

Broader Topic 2 pages (which also cover motivation and management) are the Topic 2 revision notes and Topic 2 study guide. Course links: the Cambridge A Level Business hub, the printable checklist and the free diagnostics.

2.1.1 and 2.1.2: Purpose, workforce planning and labour turnover

• HRM manages the people side of the business: planning, recruiting, training, keeping and, if necessary, releasing staff. Its role is to supply the people the objectives need. Always name the objective (growth, quality, cost control, reputation) and the HRM action that serves it.
• A workforce plan compares the staff needed in future with the staff the business has, allowing for leavers, and shows the gap.
• Reasons for it: avoid shortages and surpluses, allow time to recruit and train, prepare for change, control costs.

Item	Formula or definition
Labour turnover (%)	(leavers in the period ÷ average number employed) × 100 (standard form)
Average employed	(opening number + closing number) ÷ 2, when only those are given
Staff to recruit	staff needed - staff now + expected leavers

Method in steps for a workforce plan: (1) find staff needed from forecast output; (2) take away current staff; (3) add expected leavers; (4) state the recruitment and training needed.

Small reminder. A shop employs 32 at the start of a year and 28 at the end, and 6 leave. Average = 30. Turnover = 6 ÷ 30 × 100 = 20%.

	High turnover	Low turnover
Costs	More recruitment and training	Few, but pay may be high for long-serving staff
Operations	Lost skills, disruption, weaker service	Stable teams and experience
Signals	Low morale, poor pay or management (or normal in seasonal work)	Contentment, or staff with nowhere else to go
Risk	Quality falls	Few new ideas, blocked promotion

2.1.3: Recruitment and selection

Term	Meaning
Job description	Title, purpose, duties, reporting line, conditions: describes the job
Person specification	Qualifications, skills, experience, qualities: describes the ideal person
Job advertisement	Notice in print or online; the medium decides who sees it
Employment agency	Finds and may screen candidates for a fee; good for specialist or urgent posts
Online recruitment	Job sites and social networks; fast, cheap, wide reach, but many applications to filter
Internal	Cheaper, faster, known person, motivates; narrow choice, leaves a gap, no fresh ideas
External	Wider choice, new ideas and skills; dearer, slower, riskier

Selection methods, one line each

• Curriculum vitae (résumé): applicant’s own summary; quick, but written by the applicant.
• Application form: same questions for all; easy to compare.
• Interview: tests communication and fit; costly and open to bias.
• References: outside view of the person; usually favourable.
• Testing: checks skills or aptitude directly.
• Assessment centre: several tasks over a day or more; best evidence, highest cost.

Employment contract: the agreement between employer and employee. In general it covers duties, pay, hours, holidays, place of work and notice. It makes expectations clear for both sides; detail varies by country.

Must-know distinction: job description (the job) versus person specification (the person).

2.1.4: Redundancy and dismissal

Type	Key idea
Voluntary redundancy	Job no longer needed; the employee chooses to accept an offer to leave
Involuntary redundancy	Job no longer needed; the business chooses who goes
Fair dismissal	Valid reason (such as serious misconduct or continued poor performance after warnings) and a proper procedure
Unfair dismissal	No valid reason, or the procedure was not followed

Redundancy is about the job. Dismissal is about the person. Impact of redundancy: cuts costs but brings payments now, lowers morale of those who stay, risks lost skills and reputation. Unfair dismissal risks a claim, lost trust and a poor employer image. Do not add legal detail the question does not ask for.

2.1.5: Morale, welfare, work-life balance, diversity and equality

• Morale: how positive staff feel about the business and their work.
• Welfare: provision for physical and mental wellbeing.
• Good HRM raises both (fair pay, safe conditions, listening, training) and so lowers turnover and absence.
• Work-life balance: flexible hours, part-time work, job-sharing, home working, reasonable workloads. Gains: loyalty, wider pool of applicants. Costs: harder scheduling, less supervision.
• Diversity: a workforce of varied backgrounds, ages and abilities. Equality: fair treatment and equal opportunity.
• Benefits of diversity and equality: wider talent pool, more ideas, better understanding of customers, better reputation. Costs: management training, changed procedures, possible conflict if poorly handled.

2.1.6: Training and development

Type	Pros	Cons
Induction	Settles new starters fast; covers safety	Only an introduction
On-the-job	Cheap, practical, trainee still productive	Depends on trainer; bad habits
Off-the-job	Expert, wider skills	Costly; work left undone

• Impact: better skills, quality, productivity and morale, lower turnover; costs are fees, time, and the risk of trained staff leaving.
• Intrapreneurship: developing staff to act entrepreneurially inside the business, so that new ideas and better processes come from within, without setting up a new firm.
• Multi-skilling: staff trained for several jobs. Flexibility: staff can move or cover. Gains: cover for absence, less idle time. Costs: training time and possible higher pay.

2.1.7: Management and workforce relations

• Cooperation benefits the business (smoother change, fewer disputes, better ideas) and employees (security, a say, better conditions). It can slow decisions.
• Trade union: organisation of employees formed to protect and advance their interests.
• Collective bargaining: negotiation between employer and union representatives for all members, on pay, hours and conditions.
• For employees: more bargaining power, protection. For employers: one negotiation and a clear channel, but higher costs, slower decisions and the risk of industrial action.

Quick self-test

1. A business has 42 staff at the start of a year and 38 at the end. Nine leave. Calculate labour turnover.
2. A firm has 40 staff, needs 46, and expects 15% of the current staff to leave. How many must it recruit?
3. Define redundancy.
4. State one difference between fair and unfair dismissal.
5. State the difference between a job description and a person specification.
6. State one advantage of external recruitment.
7. State one disadvantage of off-the-job training.
8. What is collective bargaining?
9. Payroll is 800,000 and a pay deal gives 3.5%. How much extra does the deal cost?
10. Give one benefit to a business of a diverse workforce.
11. Why use average employees rather than the opening figure in the turnover formula?
12. Give one benefit of multi-skilling to a business.

Answers

1. Average = (42 + 38) ÷ 2 = 40. Turnover = 9 ÷ 40 × 100 = 22.5%.
2. Leavers = 15% of 40 = 6. Recruit 46 - 40 + 6 = 12.
3. Loss of a job because the post is no longer needed, not because of the employee’s conduct or performance.
4. Fair dismissal has a valid reason and a proper procedure; unfair dismissal has no valid reason or the procedure was not followed.
5. The job description describes the job (duties); the person specification describes the person needed (skills, experience, qualities).
6. Wider choice of candidates, or new ideas and skills.
7. It costs more, and work is left undone while the employee is away.
8. Negotiation between employers and union representatives acting for all members on pay, hours and conditions.
9. 800,000 × 0.035 = 28,000.
10. Any one of: wider pool of talent, more varied ideas, better understanding of different customers, better reputation.
11. The workforce changes during the period, so the average gives a fairer base for the rate.
12. Staff can cover absence or move to where work is needed, so less idle time.

Where marks are usually lost

• Giving the leaver count instead of a percentage for turnover.
• Dividing by opening staff when the average is the standard base.
• Forgetting leavers when working out how many to recruit.
• Mixing up a job description with a person specification.
• Giving a list of internal and external pros and cons without choosing one for the case.
• Treating redundancy and dismissal as the same thing.
• Describing high turnover as always bad, without asking what type of business it is.
• Stating that training is always worth it, without weighing cost and the risk of trained staff leaving.
• Giving a union a one-sided effect, when employers and employees are each affected both ways.
• Adding legal rules the question did not ask about.

Frequently asked questions

How do you work out how many staff to recruit in a workforce plan? Staff to recruit equals staff needed minus staff now plus expected leavers. Forgetting the leavers is a common error.

Is high labour turnover always bad? Not always. It raises recruitment and training costs and disrupts teams, but it can be normal in seasonal work, and very low turnover can mean few new ideas and blocked promotion.

What is the difference between voluntary and involuntary redundancy? In both, the job is no longer needed. In voluntary redundancy the employee chooses to accept an offer to leave; in involuntary redundancy the business chooses who goes.

What is collective bargaining? Collective bargaining is negotiation between the employer and trade union representatives acting for all members, for example on pay and conditions.

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).