North Sydney Council Reading Answers | IELTS General Reading Test Reading Answers

North Sydney Council

North Sydney Council recognises the importance of balancing the demands of your work with the demands of your personal life.

The standard working week for full-time council employees is 35 hours For ‘Indoor Staff’ and 38 hours for ‘Outdoor Staff’, worked over 5 days. Indoor staff are able to access the benefit of flexi time. A number of these occasionally work from home where appropriate – an example of an initiative that can provide flexibility at certain stages of an employee’s career.

Staff are entitled to 3 weeks per annum sick or carer’s leave. In addition to the normal parental leave/maternity leave provisions, women who have completed 12 months of continuous service can access a total of 9 Weeks’ maternity leave that can be taken either as 9 weeks at full pay or as 18 weeks at half pay.

The annual entitlement to paid holidays is 20 days, pro-rata for part-time. After 5 years of continuous service, employees are entitled to 6.5 weeks Long Service Leave (LSL).

Our Financial Advice Program is conducted in partnership with FuturePlus Financial Services. We provide the services of advisors specializing in pensions, and all our employees are given the opportunity to meet them as part of the induction process.

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a counseling service provided at no charge to all employees and their families. The service is available by phone or face to face. The EAP provides registered psychologists for employees wishing to discuss work or non-work matters confidentially. Employees can also access information, such as articles and self assessments, online via eapdirect.

Questions 1-6

Answer the questions below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the text for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.

1. Which employees may choose not to work regular hours?
2. How much time off each year is an employee able to take to look after a relative?
3. What kind of leave involves a choice between two alternative periods of time?
4. How long must employees have worked without a break before being entitled to additional holidays?
5. What does the Financial Advice Program advise staff about?
6. What kind of professional people can employees see if they want to talk about their job in private?

1. Answer: Indoor (staff/ employees)
Explanation:  Indoor staff are able to access the benefit of flexi time. The given answer is located in the 2-3 lies of paragraph 2.
2. Answer: 3 weeks/ three weeks
Explanation: Staff are entitled to 3 weeks per annum sick or carer’s leave. The given answer is located in the 1st line of paragraph 3
3. Answer:  Maternity (leave)
Explanation: maternity leave that can be taken either as 9 weeks at full pay or as 18 weeks at half pay. The given answer is located in the last 2 lines of paragraph 3.
4. Answer: 5 years/ five years
Explanation: After 5 years of continuous service, employees are entitled to 6.5 weeks Long Service Leave (LSL).  the given answer is located in the last 2 lines of paragraph 4.
5. Answer: Pension(s)
Explanation: Our Financial Advice Program is conducted in partnership with FuturePlus Financial Services. We provide the services of advisors specializing in pensions. The Given answer is located in the first 2 lines of paragraph 5.
6. Answer: (registered) psychologists 
Explanation: The EAP provides registered psychologists for employees wishing to discuss work or non-work matters confidentially. Employees can also access information, such as articles and self assessments, online via eapdirect. The given answer is located in the last 3 lines of paragraph 6.