Skills for Work: Rights and Responsibilities in the Workplace
Rights and Responsibilities in the Workplace is an Agored Cymru Skills for Work unit in which learners learn the legal responsibilities of employers, employee rights and responsibilities, and how to support others and challenge employers and peers when rights are not being met. It is a 20 hour unit at each of Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3, Level 1 and Level 2, combined with other units into an Agored Cymru Skills for Work or Skills for Life and Work Award, Certificate or Diploma, and assessed internally through a centre-devised task that follows the mandatory Summative Assessment Package. Literacy demand is medium. Learners list, give examples of, outline and then describe rights and responsibilities with workplace vocabulary, speak in role to challenge an employer and a peer, and state or reflect on how well that worked, all in one supervised sitting with no redrafting. Numeracy demand is low. The minimum wage, equal pay and punctuality are examples in the amplification and the unit's numeracy mapping, but no criterion asks for a calculation.
- Awarding body
- Agored Cymru
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 20
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of literacy work
- Medium
- Amount of numeracy work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the specification
How this unit is assessed
- Level 2 (Unit ID CDS079, Unit Code HE62CY012) and Level 1 (Unit ID CDS080, Unit Code HE61CY009): Two learning outcomes. Level 2 learners describe at least three legal responsibilities of employers, two employer expectations for presentation, punctuality and behaviour, four employee rights and three employee responsibilities (to employers, peers and themselves), then describe three ways to support others, identify three actions to improve how responsibilities are met, demonstrate challenging an employer and a peer in a simulated setting, and reflect on how effective that was. Level 1 learners outline the same content with lower minimums and no criterion on improving how responsibilities are met. There are no prescribed assessment methods, except that role-play with video and/or annotated photographic evidence and an assessor observation statement is required for the challenge criterion (AC 2.3 at Level 2, AC 2.2 at Level 1). 20 guided learning hours, 2 credits. Centre-devised task under the mandatory Summative Assessment Package, internally assessed and moderated by Agored Cymru, graded Pass or Fail.
- Entry Level 3 (Unit ID CDS081, Unit Code HE6E3CY002): Two learning outcomes. Learners give examples of at least four legal responsibilities of employers, two employee responsibilities to their employer and peers, and four employee rights, give three ways to support others whose rights are not being met, demonstrate in a simulated setting at least two ways of challenging employers, and state how those actions can be effective. Role-play with video and/or annotated photographic evidence and an assessor observation statement is required for AC 2.2. 20 guided learning hours, 2 credits, internally assessed, Pass or Fail.
- Entry Level 2 (Unit ID CDS082, Unit Code HE6E2CY001) and Entry Level 1 (Unit ID CDS083, Unit Code HE6E1CY001): Two learning outcomes. Learners list employee rights and employee responsibilities (at least three of each at Entry 2, two at Entry 1), then demonstrate in a simulated setting at least two ways of supporting others who are treated unfairly and at least two ways of acting when rights are not met (Entry 2), or what to do when others are not treated fairly by employers or with respect by colleagues (Entry 1). Role-play with video and/or annotated photographic evidence and an assessor observation statement is required for LO2. 20 guided learning hours, 2 credits, internally assessed, Pass or Fail.
Skills that use Questioning
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Challenging an employer or a peer in role-play
Level 2 and Level 1 learners demonstrate, in a simulated setting, at least one way of challenging an employer and one way of challenging a peer when rights and responsibilities are not being met, such as raising a formal complaint or grievance. Entry 3 learners demonstrate two ways of challenging employers, and Entry 2 and Entry 1 learners demonstrate what to do when rights are not met or others are not treated fairly or with respect. Learners must speak in a formal register, stay in role and respond to what the other person says. This is required by AC 2.3 at Level 2, AC 2.2 at Level 1 and Entry 3, and LO2 at Entry 2 and Entry 1, and is evidenced by video or annotated photographs with an assessor observation statement.
Literacy: Collaborative talk, Purpose, Listening as part of collaborative talk, Questioning, Clarity and vocabulary
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils practise a short scene in which a worker politely tells a supervisor they have not had their break, using a sentence starter card.
- Year 8
- Pupils role-play telling a colleague that a joke they made was not respectful, staying calm and listening to the reply before answering.
- Year 9
- Pupils role-play a meeting in which an employee raises a formal grievance with a manager, keeping to formal language and holding their point when the manager disagrees.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: AC 2.3, Level 2, page 69; Prescribed Assessment Methods, page 70; AC 2.2, Level 1, page 72; AC 2.2, Entry 3, page 74; LO2, Entry 2, page 76; LO2, Entry 1, pages 77 to 78
“raise the issue formally by making a complaint or grievance through the workplace’s agreed procedures”
Progression step 3
I can explore challenging or contentious issues through a variety of authentic contexts, including sustaining a role.
I can organise talk so that different audiences in different contexts can follow what is being said, including using formal language.
I can listen to and respond to others with questions and comments which focus on reasons, implications and next steps.
Progression step 4
I can use talk in a range of authentic contexts to explore challenging or contentious issues.
I can sustain a convincing point of view, anticipating and responding to other perspectives.
I can speak clearly, selecting and adapting my language appropriately for a range of audiences and purposes, conveying meaning effectively to the audience.
Good to know
- Every level is the same size: each unit record shows "GLH 20" and "Credit: 2" (unit headers, pages 68, 71, 73, 75 and 77). The Pearson unit of the same name is 10 guided learning hours.
- Command words set the literacy level. List means "State an answer in short sentences or a few words", Outline means "Give the main characteristics or key points/features", and Describe asks learners to "provide detailed and factual information about an item/topic in a logical way" (Command Word Definitions, page 93).
- Reflection has a set meaning: Reflect is "To consider what worked, what didn’t, and how they could improve next time" (Command Word Definitions, page 94).
- Speaking is assessed through role-play: the challenge criterion is "To be demonstrated in a simulated setting" and evidenced by video and/or annotated photographs with an assessor observation statement (amplification AC 2.3, page 69; Prescribed Assessment Methods, page 70).
- Evidence does not have to be written: the permitted formats are "Digital (or written) documents", "Audio content", "Video content" and an e-portfolio (Appendix A, Permitted evidence types, page 106).
- Writing is done once: "Drafting and redrafting are not permitted in this summative task." and feedback "must not be provided once the summative task has started" (Appendix A, Teacher support and feedback, page 106).
- Learners bring notes they wrote themselves: "Learners must produce their own reference materials" (Appendix A, Resources and AI, page 106).
- Assessment time is short: "20 GLH incorporates assessment time of no more than 60 minutes." (Appendix A, Duration and timing, page 106).
- There is no second attempt: "There are no resubmission opportunities available for these qualifications." (Section Five, Resubmissions, page 99).
- The unit's own mapping names both frameworks: for Literacy it "Encourages clear and professional communication in writing and speech" and "Supports active listening skills", and for Numeracy it "Develops understanding of equal pay and financial rights" (unit mapping, page 79). The cross curricular skills summary at the end of the unit lists only Literacy and Digital Competence (page 78).
- The levels do not step up evenly. Entry 3 asks for "At least four legal responsibilities" (page 73), but Level 1 and Level 2 ask for three. Level 1 AC 1.2 names employers, peers and themselves, but the amplification asks for "At least two responsibilities" (page 71), so one group can be left out. Entry 3 asks for two ways of challenging employers and none for peers (page 74), while Level 1 and Level 2 ask for one of each.
Links with other qualifications
Describing rights and responsibilities in organised writing, and speaking in role to raise a concern, support GCSE English Language and Literature and GCSE Cymraeg Language and Literature. The work on employment law, equal pay and fair treatment links with GCSE Social Studies, and the employer and employee duties give context for GCSE Business. Agored Cymru lists Fairness and Inclusion in the Workplace, Working in Wales and Wellbeing and Work among its 19 Skills for Work units, and Everyday Law, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Financial Literacy among its Skills for Life units; Financial Literacy is where pay calculations would be taught. Compared with the WJEC unit of the same name, the Agored unit is the same size (20 guided learning hours) but does not ask learners to read an employment contract or research an advice organisation, so it has less reading and none of the contract numeracy on pay, hours and holidays; instead it adds a required role-play and a reflection on how well the challenge worked. Compared with the Pearson unit, which is 10 guided learning hours with one broad criterion per level and allows one resubmission at the centre's discretion, the Agored unit has more criteria, more speaking and no redrafting or resubmission.
Source: Agored Cymru The Skills Suite: Skills for Life and Work Specification, version 1.0, October 2026, Rights and Responsibilities in the Workplace.