Skills for Work: Rights and Responsibilities in the Workplace
Rights and Responsibilities in the Workplace is a 20 hour Skills for Work unit, from Entry 1 to Level 2, about employees and employers, employee rights and responsibilities, employment contracts, responsible behaviour, equality and fairness, and where to get advice about problems at work. It is one unit that learners combine with others into a Skills for Life or Skills for Work Award, Certificate or Diploma. Digital demand is low. The only digital step in the criteria is the Level 1 task of finding contact details for an advice organisation, which the pack expects to be done with a search engine. Online research and presentations are suggested, not required.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 20
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of digital work
- Low
How this unit is assessed
- Entry Level (Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3): Four learning outcomes (the difference between an employee and an employer, basic rights and responsibilities of employees, behaving responsibly with other people at work, and where to get support and guidance), with separate assessment criteria at Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3. Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours.
- Level 1 and Level 2: Four learning outcomes (employee rights and responsibilities including the employment contract, personal and social responsibility, equality, respect and fairness at work, and seeking advice and guidance), with separate assessment criteria at Level 1 and Level 2. Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
-
Searching online for contact details of advice organisations
At Level 1 learners must show how to find contact details for one source of advice, and the amplification says this includes using search engines with the correct terminology, finding phone numbers and addresses and locating an office. At Level 2 learners go further and pick the most suitable source for a workplace scenario, which usually means comparing what ACAS, Citizens Advice and trade unions offer on their websites.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils use a search engine to find the phone number and opening hours of their local library, then try two different sets of keywords and note which one found it faster.
- Year 8
- Pupils search for the Childline and Careers Wales websites, bookmark both, and copy the contact details and one service each offers into a shared class document.
- Year 9
- Pupils are given three short problems at a part time job, search with precise terms such as holiday pay entitlement, and find the website, phone number and nearest office of the organisation that could help with each.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcome 4, assessment criteria 4.1 to 4.3, page 8; amplification of learning outcome 4, page 14
“using search engines, to include the correct terminology”
Progression step 3
I can adjust keywords and search techniques to find relevant information.
I can store search results for future use, e.g. bookmark, add to favourites.
Progression step 4
I can search a variety of sources using relevant search techniques with increased complexity.
-
Researching employment rights in digital sources and judging reliability
The unit overview says Level 1 and Level 2 learners will search a variety of digital sources when researching employment rights, and the suggested activities include researching specific rights and analysing examples from news and online sources. The assessment criteria ask learners to identify, describe and explain rights and sources of advice, but they do not require the research to be digital, so the online research is suggested rather than assessed.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content, Digital rights, licensing and ownership
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils look up one fact about rest breaks at work on two websites, write down both web addresses and say which site they trust more and why.
- Year 8
- Pupils compare advice about young workers' hours on a government site, a charity site and a forum post, and rate each one for reliability in a short table with the source listed.
- Year 9
- Pupils research one employment right such as the minimum wage for their age, use at least three online sources, reference them in a simple list and explain which source they relied on most and why.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit overview, integral and cross curricular skills, page 3; suggested activities for Level 1 and 2 learners, page 14
“search a variety of digital sources when researching employment rights and professional development opportunities”
Progression step 3
I can begin to reference sources used in my work, and consider if content is reliable.
I can cite sources when researching and explain the importance of this, e.g. create simple lists for the referencing of digital and offline sources.
Progression step 4
I can evaluate the reliability of sources of information, justify my opinions and reasons for choices, and reference using appropriate methods.
-
Acknowledging sources and AI tools in portfolio work
The shared specification says learners must not misuse AI tools when producing portfolio evidence, and lists failing to acknowledge AI tools used as a source of information, and copying AI responses, as malpractice. This applies to any research learners do for this unit, such as finding sources of advice, and the sources of evidence include a source log of resources and research notes. It is a rule for all portfolio work rather than an assessment criterion.
DCF: Digital rights, licensing and ownership, Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils copy a paragraph about a job from a website into their own notes, then rewrite it in their own words and add the web address underneath.
- Year 8
- Pupils keep a source log while researching a careers topic, recording each website, the date and what they used it for, and discuss why handing in copied text as their own is plagiarism.
- Year 9
- Pupils ask an AI chatbot a question about workplace rights, check its answer against an official website, and write an acknowledgement saying which tool they used, what they asked and what they changed.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Skills for Life and Work specification, section 4.6, page 21; unit pack, sources of evidence, page 15
“Failing to acknowledge use of AI tools when they have been used as a source of information.”
Progression step 3
I can understand that copying the work of others and presenting it as my own is plagiarism.
I can cite sources when researching and explain the importance of this, e.g. create simple lists for the referencing of digital and offline sources.
Progression step 4
I can evaluate the reliability of sources of information, justify my opinions and reasons for choices, and reference using appropriate methods.
Good to know
- Unit codes run from Entry 1 to Level 2: "S663E1", "S663E2", "S663E3", "S663L1" and "S663L2", with 20 GLH (unit overview, page 3).
- No special equipment is needed: "Assessment of this unit should not require any specific resources" (page 16), and the unit "has been designed to be delivered using standard classroom environments" (page 16).
- Evidence can be digital or oral. The sources of evidence include "screen shots of research activities" and "recording of practical demonstrations of evidence, such as role-plays or discussions" (page 15), and the specification says the portfolio "is not limited to paper-based materials" (section 4.1, page 18).
- Learners should not be held back by written work: "extended written work is not required unless appropriate" (sources of evidence, page 15).
- Evidence sent for external quality assurance must be digital: "all evidence submitted for sampling must be provided digitally by the centre" (specification section 5.2, page 23).
- AI misuse is malpractice. Examples include "Copying or paraphrasing whole responses of AI-generated content." and "Failing to acknowledge use of AI tools when they have been used as a source of information." (specification section 4.6, page 21).
- Suggested assessment tasks are optional: "These tasks are not mandatory." Teachers may use, adapt or replace them (specification section 4.1, page 18).
- The pack notes that planned UK limits on social media use by under 16s "may impact some of our qualifications" (page 2), which matters if learners would research workplace issues through social media.
Links with other qualifications
The pack names Understanding the changing labour market, Working in Wales, Fairness and inclusion in the workplace and Wellbeing and work as closely related Skills Suite units, and the Sustainable economic development pack lists this unit as a link. The Skills for Life units Everyday law and Equality, diversity and inclusion cover rights, equality and where to get help outside work. Among the GCSEs, the work on equality, discrimination and rights links with GCSE Social Studies, and the work on employers, employees and contracts gives context for GCSE Business.
Source: WJEC Rights and responsibilities in the workplace unit delivery and assessment pack, read with the WJEC Entry 1 to Level 2 Skills for Life and Skills for Work specification, approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from September 2027 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2026).