Case study Anytown FM is a local radio station serving the population of a city and its surrounding region. During the course of every weekday, the station broadcasts four news-based magazine programmes: one early in the morning

Advanced Diploma in

• Strategic People Management
• Strategic Learning and Development
• Version 1 – Released June 2026
• Expires June 2028
• Study Centre information only: Last moderation window is September 2028

Introduction

Your knowledge and understanding of the material covered in this specialist unit will be assessed through your written answers to four questions.

You will write four answers of approximately 1000 words to the questions posed and submit them together in a single document. This constitutes your assessment for this unit. The total word count for the assessment will therefore be 4000 words, plus or minus 10%. The bibliography, list of references and essential appendices (if applicable) are not included in the total word count – but the latter must be kept to a minimum.

You must demonstrate within the submitted evidence (through headings and sub-headings) which learning outcomes and assessment criteria have been cited. We are unable to moderate your work if this is not included.

As this is an Advanced Diploma, it is important that you are able to demonstrate not only good knowledge and understanding of the material associated with each learning outcome, but also the ability to develop an original argument and justify it persuasively with reference to wider reading. Examples of approaches taken in a range of organisations are also an effective means by which to justify your arguments.

The six main criteria that CIPD requires centres to use when marking your assessment are outlined below, but it may be that not all these criteria are present in every question.

1. focus
2. depth and breadth of understanding
3. strategic application and professional advice
4. research and wider reading
5. persuasiveness and originality
6. presentation and language

Relevant podcasts

For more information on this unit’s key issues, listen to CIPD’s podcast, HR People Pod.

Episode 10: Employment rights bill 2024

Episode 29: Unfair dismissal

Episode 36: Employment rights bill 2025

Case study

Anytown FM is a local radio station serving the population of a city and its surrounding region. During the course of every weekday, the station broadcasts four news-based magazine programmes: one early in the morning, one at lunchtime, one in the early evening, and a final programme late in the evening. At present, each programme team is supported by a separate group of news reporters, most of whom specialise in particular fields such as politics, crime, social affairs, sport and entertainment.

The quality of output is widely regarded as high and is appreciated by a loyal audience. However, advertising revenues have declined sharply over the past year and Anytown FM is now forecasting a significant operating loss. Senior managers have therefore been instructed to identify cost savings quickly. Managers of the news reporting teams, like those across the organisation, have been told that savings must be delivered within the current financial year.

After discussing the situation with his deputy and reviewing recent financial forecasts, Jack Field, the station’s Controller of News, develops a set of proposals which he believes will achieve an immediate 20% reduction in the salary budget for news reporters. Jack is keen to act quickly and is vaguely conscious that forthcoming changes to employment law are expected to make workforce restructuring more complex and time-consuming.

Jack’s proposals are as follows:

1. Jack intends to reduce the total number of reporters from 25 to 20 through an immediate programme of compulsory redundancies. He is reluctant to allow voluntary redundancies on the grounds of cost and wishes to avoid paying more in redundancy pay than is strictly necessary. He therefore proposes – next week – to dismiss the five most recent recruits, all of whom are women and none of whom have yet completed two years’ service. Jack has been advised informally that employees with short service have ‘very limited legal protection’.
2. Jack plans to reorganise the reporting function so that reporters are no longer attached to specific programmes with fixed daily hours. Instead, they will work on a rotating shift system covering daytime and evening output. Reporters will no longer specialise to the same extent and will be expected to report flexibly across a wide range of stories. Several reporters currently work partly from home and have caring responsibilities. The proposed changes would substantially alter both working hours and duties, but Jack intends to introduce them unilaterally to avoid delay.
3. With immediate effect, all new recruits will be appointed on salaries 20% lower than those of existing staff carrying out equivalent roles. In addition, new recruits will not be eligible to join the company pension scheme or access certain benefits until they have completed a one-year probationary period.
4. Jack decides to sub-contract the reporting of sports events taking place outside the city to a private production company. This will significantly reduce the amount of specialist work undertaken by the existing sports reporters and allow them to be redeployed to more general reporting duties. Jack has no plans to consult anyone in respect of this plan.
5. Finally, Jack proposes to make a substantial change to the expenses system. At present, reporters reclaim out-of-pocket expenses on production of receipts. Under the new system, each reporter will be allocated a fixed monthly allowance equivalent to half the current average claim. Any expenditure above this level will not be reimbursed. Claims will be monitored centrally using new digital reporting software.

When these proposals are announced at a newsroom meeting, the reaction is one of anger and frustration. Reporters express particular concern that the changes have been announced without consultation, either with staff or with union representatives. Several reporters state that the proposals will disproportionately affect women and those with caring responsibilities.

Union representatives indicate that the proposals may breach existing employment law and have warned that recent and forthcoming changes under the Employment Rights Act 2025 significantly strengthen employee and trade union protections. The union states that it is considering organising industrial action, both in response to the substance of the proposals and the manner in which they have been introduced. A number of reporters have also begun discussing the situation on social media.

Following the meeting, Jack Field becomes increasingly concerned. He is worried not only about the prospect of industrial action and reputational damage, but also about whether his proposals expose Anytown FM to significant legal risk, particularly in light of the forthcoming changes to employment legislation. As you are a people manager specialising in employment law, Jack asks to meet with you urgently to obtain advice on the legality of his proposals and how best to proceed.

Questions

To support Jack, provide answers to the following questions. You should support your answers with reference to relevant legislation and case law.

Question 1 (AC 1.2)

Explain how the UK employment law system and its key institutions might become involved if Anytown FM were to proceed as proposed.

Question 2 (AC 2.1)

Assess the potential legal risks that arise under discrimination law as a result of the proposals outlined in the case study.

Question 3 (AC 3.4)

Explain the legal requirements that Anytown FM would need to comply with if it were to proceed with the proposed redundancies and subcontracting arrangements.

Question 4 (AC 4.2)

Discuss the key legal principles that govern the regulation of pay and working hours and which have potential relevance to the proposals made by Jack Field in the case study.

Marking Grid

Learners will receive a Pass, Merit, Distinction or Refer/Fail result at unit level.

Assessors must provide a mark from 1 to 4 for each Learning Outcome in the unit. Assessors should use the generic grade descriptor grid as guidance so they can provide comprehensive feedback that is developmental for learners. Please be aware that not all of the generic grade descriptors will be present in every learning outcome for all the assessments, so assessors must use their discretion in making grading decisions.

To pass the unit assessment learners must achieve a 2 (Pass) or above for each of the learning outcomes.

The overall mark achieved will dictate the Grade the learner receives for the Unit, provided NONE of the learning outcomes have been failed or referred.