English business vocabulary in use | Units 1-34
Unit 1
Work= the place where you do your job.
Have work= you have a job.
Out of work= without a job.
Time of work= away from work due to illness.
Full time job= for the whole of the normal week.
Part time job= less time than whole working week.
Permanent job= does not finish after a fixed period.
Temporary job= finishes after a fixed period.
Unit 2
Nine-to-five= regular working hours.
Swipe card= a card with magnetic strip that contains information.
Flextime= working whenever you want.
Overtime= more hours than usual for more money.
Teleworking/telecommuting= working from home and using the computer and phone to
communicate with other people.
Repetive/routine= the work involves doing the same things again and again.
Dull/boring/interesting/unstimulating= the work is not interesting.
Satisfying/stimulating/exciting/fascinating= the work is interesting and gives you positive
feels.
Tiring/tough/hard/demanding= the work is difficult and makes you tired.
Unit 3
Recruitment= process of finding people for particular jobs.
Recruit= someone who is recruited.
Headhunters= outside specialist used to find people for important jobs and to persuade
them to leave to organization they already work for.
Headhunted= people recruited like this.
Cv= a document describing your education, qualifications, and previous jobs, that you send
to a prospective employee.
Covering letter= explanation why someone wants the job and why that person is the right
person.
Selection process= the method that the company uses to recruit people.
Situation/post/position= these are formal words often used in job advertisements and
applications.
Situation vacant= page in the local newspaper where people can advertise for a new
accountant position.
Background of applicants= their experience of different jobs and their educations
qualifications.
Psychometric tests= assess intelligence and personality.
References/referees= previous employees, teachers and so on candidates have named in
their applications.
Shortlist= list with few people.
, Unit 4
Graduates= people who have left university.
In house training= courses within the company.
Management development= where managers regularly go on specialized courses in
leadership.
Acquire experience= get knowledge through doing things.
Master’s degree= qualifications you can get after one or two years of graduate story.
MBA= master’s degree in advanced business study.
Skill= particular ability to do something well especially because you have learned it.
Methodical/systematic/organized= working in a planned, orderly way.
Computer literate= good with computers.
Numeral= good with numbers.
Motivated= very keen to do well in their job because they find it interesting.
Talented= very good at what they do.
Self-starters= must be proactive, self-motivated.
Self-driven= good at working on their own.
Team-players= people who work well with other people.
Unit 5
Salary= money you get paid every month.
Minimum wage= the lowest amount allowed by law.
Tips= money that customers leave in addition to the bill.
Commission= a percentage on everything you sell.
Health plan= to pay the costs of medical treatment if you get ill.
Pension= money that you get after you stop working.
Remuneration/compensation= formal words used to talk about pay and conditions.
Share options/stock options= the right to but the company’s shares at low prices.
Fat cats= executives with very high pay and benefits.
Unit 6
Employees/personnel/staff/workers/workforce= people carrying out the work of a company.
Management= leading and organizing the company.
Head office/headquarters= where company’s most important managers usually work.
Open-plan offices= large areas where many people work.
Administration= the ordinary work supporting a company’s activities.
Labour= everyone who works for a company except the management.
Labour costs= what companies have to pay for labour, rather than materials.
Labour dispute= a disagreement between management and labour.
Labour leader= someone in charge of an organization that represents workers.
Labour relations= the relationship between management and employees in general.
Labour shortage= a period when there are not enough people available at work.
Labour unrest= a period of disagreement between management and employees.
Labor unions/trade unions= defend the interests of workers.
Strike/stoppage/walk-out= workers stop working for a time.
Go-slow= workers continue to work, but more slowly than usual.
Overtime ban= workers refuse to work more than the normal numbers of hours.
Human resources department= area that deals with pay and recruitment.
Unit 1
Work= the place where you do your job.
Have work= you have a job.
Out of work= without a job.
Time of work= away from work due to illness.
Full time job= for the whole of the normal week.
Part time job= less time than whole working week.
Permanent job= does not finish after a fixed period.
Temporary job= finishes after a fixed period.
Unit 2
Nine-to-five= regular working hours.
Swipe card= a card with magnetic strip that contains information.
Flextime= working whenever you want.
Overtime= more hours than usual for more money.
Teleworking/telecommuting= working from home and using the computer and phone to
communicate with other people.
Repetive/routine= the work involves doing the same things again and again.
Dull/boring/interesting/unstimulating= the work is not interesting.
Satisfying/stimulating/exciting/fascinating= the work is interesting and gives you positive
feels.
Tiring/tough/hard/demanding= the work is difficult and makes you tired.
Unit 3
Recruitment= process of finding people for particular jobs.
Recruit= someone who is recruited.
Headhunters= outside specialist used to find people for important jobs and to persuade
them to leave to organization they already work for.
Headhunted= people recruited like this.
Cv= a document describing your education, qualifications, and previous jobs, that you send
to a prospective employee.
Covering letter= explanation why someone wants the job and why that person is the right
person.
Selection process= the method that the company uses to recruit people.
Situation/post/position= these are formal words often used in job advertisements and
applications.
Situation vacant= page in the local newspaper where people can advertise for a new
accountant position.
Background of applicants= their experience of different jobs and their educations
qualifications.
Psychometric tests= assess intelligence and personality.
References/referees= previous employees, teachers and so on candidates have named in
their applications.
Shortlist= list with few people.
, Unit 4
Graduates= people who have left university.
In house training= courses within the company.
Management development= where managers regularly go on specialized courses in
leadership.
Acquire experience= get knowledge through doing things.
Master’s degree= qualifications you can get after one or two years of graduate story.
MBA= master’s degree in advanced business study.
Skill= particular ability to do something well especially because you have learned it.
Methodical/systematic/organized= working in a planned, orderly way.
Computer literate= good with computers.
Numeral= good with numbers.
Motivated= very keen to do well in their job because they find it interesting.
Talented= very good at what they do.
Self-starters= must be proactive, self-motivated.
Self-driven= good at working on their own.
Team-players= people who work well with other people.
Unit 5
Salary= money you get paid every month.
Minimum wage= the lowest amount allowed by law.
Tips= money that customers leave in addition to the bill.
Commission= a percentage on everything you sell.
Health plan= to pay the costs of medical treatment if you get ill.
Pension= money that you get after you stop working.
Remuneration/compensation= formal words used to talk about pay and conditions.
Share options/stock options= the right to but the company’s shares at low prices.
Fat cats= executives with very high pay and benefits.
Unit 6
Employees/personnel/staff/workers/workforce= people carrying out the work of a company.
Management= leading and organizing the company.
Head office/headquarters= where company’s most important managers usually work.
Open-plan offices= large areas where many people work.
Administration= the ordinary work supporting a company’s activities.
Labour= everyone who works for a company except the management.
Labour costs= what companies have to pay for labour, rather than materials.
Labour dispute= a disagreement between management and labour.
Labour leader= someone in charge of an organization that represents workers.
Labour relations= the relationship between management and employees in general.
Labour shortage= a period when there are not enough people available at work.
Labour unrest= a period of disagreement between management and employees.
Labor unions/trade unions= defend the interests of workers.
Strike/stoppage/walk-out= workers stop working for a time.
Go-slow= workers continue to work, but more slowly than usual.
Overtime ban= workers refuse to work more than the normal numbers of hours.
Human resources department= area that deals with pay and recruitment.
