Which policy can this HR answer use?
Verify the country, version and employee terms before advising a manager.
The question
A manager asks about urgent family leave for a Canadian employee at Harbor. An AI draft denies paid leave using an archived UK document. The supplied rules below are fictional company rules, not statements of employment law.
The archived UK guide provides no paid day for this request. Deny paid leave under that guide.
The 2026 policy permits up to two paid days for this type of urgent family request, with the stated manager approval. Check applicable employee terms before confirming the arrangement.
Use the applicable country and current version. Where an employee agreement gives a more generous company benefit, that agreement takes priority.
“Which policy can this HR answer use?”
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A strong answer, step by step
Open each step in turn. This is one strong answer, not the only one.
Step 1: Stop the wrong-source answer
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Send the answer because it cites a document.
Tempting, but it misses something. The cited document does not apply to this employee.
Check country and version before advising.
The strong move. This addresses the source error.
Remove the citation and keep the denial.
Tempting, but it misses something. That hides rather than fixes the error.
See how a strong candidate says it
“The employee is in Canada, but the draft used an archived UK guide. Do not send that denial. Check the current applicable source.”
Why it works: Fluent wording does not fix the wrong country or version.
Step 2: Confirm the rule and its conditions
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Promise exactly two days without checking the terms.
Tempting, but it misses something. The policy itself says to check them.
Tell the manager that all Canadian employers owe two days.
Tempting, but it misses something. This is a fictional company policy, not a legal rule.
Verify the agreement and required approval.
The strong move. This follows the supplied scope and hierarchy.
See how a strong candidate says it
“The current Canada policy permits up to two days with approval. Check the employee’s terms and approval route before confirming the amount.”
Why it works: A general policy can have conditions and a document hierarchy.
Step 3: Apply the more specific agreement
The applicable employee agreement provides three paid days for this request. Harbor’s supplied hierarchy gives this more generous agreement priority over the general policy.
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Apply the three-day agreement under the supplied hierarchy.
The strong move. This uses the more generous applicable company term.
Cap it at two because the policy is newer.
Tempting, but it misses something. The supplied hierarchy gives the agreement priority.
Use the UK denial until the AI is retrained.
Tempting, but it misses something. The correct sources are already available.
See how a strong candidate says it
“The applicable agreement provides three days and takes priority under Harbor’s hierarchy. Confirm the arrangement through the stated approval route and correct the draft.”
Why it works: The relevant employee terms change the answer.
Step 4: Repair the guidance path
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Correct the answer and repair the routing with its owner.
The strong move. This addresses the employee’s request and the recurring error.
Delete all policy sources to avoid contradictions.
Tempting, but it misses something. Managers still need reliable guidance.
Treat user satisfaction with the draft as proof of accuracy.
Tempting, but it misses something. The answer can sound useful while applying the wrong rule.
See how a strong candidate says it
“Record the applicable sources, correct the manager’s answer and flag similar drafts for review. Ask the content owner to fix country and version routing before trusting the next answer.”
Why it works: A single correction should also prevent the same source error for others.
The answer, in short
- Decision
- Use the applicable three-day agreement and correct the source routing.
- Because
- The archived UK guide did not apply, and the employee agreement changes the company benefit.
- What would change it
- A different applicable agreement, request type or approval outcome could change the arrangement.
Common traps
- Treating a citation as proof of applicability.
- Turning fictional company rules into legal claims.
Check your answer
- Did I check country and version?
- Did I follow the document hierarchy?
- Did I confirm the approval route?
- Did I repair the source error?
Last reviewed Nov 10, 2026