GPT-5.6 Terra vs Grok 4.5 for HR and employment questions

The verdict

GPT-5.6 Terra wins, 9188

Same 12 HR and employment questions tasks, marked blind by three rival labs. GPT-5.6 Terra took 6 tasks, Grok 4.5 took 2, 4 tied. Tested 27 Aug 2026.

Where they differed most

The task — Probation is not a free pass

Guidance excerpt: 'A probationary period is a contractual arrangement, not a legal status. Employees and workers have some rights from the first day of employment, including protection from discrimination and the right to statutory minimum notice once they have been employed for the qualifying period set out in law. Ending employment during probation should still follow a fair and consistent process: the concerns should have been raised, the employee should have had a chance to respond, and the contract's own probation terms — including any right of appeal — should be followed. Take advice before dismissing where any discrimination or whistleblowing issue may be involved.' The situation: a manager says 'she's four months into a six-month probation and she's just not clicking with the team. Let's tell her tomorrow and be done with it. Probation means we can, right?' She raised a concern six weeks ago about a colleague's comments on her accent, which was never investigated. Answer using only the excerpt above — marked against that excerpt, not against unstated law. Tell the manager plainly what is wrong with the plan, what the process should look like, and name the specific fact here that makes this a take-advice-now moment. Do not state any qualifying period, notice length or time limit as a number.

No. Probation does not mean you can simply tell her tomorrow and “be done with it.” It is a contractual arrangement, not a legal status, and she has rights from the first day of employment.

Before ending employment, follow a fair and consistent process:

- Set out the concerns about her performance or fit with the team clearly.
- Ensure those concerns have been raised with her already, rather than presenting them for the first time at dismissal.
- Give her a genuine chance to respond.
- Follow the probation provisions in her contract, includin…
**What's wrong with the plan**

Probation is a contractual arrangement, not a legal status that lets you end employment on the spot. The idea that “probation means we can” just tell her tomorrow and be done with it is incorrect. Employees have some rights from the first day, including protection from discrimination. Ending employment during probation must still follow a fair and consistent process.

**What the process should look like**

- The concerns (not clicking with the team) should have been raised.  
- She should have had a chance to res…

Task by task

TaskGPT-5.6 TerraGrok 4.5
Probation is not a free pass810
Write only the message1010
The grievance about the manager88
The decision was made in the car109
Ask everyone or ask nobody99
The off-the-record phone call88
Write only the invitation letter98
Precedent is not a reason109
Write only the file note108
The number you must not supply810
The screenshotted group chat98
Refuse the engineered redundancy109

Full receipts: GPT-5.6 Terra, Grok 4.5 · judges claude-sonnet-5, gemini-3.1-pro-preview, grok-4.5

Questions people ask

Which is better for HR and employment questions: GPT-5.6 Terra or Grok 4.5?

GPT-5.6 Terra — it scored 91/100 against 88/100 on our 12-task HR and employment questions suite, winning 6 tasks to 2 with 4 tied. Every answer was marked blind by three judges from three rival AI labs.

How was this tested?

Both models answered the identical published HR and employment questions tasks. Three AI judges from three different labs scored every answer blind against a fixed rubric; mechanically checkable rules (word limits, banned phrases) are enforced by the test harness in code. The raw outputs and judge verdicts are downloadable.

More HR and employment questions head-to-heads: GPT-5.6 Luna vs GPT-5.6 Terra · GPT-5.6 Luna vs Grok 4.5 · Claude Sonnet 5 vs GPT-5.6 Terra · Claude Sonnet 5 vs Grok 4.5 · GPT-5.5 vs GPT-5.6 Terra · GPT-5.5 vs Grok 4.5

Full ranking: Best AI for HR and employment questions · model pages: GPT-5.6 Terra, Grok 4.5