AOS 2: Human Resource Management Pt 2

Question 1

Termination

Answer 1

Termination is the process whereby a business ends its employment contract with an employee

Question 2

Retirement & FEATURE & transition consideration & entitlement considerations

Answer 2

Retirement involves an individual voluntarily deciding to leave the workforce permanently as they no longer wish to work.

FEATURE:
leaving work force permanently
meaning they are not seeking
employment for the remainder of their life

TRANSITION CONDERATION:
- gradually reducing their work hours to help them adjust to a change in their lifestyle

ENTITLEMENT CONDERATION:
- ensure that any accumulated annual or long service leave is paid out to the employee upon the termination of their contract

Question 3

Redundancy & FEATURE

Answer 3

Redundancy involves an employee no longer working for a business because there is insufficient work or their job no longer exists. This can be either voluntary or involuntary.

FEATURE: employees being made redundant are entitled to redundancy pay, which is financial compensation that correlates to the length of their service at the business

Question 4

Resignation

Answer 4

Resignation involves an employee voluntarily terminating their own employment, usually to take another job position elsewhere.

Question 5

Dismissal

Answer 5

Dismissal involves the involuntary termination of an employee who fails to meet required work standards or displays unacceptable or unlawful behaviour.

Question 6

Entitlement considerations

Answer 6

Entitlement considerations are legal obligations an employer owes to its employees following the termination of their employment contract.

Question 7

Annual/Long service leave

Answer 7

Any accumulated leave must be paid out to an employee upon the termination of their contract.

Question 8

Redundancy pay

Answer 8

Redundant employees are often entitled to financial compensation from the business for the termination of their employment.

Question 9

Notice of termination

Answer 9

There must be sufficient notice for any redundancies and dismissals to provide the employee with time to prepare for their loss of employment.

Question 10

Justifiable reasons for employment termination

Answer 10

An employer must provide valid reasons for the redundancy or dismissal of an employee for it to be considered lawful.
Redundancy valid reasons:
- store closure
- relocation overseas
- introduction of technology

Dismissal valid reasons:
- poor employee performance
- serious breach of contract

Question 11

Transition considerations

Answer 11

Transition considerations are social and ethical practices that a manager can consider implementing when terminating employment.

Question 12

Fair Work Act 2009

Answer 12

The Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) is one of the primary pieces of legislation that govern the employment relationship in most of Australia’s private workplaces. It is the foundation of all minimum standards and regulations for employment that fall within the national workplace system.

Question 13

Fair Work Commission & FEATURE

Answer 13

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) is Australia’s independent workplace relations tribunal that has a range of responsibilities outlined by the Fair Work Act.
FEATURE: The FWC creates and updates the National Employment Standards to protect employees’ wages and working conditions.

Question 14

Fair Work Ombudsman

Answer 14

provides advice regarding Australia’s national workplace relations system and investigates suspected breaches of the Fair Work Act.

Question 15

Ombudsman V Commission

Answer 15

The Fair Work Ombudsman educates employers and employees, and enforces compliance with the Fair Work legislation. The Fair Work Commission is the national workplace tribunal and also serves a role in setting the national minimum wage/s in modern world.

Question 16

The National Employment Standards

Answer 16

The minimum entitlements an employer owes its employees, which are set out by the Fair Work Act 2009

Question 17

Workplace Relations

Answer 17

workplace relations are the interactions that occur between employers and employees, or their representatives, within a business’ internal environment.

Question 18

Human resource managers & FEATURE

Answer 18

human resource managers are individuals who coordinate the relationship between employees and management within a business.
FEATURE: They are involved in recruiting, hiring, training, and terminating employees in order to ensure the business has the appropriate employees to meet its business objectives.

Question 19

Aspects of the role of human resource managers

Answer 19

• Hire candidates with the required qualities and skills to assist the business in achieving its objectives.
• Provide employees with appropriate training to maximise their performance.

Act as a mediating party:
* Facilitate communication between employees and management.

• Make sure that the minimum pay and working conditions,
  as outlined in the relevant industry award, are met and upheld by a business. (legal obligation)

Question 20

Employees

Answer 20

Employees are individuals who are hired by a business to complete work tasks and support the achievement of its objectives. An employee is responsible for contributing toward a business’s objectives by fulfilling their role in an efficient and safe manner.

Question 21

Aspects of the role of employees

Answer 21

• Have an awareness of their responsibilities within the workplace.
• Complete set tasks with the aim of positvely contributing to the achievement of business objectives.
• Follow employee requirements and expectations, such as working the appropriate number of hours each week and abiding by dress code regulations.

Question 22

Employer associations

Answer 22

Employer associations are advisory bodies that assist employers in understanding and upholding their legal business obligations. Employers can apply to become part of an association to improve their legal protection and gain assistance when negotiating their employees’ wages and conditions.

Question 23

Aspects of the role of employer associations

Answer 23

• Assist in creating policies that appropriately align with a business’s objectives.
• Represent employers when negotiating wages and conditions of employment under new agreements with employees through collective bargaining.

Question 24

Unions

Answer 24

Unions are organisations composed of individuals who represent and speak on behalf of employees in a particular industry to protect and improve their wages and working conditions.

FEATURES/ROLES:
1. ensure that employers are upholding their legal requirements related to wages, work, and safety conditions by investigating businesses and holding them accountable when required.
2. to push for improvements in wages and conditions of employment outlined in a business’s enterprise agreement by representing employees during collective bargaining

Question 25

Aspects of the role of unions

Answer 25

Represent employees and negotiate on behalf of members:
* Communicate the concerns and desires of employees to employers during collective bargaining, with the aim to protect and improve wages and conditions.

• Push for improvements in wages and conditions outlined in a business’s enterprise agreement.
• Respond to any concerns or issues raised by employees related to their wages and work conditions.
• Ensure that employers are upholding their legal requirements related to wages, entitlements, safety, and work conditions.

Question 26

Fair Work Commission & FEATURE

Answer 26

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) is Australia’s independent workplace relations tribunal that has a range of responsibilities outlined by the Fair Work Act.
FEATURE: The FWC creates and updates the National Employment Standards to protect employees’ wages and working conditions.

Question 27

Aspects of the role of the Fair Work Commission

Answer 27

Set national minimum working standards:
* The FWC sets 11 NES that all employers must comply with or exceed. They also revise and update National Employment Standards (NES) to protect the wages and working conditions of employees.

Establish awards:
* Determine minimum pay and working conditions for particular industries.

Approve and monitor enterprise agreements
* Ensure both employers and employees have genuinely agreed to the terms and conditions of agreements.

Act as an arbitrator
* Make a legally binding decision during arbitration after hearing arguments from both parties of a dispute.

Question 28

Explain the role of the Fair Work Commission (3)

Answer 28

Fair Work Commission is Australia’s independent national workplace relations tribunal. Their role is that they are responsible for; dealing with unfair dismissal claims, setting the national minimum wage and minimum wages in modern awards, creating awards for different industries, and setting the 11 national employment standards. They also approve enterprise bargaining agreements and facilitate good faith bargaining between employers and employees. The Fair Work Commission are also involved during arbitration, where they make a legally binding decision on new wages and working conditions that employees and a business must follow.

Question 29

Awards

PROS/CONS

Answer 29

Awards (industry award) are legal documents that outline the minimum wages and conditions of work for employees across an entire industry.

PROS:
1. Awards establish the minimum wages for employees and can be cost-effective, allowing a business to minimise its labour costs whilst remaining compliant with the law

2. Industrial disputes within individual businesses can be reduced (can cover an entire industry and localised disputes are not as prominent.

CONS:
1. Employees may leave the business to find employment with a higher pay rate than their current award, causing an increase in staff turnover
2. Employees may be unsatisfied by only receiving the minimum wages and conditions.

Question 30

Agreements

PROS/CONS

Answer 30

Agreements (enterprise agreements) are legal documents that outline the wages and conditions of work for employees and are applicable to a particular business or group of businesses.

PROS:
1. Businesses have greater flexibility when setting wages and conditions, allowing the business to better meet employee needs and objectives
2. A business may attract highly skilled and talented employees if it is paying wages that are above the industry average.

CONS:
1. Inequality in wages and conditions may increase, as employees of a certain business may be receiving less than employees at a similar business that is operating under a different agreement
2. It can be a time-consuming process for employees and employers to negotiate and establish the entitlements contained in an agreement.

Question 30

BOOT (Better Off Overall Test)

Answer 30

The BOOT is a review of an enterprise agreement conducted by the FWC to determine whether the terms of the said agreement are more or less beneficial for an employee, compared to the terms in the relevant award

Question 30

Dispute resolution process

Answer 30

A dispute resolution process is a series of steps that disputing parties follow in order to resolve a disagreement and reach a resolution. The Fair Work Regulations 2009 outline the steps that a business must take when resolving a dispute relating to workplace agreements or National Employment Standards.

Question 30

Steps for the dispute resolution process

Answer 30

1. IDENTIFY = employee/s (or representative) meet with management to outline and discuss the problem, seeking a negotiated outcome
2. PRESENT & DISCUSS = if a resolution is not possible, the matter is referred to senior management. Typically a human resource manager will become involved in the negotiations.
3. MEDIATION = the dispute is referred to an independent body for mediation (including the FWC)
4. CONCILIATION = If mediation fails, the matter is referred to the FWC for conciliation
5. ARBITRATE = If conciliation fails, the matter is arbitrated by the FWC. A legally binding decision is then made

Question 30

Dispute

Answer 30

A dispute is a conflict between workplace participants as a result of a disagreement.

Workplace disputes are commonly related to employee wages and working conditions, safety, and business policies. If a dispute is unable to be resolved in the workplace, a business will need to involve an independent third party, such as the Fair Work Commission.

Question 31

Mediation

PROS/CONS

Answer 31

Mediation is where an independent third party helps the parties talk about the issues and arrive at their own agreement. The process of mediation would occur when the business of the disputing parties have been unable to resolve the dispute themselves, or with the help of senior managers.

PROS:
1. When parties reach decisions together, it promotes positive working relationships for the future
2. It is less expensive than more formal dispute resolution processes as it usually occurs in an informal setting.

CONS:
1. Mediation does not always result in a legally binding decision meaning parties could go back on their agreement in the future
2. If a final decision is not reached, the process can be a waste of time.

1. would occur if it cant be solved themselves
2. an independent third party (mediator) gets involved encouraging a collective agreement to be made
3. is not a legally binding decision
   –> an agreement not always reached and either of the disputing parties can go back on the resolution

Question 32

Arbitration

PROS/CONS

Answer 32

Arbitration is when an independent third party listens to both sides of a dispute and then makes a decision, based on the arguments, that is legally binding on both parties. This is considered the last resort of any dispute resolution as it results in a legally binding decision, occuring in a court-like setting.

PROS:
1. It guarantees that a final decision is made by a third party, enabling a business to move forward from a dispute
2. The final decision is legally binding, which prevents the occurrence of the same dispute between the two parties.

CONS:
1. This process may harm future workplace relations if one of the disputing parties involved is unhappy with the final decision
2. The process of hearing both sides of the dispute in an external, court- like setting is time-consuming for both parties.