Chapter 6 - The human resource management function - employee relations

Question 1

Employee relations

Answer 1

refers to the total interaction that occurs between an employer (and their representatives) and the employee (and their representatives) in regard to the establishment of conditions of employment.

Question 2

Employer

Answer 2

An employer, for legal purposes: exercises control over employees, has responsibility for payment go wages, holds the power to dismiss employees.

Question 3

Employee

Answer 3

An employee is a worker under an employer’s control. Control may involve: the location of the workplace, the way in which the work is performed, the degree of supervision involved. These criteria are critical in determining legal disputes over the employment contract.

Question 4

Trade unions

Answer 4

are organisations formed by employees in an industry, trade or occupation to represent them in efforts to improve wages and the working conditions of their members.

Question 5

Employer associations

Answer 5

are organisations that represent and assist employer groups.

Question 6

Log of claim

Answer 6

is a list of demands made by workers (often through their union) against their employers. These demands cover specific wages and conditions. Employers may also serve a counter-log of claims on the union.

Question 7

Peak union body

Answer 7

a peak organisation or peak body is an Australian term for an advocacy group (union) or trade association, an association of industries or groups with allied interests.

Question 8

Peak employer body

Answer 8

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Question 9

Award

Answer 9

is a legally binding agreement that sets out minimum wages and conditions for a group of employees.

Question 10

Collective bargaining

Answer 10

involves determining the terms and conditions of employment through direct negotiation between unions and employers.

Question 11

Wage indexation

Answer 11

is a process whereby wage increases are given by a tribunal in national wage cases, in line with increases in the cost of living (prices).

Question 12

Enterprise bargaining

Answer 12

is the process of directly negotiating wages and employment conditions between employers and employees at the enterprise level.

Question 13

Centralised system

Answer 13

a centralised system of employee relations is one in which central tribunals decide the wages and employment conditions of all employees.

Question 14

Decentralised system

Answer 14

A decentralised system is one in which direct negotiations occur between an individual employer and either individual employees, groups of employees or the representatives of those employees.

Question 15

Conciliation

Answer 15

occurs when a third party participates in the resolution of a dispute and attempts to help resolve the differences through discussion.

Question 16

Arbitration

Answer 16

occurs when a ‘judge’ (such as a commissioner the Fair Work Commission) or a panel of ‘judges’ hear both arguments in a dispute in a more formal court-like setting and determines the outcome.

Question 17

Collective/enterprise agreement

Answer 17

is a negotiated agreement between an employer and a union or a group of employees.

Question 18

Common law individual (employment) contract

Answer 18

covers those employees who are not under any Award or collective/enterprise agreements.

Question 19

Conflict

Answer 19

refers to disputes, disagreements or dissatisfaction between individuals and/or groups.

Question 20

Strike

Answer 20

occurs when employees withdraw their labour for a period of time in pursuit of improvements in their employment conditions.

Question 21

Lockout

Answer 21

occurs when employers close the workplace for a period of time as a means of applying pressure to employees during a period of industrial conflict.

Question 22

Green Bans

Answer 22

are bans imposed by trade unions on any development that is considered harmful to the environment or an area of historical significance.

Question 23

Protected industrial action

Answer 23

refers to action taken by either party to a dispute that has been approved by the Fair Work Commission.

Question 24

Unprotected industrial action

Answer 24

refers to action that has not been approved by the Fair Work Commission.

Question 25

Negotiation

Answer 25

is a method of resolving disputes whereby discussions between the parties results in a compromise and a formal or informal agreements about a dispute.

Question 26

Mediation

Answer 26

is the confidential discussion of issues in a non-threatening environment, in the presence of a neutral, objective third party. Many organisations now specify mediation as a first step in their dispute resolution or grievance procedures.

Question 27

Grievance procedure

Answer 27

provides an orderly system whereby the employee and employer can resolve matters relating to complaints about wages, hours, working conditions or disciplinary actions.