Dictionary HR

Question 1

Human Resource Management

Answer 1

The management of the total relationship between an employer and employee

Question 2

Employer

Answer 2

For legal purposes; exercises control over employees, has responsibility for the payment of wages and holds the power to dismiss employees

Question 3

Employee

Answer 3

Is a worker under an employer’s control. Control may involve the location of the workplace, the way in which the work is performed and the degree of supervision involved

Question 4

Outsourcing

Answer 4

Involves the use of third-party specialist businesses, for example, recruitment firms. It aims to take advantage of specialist skills provided by them and to achieve a reduction in labour costs

Question 5

Employer Associations

Answer 5

Are organisations that represent and assist employer groups. They are usually respondents to awards covering the employees of their members, and covering employers in the same or related industry

Question 6

Log of Claims

Answer 6

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

Trade Unions

Answer 7

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 8

Statutes

Answer 8

Laws made by federal and state parliaments; for example laws relating to employment conditions

Question 9

Constitutional Corporation

Answer 9

Is one that falls under section 51(xx) of the Constitution of Australia – identified as foreign corporations and trading or financial corporations formed within the limits of the Commonwealth

Question 10

Awards

Answer 10

Legally enforceable, formal agreements made collectively between employers and employees and their representatives at the industry level. They are determined by an industrial court or tribunal and set out minimum wages and conditions of employees. They are the minimum terms and conditions that apply to a business or industry.

Question 11

Judicial Power

Answer 11

Refers to the power of courts to interpret and apply laws

Question 12

Centralised industrial relations system

Answer 12

Is a collectivist approach in which disputes are referred to industrial tribunals, such as the Fair Work Commission, for conciliation and arbitration

Question 13

Decentralised industrial relations system

Answer 13

Employers and employees negotiate wages and working conditions in the individual workplace, through collective or individual bargaining and without the involvement of tribunals

Question 14

Employment contract

Answer 14

Is a legally binding, formal agreement between employer and employee

Question 15

Common Law

Answer 15

Developed by courts and tribunals

Question 16

Individual Flexibility Arrangements (IFA)

Answer 16

Allow and employer and an employee to come to an agreement that varies the modern award or enterprise agreement to address their individual circumstances

Question 17

Enterprise agreements

Answer 17

Are collective agreements made at a workplace level between an employer and a group of employees about terms and conditions of employment

Question 18

Collective agreements

Answer 18

Are made between a group of employees (or one or more unions representing employees) and an employer or group of employers

Question 19

Better off Overall test (BOOT)

Answer 19

Requires that each of the employees to be covered by the agreement is better off overall than under the relevant modern award

Question 20

Individual Contracts

Answer 20

Exist when an employer and an individual employee negotiate a contract covering pay and conditions

Question 21

Independent Contractors

Answer 21

(Often known as consultants or freelancers) undertake work for others; however, they do not have the same legal status as an employee

Question 22

On-Costs

Answer 22

Are additional costs involved in hiring an employee, above the costs of their wages. These costs traditionally add around 25% of the cost of the wage and include sick leave, holiday leave, leave loading, superannuation, retirement and redundancy payments, and other costs

Question 23

Workers Compensation

Answer 23

Provides a range of benefits to an employee suffering from an injury or disease related to their work. It is also provided to families of injured employees when the injury/disease was caused by, or related to, their work

Question 24

Participation Rate

Answer 24

Refers to the percentage of a given group of individuals of working age who are employed or actively seeking work

Question 25

Acquisition

Answer 25

The process of attracting and recruiting the right staff for roles in a business

Question 26

Development

Answer 26

Is the process of developing and improving the skills, abilities and knowledge of staff through induction, ongoing training and further professional development

Question 27

Maintenance

Answer 27

Is the process of managing the needs of staff for health and safety, industrial relations and legal responsibilities, including compensation and benefits, of all staff

Question 28

Separation

Answer 28

Is the process of leaving voluntarily, or through dismissal or retrenchment processes

Question 29

Placement

Answer 29

Involves locating the employee in a position that best utilises the skills of the individual to meet the needs of the business

Question 30

Job Enlargement

Answer 30

Involves increasing the breadth of tasks in a job

Question 31

Job Rotation

Answer 31

Involves moving staff from one tasks to another over a period of time in order to multi-skill employees

Question 32

Job Enrichment

Answer 32

Involves increasing the responsibilities of a staff member

Question 33

Job Sharing

Answer 33

Occurs when two people share the same job

Question 34

Performance Appraisal

Answer 34

Is a process of assessing the performance of an employee, generally against a set of criteria or standards

Question 35

Fringe Benefits Tax

Answer 35

Is a tax employers must pay on certain benefits they provide to their employees or their employees’ associates, such as family member. It is based on the taxable value of the various fringe benefits provided.

Question 36

Employee Poaching

Answer 36

Is the practice of enticing employees to work for another business

Question 37

Monetary Rewards

Answer 37

Those reflected in pay or having financial value

Question 38

Non-monetary Rewards

Answer 38

Are those that do not have financial value, such as social activities or retirement planning

Question 39

Remuneration

Answer 39

Refers to both the financial (eg. Pay) and non-financial (eg. Career security) benefits that employees receive in return for their work effort

Question 40

Gain-Sharing Plan

Answer 40

Involves the benefits of improvement and success such as productivity improvements, cost savings and sales and profit increased being reflected in rewards for teams, such as shares, cash bonuses or annual bonuses

Question 41

Performance Pay

Answer 41

Refers to remuneration that is based on distributing rewards according to individual employee performance

Question 42

Subsidiary

Answer 42

Is a company that is owned by another company (referred to as the parent) and it is often located in another country

Question 43

Temporary Skills Shortage Visa

Answer 43

Enables employers to address labour shortages by bringing in genuinely skilled workers where they cannot source an appropriately skilled Australian. It facilitates targeted use of overseas workers to address temporary skill shortages, while ensuring that Australian workers get priority

Question 44

Pickets

Answer 44

Are protests that take place outside the workplace, generally associated with a strike. Unionists stop the delivery of goods and try to stop the entry of non-union labour into the workplace.

Question 45

Mediation

Answer 45

Is the confidential discussion of issues in a non-threatening environment, in the presence of a neutral, objective third party

Question 46

Grievance Procedures

Answer 46

Are formal procedures, generally written into an award or agreement, that state agreed processes to resolve disputes in the workplace

Question 47

Orders

Answer 47

Are decisions that require employees or employers to carry out a direction from the tribunal. They may be inserted in awards or agreements

Question 48

Benchmarking

Answer 48

Is a process in which indicators are used to compare business performance between internal sections of a business or between businesses

Question 49

Informal Benchmarking

Answer 49

Includes any strategies such as networking through informal discussions with colleagues in other businesses, undertaking visits to other businesses, researching best practice online and attending conferences

Question 50

Performance Benchmarking

Answer 50

Involves comparing the performance levels of a process/activity with other businesses

Question 51

Best Practice Benchmarking

Answer 51

Involves comparing performance levels with those of another best practice business in specific areas using a structured process to gain skills and knowledge to modify organisational processes

Question 52

Balanced Scorecard Benchmarking

Answer 52

Is used for measuring whether the activities of a business are meeting its objectives established in the strategic plan. It benchmarks key performance variables with targets aligned with the strategic plan.