Human Resources Flashcards
Define human resource management
The management of the total relationship between an employer and an employee.
What are the advantages of outsourcing the HR function?
- Cost savings on recruitment and training
- Access to specialised expertise
- Improved compliance with regulations
- Increased efficiency and productivity
- Scalability and flexibility in HR functions
What are the disadvantages of outsourcing the HR function?
- Loss of control over HR function
- Potential confidentiality risks
- Cultural misalignment with organisational values
- Communication challenges with outsourced providers
- Dependancy on external vendors
Define contractor
An external provider of services to a business. It may be an individual or a business.
What are the advantages of domestic contractors?
- Allows firms to focus their resources on essential business activities, leaving some of the detailed support or compliance related activities to experts.
- Fresh ideas and perspectives such as leadership development.
What are the types of global contractors?
Process outsourcing
Project outsourcing
What is process outsourcing?
Outsourcing of repetitive, easily measured and documented work.
What are some examples of process outsourcing?
Recruitment, Payroll, customer complaints
What are some examples of project outsourcing?
HR, research, IT
What are the advantages of global contracting?
- Reduce costs
- First step towards operating in a new market
- Expand capacity/flexibility
- Access new networks
- Access experts
What are disadvantages of global contracting?
- Difficult to control the quality and reliability of the service
- Cultural differences
- Security issues
- Lack of remedies for breach of contract or other legal matters under foreign legal systems.
- High labour turnover (call centres)
- Decline in quality (replacing high quality staff)
Define stakeholders
Any individual or group that has a common interest in or is affected by the actions of an organisation.
What are the stakeholders that influence HR?
Employers
Employees
Employer associations
Unions
Government organisations
Society
What are employer associations?
An organisation that represents and assists employer groups. They are usually respondents to the awards covering the employees of their members, and covering employers in the same or related industry.
Define unions
An organisation formed by employees in an industry, trade or occupation to represent them in efforts to improve wages and working conditions of their members.
Define employment contract
A legally binding, formal agreement between employer and employee.
Define common law
Law developed by courts and tribunals.
Define equity
The provision of equal opportunities for all employees to gain access to jobs, training and career paths.
What is on the minimum employment standards?
- Maximum weekly hours of work
- Requests for flexible working arrangements
- Parental leave and related entitlements
- Annual leave
- Personal/carer’s leave and compassionate leave
- Community service leave
- Long service leave
- Public holidays
- Notice of termination and redundancy pay
- Provision of a Fair Work Information statement
What is the current minimum wage rate?
$24.10 per hour
Define award
The legally enforceable minimum terms and conditions hat apply to a business of industry.
Define individual flexibility agreements
Allow an employer and an employee to come to an agreement that varies the modern award or enterprise agreement to address their individual circumstances.
Define enterprise agreement
A collective agreement made at a workplace level between an employer and group of employees about terms and conditions of employment.
What are the 3 types of enterprise agreements?
single enterprise agreements
multi enterprise agreements
Greenfields agreements
What is the better off overall test?
Requires that each of the employees to be covered by the agreement is better off overall than under the relevant modern award.
What is an individual contract?
When an employer and an individual employee covering pay and conditions.
What are the other employment contracts?
Individual common law employment contracts
Independent contractors
Contracts for casual work
Part time contracts
Define independent contractor
Often known as a consultant or freelancer, independent contractors undertake work for others; however they do not have the same legal status as employees.
What is a casual employee?
An employee in an employment that is short term, irregular and uncertain; they are not entitled to paid holiday or sick leave.
What is workers’ compensation?
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.
Define discrimination
When a policy or practice disadvantages a person or group of people because of a personal characteristic that is irrelevant to the performance of work.
Define grievance officer
A person within an organisation who is trained to conduct a formal investigation when a person has made a complaint about a workplace issue.
Define equal employment opportunity
Refers to equitable policies and practices in recruitment, selection, training and promotion.
Define affirmative action
Measures taken to eliminate direct and indirect discrimination, and for implementing positive steps to overcome the current and historical causes of lack of qual employment opportunity.
