Unit 4 A.O.S. 1C

Question 1

What relationship does employee relations have to business objectives and strategies?

Answer 1

Look at the question what role does employee relations have in an organisation and achieving its overall objectives?
If an organisation can manage their employee relations well, it can assist them in achieving their objectives. Positive employee relations can result in a number of things including:
- improved relationships.
Between the manager and the employee or the organisation and employee.

• improved work life balance.
• improved productivity.
• increased wages.
• higher morale.
• lower staff turnover and absenteeism.
  The majority of these things all relate to an increased chance to achieve business objectives.

Question 2

Who represents employers and employees in employee relations matters?

Answer 2

Union:
Represents employees in employee relations matters.
With human resource managers and others employers essentially represent themselves.

Question 3

Explain the centralised employee relations system.

Answer 3

A centralised system is defined as a system in which the government and their tribunals set the wages and working conditions for entire industries. The government body would go through either CONCILIATION OR ARBITRATION to figure out what the wages and working conditions should be in a particular industry the agreement that these tribunals would come to was called an AWARD and covered an entire industry.

Question 4

What are some advantages and disadvantages of the centralised employee relations system?

Answer 4

ADVANTAGES:
- Equality for workers.
- Government has greater control over wages which helps in the management of the economy.
- Stability and predictability as same rules are applied to all organisations in an industry.
DISADVANTAGES:
-less flexibility.
- productivity gains at individual workplaces cannot be rewarded with better conditions.
- large industrials disputes can occur as an entire industry is fighting for better pay and conditions.

Question 5

Define the decentralised employee relations system and enterprise bargaining agreements.

Answer 5

A decentralised employee relations system is where the wages and conditions are negotiated at workplace level (at their actual workplace) through enterprise bargaining and individual contracts. Enterprise bargaining is where the employer and employees are able to negotiate their wages and conditions these agreements are called enterprise bargaining agreements. Individual contracts are negotiated 1 on 1 between the individual employee and employer.

Question 6

What roles do awards play in the decentralised employee relations system?

Answer 6

Awards that exist from the centralised system still exist in the decentralised system. However they are used as a safety net for employees within a particular industry. The enterprise bargaining agreement is negotiated above the award and cannot undercut the award. Some organisations still use the award as their main agreement but the majority use EBA’s.

Question 7

What are some advantages and disadvantages of the decentralised system?

Answer 7

Advantages of the decentralised system:
- increased flexibility.
- enhanced communication between employer and employees.
- productivity gains can be rewarded.
DISADVANTAGES:
- greater inequality of wages between skilled and unskilled
- government has less control over wages and economy.
- disputes may last longer.

Question 8

What are some similarities and differences between the two employee relations systems?

Answer 8

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE TWO SYSTEMS:
- both systems relate to how wages and conditions of employment are determined.
- both systems use awards.
Centralised as the main agreement, and decentralised as the safety net for EBA’s.
- the government body (fair work commission) can still be involved in conciliation and arbitration.

DIFFERENCES:

• how award are used.
• flexibility
• if increased productivity can be rewarded with increased wages or not.

Question 9

What are the agreements in a decentralised system?

Answer 9

AGREEMENTS IN A DECENTRALISED APPROACH:
the current agreements that exist in a decentralised approach include:
- awards.
- collective agreements.
- individual contracts.

Question 10

What is an award?

Answer 10

Awards are defined as the agreement that tribunals have come to through either conciliation or arbitration on the set wages and working conditions for entire industries. Awards were created in the centralised employee relations system (between 1904 and 1999) and were the main agreement between organisation and employer in the centralised system. Awards still exist today in the decentralised system but are used as a safety net for enterprise bargaining agreements as opposed to the main agreement in a centralised system.

Question 11

What is a collective agreement?

Answer 11

COLLECTIVE AGREEMENTS:
Are a contract between an employer and employees.
- both the employee and employer have representatives.
- collective agreements cannot go below the award for that industry.
- Collective agreements cannot go below the Award for that industry.
- they normally last three years and must include an expiry date as well as a procedure for dispute an resolution.
- the agreement should be amicable and negotiated in good faith.
- Once both parties have agreed it I then sent to the fair work commission for approval.

Question 12

What is an individual agreement?

Answer 12

INDIVIDUAL AGREEMENTS:
Are common law contracts and are not overseen by the fair work commission.
They are common among high salary earners and are enforced in the same way as a normal common law contract.
Disputes are handled through the courts.

Question 13

What role do the national employment standards play in employee relations?

Answer 13

The national employee my standards are a set of 10 minimum employment entitlements. These entitlements must be provided to all employees. An award or enterprise agreement cannot provide conditions that are less than the NES.

Question 14

What is the role of the human resource manager under a decentralised employee relations system?

Answer 14

THE ROLE OF A HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGER UNDER A DECENTRALISED APPROACH:
In a decentralised approach, agreements are settled through enterprise bargaining.
This has resulted in the HRM having a much larger role in employee relations.
Having positive employee relations is crucial to maintaining strong relationships and achieving objectives,
The role of the HRM includes:
Negotiating employment agreements.
Implementing agreements.
Resolving disputes.

Question 15

What is the Human resource managers role in negotiating agreements?

Answer 15

When a new agreement needs to be created, the HRM will represent the employer in these negotiations.
It is important to bargain in good faith to ensure relationships are maintains.
The HRM needs to consider the needs if the employees but also needs to consider the financial position of the organisation:

Question 16

What is the human resource managers role in implementing agreements?

Answer 16

Once an agreement has been approved it is up to the HRM to implement it by a certain due date.
Planning and organising are important here.
Employees need to receive all pay increases by a certain date. Managers an supervisors need to be notified of changes to conditions and may even need to be trained on any new processes that are to be implemented.

Question 17

Define dispute resolution.

Answer 17

Conflict refers to dispute, disagreements or dissatisfaction between individuals or groups. Conflicts in the workplace most often refers to a dispute between the employer and employee.

Question 18

What management styles are best in employee relations?

Answer 18

The consultative management style involves managers receiving input from employees through two way communication before eventually making decisions. To meet both the needs of the employer and employee two way communication must be available. A consultative on participative style allows for this.
In a skills question I must state one or two way communication, who has authority and who has input.

Question 19

What management skills are crucial in negotiating an agreement?

Answer 19

Communication is the ability to transfer information from the sender to the receiver an I listen to feedback. Two way communication allows for input from both the sender and receiver.
Negotiation is the process of two or more parties reaching an amicable agreement through discussion as compromise. Aim is to have amicable outcomes to maintain strong relationships.

Question 20

What management skills are crucial in implementing an agreement?

Answer 20

Communication is the ability to transfer information from the sender to the receiver an I listen to feedback. Two way communication allows for input from both the sender and receiver.
Delegation is the process of handing over authority from manager to employee. Manager gives guidelines to the employee before they carry out the task.

Question 21

Name some causes of conflict.

Answer 21

The number one cause of conflict are disputes relating to the negotiation of enterprise bargaining agreements and the working conditions and wage involved in such. Other causes include job security and the issues surrounding retrenchment as well as policy issues to do with discrimination.

Question 22

What forms of industrial action exist?

Answer 22

Strike:
Employees withdraw themselves from work for a period of time in pursuit of improve,nets in employment conditions.
Picket Line:
Protests outside the workplace. Often workers will try to stop suppliers or other employees from entering the workplace.
Lockout:
A lockout 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.
The above is protected industrial action, but unprotected industrial action also exists.

Question 23

What are some methods for resolving conflict?

Answer 23

Methods for resolving conflict:
When a dispute arise it is important it is resolved quickly. Methods for this are:
- Grievance procedure:
A formal process where an employer can resolve matters relating to complaints about wages, conditions and disciplinary action.
- Conciliation: formal method where a third party is actively involved in facilitating the negotiation. The third party is more involved in making suggestions.
The conciliatory job to help the parties reach an agreement.
- Arbitration:
Where both parties put their case to a judge who makes a decision.

Question 24

What are employee relations? Name some activities involved.

Answer 24

Employee relations refers to the interaction between the employer an employees ( and/or their representatives) in regards to wages and working conditions. They are two employee relations systems which are decentralised and centralised and activities involved in employee relations include negotiating agreements, the implementation of agreements and dispute resolution.

Question 25

Discuss how protected and unprotected industrial action work.

Answer 25

In order to undertake protected industrial action employees must lodge a claim to the fair work commission. When this claim is approved workers can then continue with industrial action. If this claim is not approved any industrial action taken is classified as unprotected and consequences such as dismissal can occur.

Question 26

Define the four conflict resolution methods.

Answer 26

If an issue cannot be negotiated upon it moves down the list to mediation, conciliation and then arbitration.
Mediation is defined as discussions of issues in the presence of an unbiased third party. Mediation is the first step in conflict resolution.
Conciliation involves an unbiased third party participating in the resolution of dispute by resolving differences through discussion. The final decision is still made between the two disputing parties.
Arbitration involves a judge or panel hearing from both disputing parties in a formal setting and determine the outcome of the dispute. The final decision is made by the judge and is binding by law.