Unit 4 SAC 1B

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 of 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

organisations formed by employees and members in an industry to represent them in efforts to improve their wages and the working conditions

Question 5

Employer associations

Answer 5

organisations that represent and assist employer groups.

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

Award

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Collective bargaining

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Wage indexation

Answer 9

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 10

Enterprise bargaining

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Conciliation

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Arbitration

Answer 12

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

Question 13

collective/enterprise agreement

Answer 13

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

Question 14

common law individual (employment) contract

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Conflict

Answer 15

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

Question 16

strike

Answer 16

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

Question 17

lockout

Answer 17

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 18

Green Bans

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Protected industrial action

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Unprotected industrial action

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Negotiation

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Mediation

Answer 22

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 23

grievance procedure

Answer 23

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

Question 24

Hierarchy of needs

Answer 24

is Maslow’s sequence of human needs in the order of their importance.

Question 25

Motivation−hygiene theory

Answer 25

is the idea that satisfaction and dissatisfaction are caused by separate sets of factors