HR

awards

legally binding documents containing minimum terms and conditions of employment for an industry or occupation. Cover the 10 minimum standards. Adjusted for increases awarded in annual National Wage Cases (heard by FWA). Cover a large proportion of employees in lower skilled occupational groups. Award breaches may be reported by employees to FWA through Fair Work Ombudsman, or a union. FWA inspectors investigate workplace complaints/provide assistance resolving them. Union official has right to enter premises to investigate a complaint if they hold a valid right of entry permit issued by FWA.

the employment contract

legally binding, formal agreement between an employer and employee. Every employee has a contract with an employer. Written contract = more protection. Features: hours, supervision, duties, location, bonuses overtime, salary/wages, superannuation, leave.

unions:

organisations formed by employees in an industry, trade or occupation to represent then in efforts to improve wages and the working conditions of their members. Membership dramatically fallen (poor image in media, growth of causal sector, dependent on tribunal system).

human resource functions:

outsourcing rapidly growing. focus on core, expert assistance with planning for staff growth/development.

Dispute Resolution

parties need to act in good faith when attempting to resolve to disputes.

employees

pay, working conditions, meaningful work, job security, participation.

indicators

reflect HR management

employer associations:

represent employer groups. Provide advice on awards, unfair dismissals, discrimination, negotiate agreements, lobby governments with interests of employers/industries.

Corporate Culture:

values/expectations/beliefs. In a positive corporate culture - employees are an asset - without dedicated, trained and motivated employees, goals are unlikely to be achieved. Indicators of a poor culture are high levels of turnover, absenteeism, accidents and levels of disputation and high levels of complaints. Possible to outsource a human resource audit to understand the businesses culture. Audit: using outside consultant to finds problems/offers solutions.

Monetary and non-monetary rewards

well-planned reward system attracts, motivates and retains staff. INTRINSIC - Monetary rewards: financial value - wages/salary, commissions, incentives (bonuses, group profit sharing). Non-monetary rewards: no financial value e.g. social activities or retirement planning, fringe benefits - insurance, holidays, car, flexible work schedules, Medicare costs. EXTRINSIC - interesting work, challenges, promotion, recognition, social activities, praise, good relationships with co-workers.

Autocratic

- classical/scientific theorists. No employee involvement and instructions/orders are given by the employer/manager. De-motivates. Defence forces or if employees don't understand the work processes or have a recalcitrant attitude.

Benefits and costs of workplace disputes:

Benefits (longer term, after resolution) - more harmonious workplace that should increase productivity, increase output, increase profit and decrease future disputes. Costs (shorter term, during dispute) - decrease output, decrease profit, increase costs e.g. legal advice and decrease staff morale.

Social Changes

Changing work patterns: increased casual and part time, career flexibility - requesting flexible conditions to balance work and life e.g. school holiday leave/working from home. More workers change jobs and careers = increased recruitment and training costs. Increased female participation = more flexible work practices such as carer's leave. Ageing population = skill shortages as there is less young workers. Living standards: Australians have one of the highest living standards including WH&S, regular wage increases, performance bonuses, fringe benefits, leave and superannuation benefits. Companies who seek to undercut conditions through excessive outsourcing and casualisation of the workforce, or by shifting production or operations offshore to reduce costs and increase profits, will be challenged by unions keen to avoid erosion of our living standards.

economic

Demand for labour derived from demand for goods and services. If the economy is experiencing sustained economic growth unemployment tends to be low - employees may ask for wage increases. When unemployment is high = do not need increased wages (people willing to work for same wage). Structural change occurring in the economy has led to a rapid employment growth in the services sector (86% of total employment). Employment is growing in property, business, retailing, trades, tourism, and educational services. As each sector grows, recruitment, selection and remuneration become important industrial issues. Ageing population = flexible staffing arrangements and mentoring important. In manufacturing, removal of protective tariffs has increased business exposure to international competition. The subsequent fall in employment in manufacturing has been hastened by rapid technological change. Globalisation - increased competition = increase their efficiency and decreasing costs. Many businesses restructure, outsource non-core functions and some have even relocated production e.g. Qantas moving its maintenance facilities in Asia = minimise labour costs and regulations. Training in managing multiculturalism has increased.

anti-discrimination:

Discrimination - policy or a practice disadvantages a person/group because of a personal characteristic that is irrelevant to the performance of the work. It includes harassment and vilification. Anti-discrimination legislation protects employees from discrimination in all stages of the human resource cycle. Strategies to eliminate discrimination: committing to a workplace free from discrimination, communicating policies - clearly documented and accessible to employees, training managers and staff in cultural diversity, appointing a grievance officer and specifying grievance procedures.

Benefits of industrial conflict:

Increases empowerment = increased productivity, fewer disputes and reduced absenteeism and labour turnover. Gain management's attention on major issues that may have caused dissatisfaction and stress. Better work relationships from a clearer understanding of work problems. Greater employee involvement and motivation may result from negotiated changes. Employee and community welfare can be enhanced by changed work practices. Introduction of multiskilling, new training opportunities and career paths benefit individuals and society. Governments can change their policies in response to workplace conflict. Disputes draw attention to the need to protect worker entitlements.

other employment contracts:

Individual common law contracts - Higher skilled employees in private sector (earning significantly more than award wages). If there is a dispute about the contract the parties can only take their own legal action. A judge will therefore make a legally binding decision. Independent contractors - not considered employees in the eyes of the law, need own contract with employers. Tend to have a set term or contract period where they control their own work. FWA not the ruling body and disputes heard in courts. Contracts for casual work - short term, irregular or seasonal work. Paid on an hourly or daily basis of a slightly higher rate to compensate them for their lack of entitlements.

government organisations:

Key roles: Legislator - pass laws in parliaments - provide legal framework for industrial relations. Employer - federal and state govts employ 1/3 of Australian workers. Responsible economic manager - Govt may decreases its spending which decreases income in the economy and may cost jobs. Administrator of govt policies on industrial relations - through FWA. Representative of Aust. in the international arena, in foreign affairs, trade and international labour matters - Australia is a foundation member of the ILO - government conforms to treaties/conventions it signs with international organisations. Social justice legislation passed in relation to discrimination, and human rights originated in these treaties and conventions. When the government passes laws, they are known as statutes. The recent law that applies to work place (industrial) relations is the Fair Work Act 2009.

Costs of Industrial Conflict:

Lost production and sales adversely affect income. Reputation damaged. Legal representation and fines imposed = financial burden on firms. Stress from changes due to restricting of the workplace. Rumours or threats of downsizing cause fear and lowered staff morale. Absenteeism, accidents and defect rates can increase. Community bitterness where disputes affect general public. Verbal/physical abuse. Bitterness between unions and governments can lead to political conflict and civil unrest. Loss of national income in extended disputes can affect economic growth. The nation's reputation for stability can be lost and overseas customers or investors may turn elsewhere.

OH&S and Worker's Compensation

NSW government passed the WH&S Act, where many aspects of OH&S Act were carried over. Aims to protect employees. Under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, employers must ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees by providing a safe system of work; ensuring that plant and substances are used, handled, stored and transported safely; give necessary information about the plant and substances, and training and supervision in their work; maintaining the site in a safe condition; and ensuring that the goods they design, make, supply, install or repair will not injure or damage the health of others. Employers must take out worker's compensation, take steps to ensure people on-site are not exposed to risk, employees are required to take reasonable care and Health and Safety committees must be established in businesses with more than 20 employees. Workcover (administrative body) may inspect the worksite and issue improvement notices. They must be notified of all injuries and deaths.

Recruitment

Poor employee selection leads to increased costs and decreased productivity e.g. increased training costs, increased possibility of disputes and increased staff turnover, absenteeism and legal claims.

Current or future skills

Training aims to develop skills, knowledge and attitudes that lead to superior work performance. Development is focused on enhancing the skills of the employee to upgrade their skills and it encourages employees to take advantage of opportunities to develop a career with the business. The business benefits by retaining the employee's experience and knowledge. In choosing the nature of training and development, businesses need to use a systematic process to evaluate the needs of the business. A business needs to decide whether to improve current skills of employees if they are lacking or future skills if they intend to be introducing new technology or other change to employee skills.

interdependence

achieve overall goals. Isolation can lead to conflicting behaviour that is ineffective. Specialist human resource managers responsible for: job design, processes, performance management and rewards, managing diversity/implementing equal employment opportunity/affirmative action legislation.

Benefits for the business

assists with human resource planning, overcome gaps or weaknesses found in performance, shows the effectiveness of current selection processes, identifies training and development or legal compliance needs, evaluation of rewards and benefits programs, communicates expectations, helps build trust, helps identify, motivate and retain talented staff, identifies and documents poor performance and helps build best practice culture.

Acquisition:

attracting and recruiting the right staff. Critical. Identify staffing needs to fulfill a vacant or new position. Analyse the internal business environment = understand culture and examine possibility of filling the position internally = motivation. Job analysis/design required. Recruitment -attracting the right quantity and quality of staff to apply for vacant or new positions (can be outsourced to recruitment agencies). Selection - gathering information about each applicant (CV, contracting referees, interviews psychological analysis) to choose the best applicant.

General skills

attracting staff - flexibility, motivation, confidence) attitudes and behaviours that are a good cultural fit for their business. Job then customised to suit the recruits who can be trained and developed according to needs.

Democratic

behaviouralist theorists. Managers seeking and encouraging employee input in decision-making. Employees = feel more valued, some ownership of the final decision = more likely to abide by the decision. Productivity/morale improved.

worker's compensation

benefits to an employee suffering injury/disease from work. Provided to families of injured employees when related to their work. Employers must: take out a policy with a licensed insurer, keep time/wages records, notify insurers of significant injuries in 48 hours, establish injury management plan/return-to-work plan and pass on compensation monies to the person entitled ASAP. Compensation is paid for: loss of wages for time off work, medical/rehab expenses, permanent impairment or loss of use of a part of the body and pain and suffering if the damage is over $10 000.

enterprise agreements

collective agreements made at a workplace level between an employer and a group of employees about terms and conditions of employment. It is no longer possible to make formal individual Australian Workplace Agreements with an employer. Must be approved by FWA, who must be satisfied that the agreement: has been made with the genuine agreement of those involved, passes a 'better off overall test' compared to the modern award, does not include any unlawful terms, has a specified nominal expiry date and includes dispute settlement procedure.

Benchmarking Key Variables:

compare performance in specific areas against other similar businesses, then initiate changes to foster improvement. Informal benchmarking - strategies such as networking through informal discussions with colleagues in other businesses. Performance benchmarking - comparing the performance levels of a process/activity with other businesses. Best practice benchmarking - comparing performance levels with those of another best practice business in specific areas using a structured process to gain skills and knowledge, and to modify organisational processes.

Mediation

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

Workplace Disputes

conflicts, disagreements or dissatisfaction. Conflict between stakeholders is inevitable because of conflicting interests. Industrial dispute - disagreement over issues between an employer and its employees, which results in employees ceasing work. Employees - strikes are a withdrawal of labour (overt). Stop work meetings used to provide information and future plans (overt). Covert action: absenteeism and sabotage (work processes or effort). Employers - lockouts where owners lock employees out (overt). Employees sometimes respond by forming a picket line to stop new employees or supplies from entering e.g. Qantas.

Job Design:

designing the content of a job and how it will interact so as to motivate and retain an employee and achieve the business's goals. Dependent on job analysis - analysis of all the tasks, responsibilities, personal attributes and reporting relationships needed in a position. Well designed job: challenge, variety of tasks, flexibility, discretion (autonomy), resources, social interaction and an opportunity for ongoing learning. Some job business designs simply list the general/overall tasks to be completed - general job design. When a specific job design is conducted it involves jobs being broken down into specialist skills areas in order to improve knowledge and skills, to increase output, to reduce errors and labour costs, and to control quality. Job analysis is critical in selecting tasks and designing such jobs. Job specialisation on its own rarely leads to greater challenges or job satisfaction (work is repetitious).

common law

developed by court and tribunals, judges make rulings on the cases before them. Common law has developed basic obligations: Employer obligations - providing work (employers can't stand down employees if no work), payment of income and expenses (pay income stipulated in the award, enterprise agreement or contract), meeting requirements of industrial relations legislation (discrimination/equal employment opportunity/unfair dismissal) and duty of care (safe system of work, maintaining premises, providing resources and training). Employee obligations - obey lawful and reasonable commands, use care and skill (in performance of their work i.e. not behave in a negligent manner) and act in good faith (in interests of employer, taking confidential information or trade secrets from one employer to another - failing to act in good faith).

Development:

developing and improving the skills, abilities and knowledge of staff, through induction, ongoing training and further professional development. Effective development programs ensure that experienced and talented staff are retained and enhance motivation by way of promotion opportunities. Training aims to increase the skills of employees whilst development focuses on the enhancement of skills through mentoring and performance appraisal. 1st step is induction - effective induction program is carefully planned to introduce a new employee to the job, their co-workers, the business and its culture = positive attitude, confidence, stresses the major safety policies and procedures, good working relationships. The aim of training is to improve employees: skills, behaviour, knowledge and attitudes. Assess staff training needs, then define the objectives to be achieved. Next, the type of training needs to be determined: content, methods, location and participants. It is important to evaluate the training. Development aims to retain competent and skilled staff. It focuses on the improvement of an employee - job enlargement, job rotation (multiskilling), job enrichment, job sharing, self-managing teams, mentoring and coaching. Performance appraisal - assessing the performance of an employee against criteria/standards - provide feedback regarding work performance, measurement against which promotion and pay rises can be determined, help monitor employee selection, identify employees' training needs.

Negotiation

discussions between the parties result in a compromise and formal/informal agreement.

Grievance procedures:

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

Separation:

employee leaves a business. Voluntary separation - resignation, relocation, voluntary redundancy or retirement. Involuntary separation - contract expiry, retrenchment or dismissal. Redundancy and retrenchment - job no longer needs to be done (lack of work, position restructured or replaced by technology). Offer voluntary redundancy before initiating involuntary redundancies e.g. Holden = lessens the negative effects on staff morale and performance. All permanent employees are entitled to a redundancy payout, usually 2 weeks pay for every year of service. Staff can be dismissed for criminal infringements, gross or serious misconduct, poor performance after a business has complied with unfair dismissal laws. In the case of poor performance, businesses are required to: give employees a written warning about their poor performance over a period of time, give them advice and support so they have the opportunity to improve and notify employees of the reason for the termination and an opportunity to respond. FWA is responsible for unfair dismissal claims. The law does not apply for workplaces with less than 15 employees and employees with less than 6 months employment. FWA determines whether the dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable or not a genuine redundancy.

minimum wage rates

employees earning at least the minimum wage - award minimum wages outlined in the awards and national minimum wage for collective enterprise agreements and individual contracts.

the current legal framework:

employment contract creates obligations for both employers and employees. Businesses operate within a legal framework - common law and statute law - law passed by federal and state parliaments in Acts. Legislation covers the nature of employment contracts and agreements; dispute settling methods; protection of human rights in employment; and employer responsibilities for tax payments on behalf of employees. Employee welfare is provided for through OH&S legislation and specific legislation such as the Superannuation Guarantee, under which all employers are obliged to pay superannuation contributions for employees. Changing community worker expectations on social justice (equal employment opportunity), safety and environmental issues are increasingly reflected in legislation and work practices. Social justice - responsible or behaving in a fair and ethical manner towards their employees, customers and the broader community.

equal employment opportunity:

equitable policies and practices in recruitment, selection, training and promotion. Employers with more than 100 employees must develop an affirmative action program in consultation with employees. Affirmative action - measures taken to eliminate discrimination, and for implementing positive steps to overcome the current and historical causes of lack of equal employment opportunity for women - only hold 8% of key executive management positions. Strategies to improve equity: developing a policy statement and informing all staff that an affirmative action program has been initiated, code of practice to commitment to equity, implementing a system to gather, monitor and evaluate statistics on employment, conduct exit interviews to ascertain reasons for employee resignations and benchmarking to analyse the effectiveness of strategies on equal employment opportunity.

Performance Management:

evaluating performance - assess legal compliance, justify staffing decisions, identify training/development needs, provide feedback, assess performance against organisational standards and identify opportunities for productivity improvement.

Internal recruitment

filling job vacancies from within - intranet postings, staff records, promotion lists, word of mouth, email. Advantages: motivation for staff, builds commitment and loyalty, know the culture, recognises and rewards staff for effort and achievement, cheaper, less chance of a failure as staff are observed in operation, strengths and weaknesses known. Disadvantages: can reinforce negative culture, rivalry for positions, attracts a significant number of internal applicants, demotivated unsuccessfuls and no new skills.

Individual or Group Rewards: Rewards are often related to

individual performance rewards this can lead to rivalry if not managed. Increasing use of group and team-based structures have increased the need for cooperation. Gain sharing plans and groups incentive schemes support a team based culture.

using contractors

greater expertise/productivity, improve competitiveness. repetitive activities e.g. Masterfoods produces Pal products (pedigree) and fills temporary vacancies with contractors. Set clear and legally binding terms, timeframes/conditions to avoid conflict and litigation. Domestic - common. Global - offshore contractors in India/Asia to reduce costs. Process (dominant/repetitive) and project (greater use of intellectual property/longer timeframe) outsourcing. Risks: difficultly controlling quality, security issues (information, confidentiality), cultural differences, resolving legal issues (which system?).

employers

handle HRM daily. Develop programs to improve performance. Negotiate agreements and resolve disputes. Objectives - profit, productivity, decreased costs, new products, customer satisfaction, expansion.

Benefits for the individual

helps assess rewards and benefits linked to performance, builds self-efficacy as contributions recognised — important in motivation and retention, identifies strengths and weaknesses, creating opportunities for training and development, coaching and mentoring, opportunity for employee to provide feedback, initiative recognised and rewarded, fosters promotion on merit and employee focus is aligned with organisational structure.

Levels of Disputation:

high level of formal grievances indicate of poor quality relationships and can be very damaging if they attract media attention or move through the legal system. Careful investigation should indicate whether these issues relate to the policies and processes operating within the business, or to specific individuals who may need further training and development or formal counselling. Ongoing grievances are likely to be reflected in higher levels of staff turnover and/or industrial disputes. Overt - (employees) pickets, strikes, boycotts, (management) lockouts, stand-downs, and dismissals. Covert - (employees) absenteeism, theft, higher defect rates, reduced productivity, (management) discrimination, lack of cooperation, harassment.

technological

improvements in productivity, communication and competition. Creating new jobs while others are made redundant. Electronic communications option allows firms to operate 'anywhere, anytime' and to harness staff through telecommuting. Major opportunity to access employees at home. Increases need for ongoing training programs and new protocols.

Worker Satisfaction

increased commitment, improved job performance, lower staff turnover & absenteeism. Surveys measure and understand worker satisfaction level: work, management, corporate culture, relationships, effectiveness of training, working environment, remuneration. Confidential = comfortable providing accurate information. Results can be compared over time = areas that need improvement. Effective leadership conducted ethically helps create worker satisfaction.

Performance appraisals

inform strengths and areas for improvement. 2 purposes: • Developmental - model focused on using data to develop the individual skills and abilities of employees = improve effectiveness, overcome weaknesses and are prepared for promotion. • Administrative - information, which can be used by management for planning such as training, development, rewards.

stakeholders

interest in the business = conflict. Internal and external

strategic role of human resources -

managing r/s - processes and legal aspects. Employee as asset - open communication/goal orientation. Accepts difference exists but reduce conflict. Strategic approach to managing employees - effective workplace adds value to business, use strategies to retain/reward/motivate skilled employees. to achieve objectives.

Maintenance

managing the needs of staff for health and safety, industrial relations and legal responsibilities, including compensation and benefits, of all staff. Focuses on retaining staff through monetary and non-monetary rewards. Monetary rewards include wages, salaries, profit sharing, bonuses, share ownership schemes and discounts e.g. 10% at Coles. Non-monetary rewards include fringe benefits (car, childcare, gym membership), flexible working conditions, employee decision-making/participation, acknowledgement, study leave, transparent, communication, improved working conditions, longer leave, family friendly practices and social events.

role of human resource management

managing total relationship between employer/employee. Legally - employer exercises control, responsible for wages, power to dismiss whilst employee is under employer's control (location, how work's performed, degree of supervision).

minimum employment standards

maximum weekly hours of work (38), requests for flexible working arrangements (parents request change to assist in care of child), parental leave and entitlements (12 months upaid leave for employees), annual leave (4 weeks paid leave/year), personal/carer's leave (10 days paid), community service leave (unpaid leave for emergency activities e.g. jury service), long service leave, public holidays (paid), notice of termination and redundancy pay (up to 4 weeks notice) and provision of a fair work information statement.

Accidents:

need to effectively manage the OH&S requirements and must have workers compensation insurance. High levels of accidents increase insurance premiums for a business. Best practices: have regular safety audits and comprehensive safety programs, and use data to improve, build a culture of safety - communicate effectively about health and safety using safety signs and reminders, provide careful induction and regular ongoing training and consult employees and health and safety personnel on the implications of changes in the workplace. Such businesses save on compensation claims, absenteeism, lost work time, replacement costs for damaged equipment, and loss of morale.

External recruitment

newspaper advertisements, online advertisements, recruitment agencies, company websites. Advantages: wider applicant pool, new ideas and skills = better solutions to issues, get specific skills needed, more diversity in employment — equal employment opportunity. Disadvantages: risk of unknown staff, lost productivity in initial phases of orientation and induction phase, new employee may not fit culture, and may not be accepted by internal rivals and it takes more effort and time.

Laissez-faire

no managerial input at all. It suits highly qualified and skilled staff who are capable of completing their tasks without assistance.

GLOBAL - Costs:

not exploit less developed human resource laws. Rapid growth of global outsourcing of routine and repetitive tasks illustrates the potential for businesses to access lower cost labour, modern telecommuting technology, while complying with regulations and pay scales in overseas countries.

Absenteeism:

rate without sick leave or leave in advance. High levels - dissatisfied/conflict in the workplace. Direct costs = employing a casual worker whilst indirect costs = lower output. Could be a form of covert industrial action.

Performance Pay

reach targets set by the manager or team = bonuses or commission on sales = motivation and performance. Targets communicated clearly.

outsourcing

reduce costs, more qualified service, outsource recruitment, training, payroll, legal compliance.

Involvement of courts and tribunals:

referred to a FWA tribunal (for those on awards and enterprise agreements) or legal action initiated in court (for those common law contracts). At FWA, the parties are first asked to enter into conciliation where a trained and neutral 3rd party attempts to get the 2 parties to agree to a resolution. If this fails, arbitration is conducted where a FW official makes a legally binding decision.

Changes In Staff Turnover:

separation of employees - voluntary or involuntary. % of total staff numbers. Varies greatly between industries e.g. in the hospitality industry it is around 90%. It is less concerning for a business if the staff are leaving to retire or to seek new career or promotional opportunities. Conducting staff exit interview is important as it can reveal job dissatisfaction. Cost: payouts for entitlements, hiring, inducting and training new staff, decreased productivity, corporate skills and knowledge are lost, and can affect other employees and decrease commitment and loyalty. Some staff turnover is considered healthy - new ideas and innovation.

Specific skills

skill shortages - fill gaps. Many businesses are recruiting overseas or using outsourcing and overseas recruitment to overcome skill gaps in their businesses, particularly through skilled migration programs.

GLOBAL - Skills and Supply:

skills of its employees and where they are sourced. Global staffing: ethnocentric approach (staff from the parent-country e.g. Apple using US staff around the world), geocentric approach (best and most skilled employees regardless of where they are from e.g. Qantas) and polycentric approach (employees from host country, managers are from parent-country e.g. Nike).

Society

threats to employment conditions e.g. legislation, economic conditions = society can be negatively affected. Illegal to discriminate in the workplace and for workplace processes to be unsafe.

Ethics and CSR

• good working conditions = valuable in motivating and retaining staff • performance and motivation maximised when staff feel safe, equally valued and rewarded • an effective workplace benefits from good working relationships and teamwork • management should be committed to an ethical workplace culture • customers eventually find out which businesses are acting responsibly and which are not An ethical framework must be developed for the workplace, in collaboration with the major stakeholders. A code of conduct us a statement of acceptable and unacceptable behaviours in a business. A code of ethics is a statement of a firm's values and principles. Include staff in decisions, encourage teamwork and have transparent policies. Benefits include staff retention, decreased absenteeism, increased motivation/productivity.