Human Resources Syllabus dot points PDF

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Comprehensive syllabus dot points for human resources...

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TOPIC 4: HUMAN RESOURCES ROLES 

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The strategic role of human resource management - Seeing an effective workforce as a way of adding value to all areas of business performance - Focussing on the use of specific human resource strategies to retain, reward and motivate effective and skilled employees to achieve the business’s objectives - Challenges involve o Developing and retaining staff o Improving leadership development o Managing an ageing workforce o Increased relevance of technology o Ethics and CSR o Increased outsourcing of employment Interdependence with other key business functions - Operations: Businesses that invest strongly in HR management are more likely to see better productivity - Finance: Effective human resource policy is linked to profitability gains - Marketing: Stronger HR leads to a stronger relationship with customers Outsourcing - Outsourcing human resource functions o Human resource functions Human resource areas commonly commonly outsourced outsourced for review or development Recruitment  Human resources information systems (HRIS)  Induction  Change management  Leadership training  Training needs evaluation  Mediation  Compensation systems  Outplacement  Performance management systems  Payroll  Succession planning  High performance coaching  Employee surveys  Written policies and programs  Training and development  Benchmarking

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Using contractors (Incomplete) o Contractor: External provider of services to a business. It may be an individual or a business o Domestic subcontracting

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 Avoids the need to employ additional in house staff  Attractive to SME’s Global Subcontracting  Reduces costs  Two forms of outsourcing  Process outsourcing  Project Outsourcing  Greater use of IP and strategic business knowledge Advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing in a global market Potential advantages Potential disadvantages  Expand capacity/flexibility  Less integrated organisation  Improve quality  Quality may fall  Save costs  Consultants may not understand your culture  Access new networks  Costs may increase  Conserve capital  Hidden costs  Allows businesses to focus  Morale motivation may be resources on main activities damaged  Help in managing complex  Less face-to-face client issues contact  Transform culture  Reduce business learning through reliance on experts  Improve legal compliance  Loss of security and confidentiality of information  Train Staff    Access experts, by practice management systems and research

INFLUENCES 

Stake holders in the human resource management process -

Employers o Those who exercise control over employees, have responsibility for the payment of wages and/or salaries and have the power to dismiss employees o Handle HR issues daily - Employees o Workers under the control of the employer o Employees no longer trust one business to look after their needs

Feel driven to undergo ‘churning’, where they move frequently from one job to another o Young, old and female workers have developed into a casual workforce, due to their difficulties in finding full time employment Employer associations o Originally created as a counter party to unions to represent employers o Provide advice to employers on matters including awards, unfair dismissals and discrimination o Lobby governments and other organisations in the employers interests o Employer associations hold a wider function than unions, tackling issues beyond human resources and industrial relations matters Trade Unions o Organisations formed by employees in an industry to stand up for worker rights o Unions membership at historically low levels due to government regulation limiting their power and other examples shown: 

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Governments and government organisations o Important stake holders in the HR management process o Hold key roles of  Legislator: Pass laws that provide legal framework for industrial relations  Employer: Employ almost one third of Australian workers  Economic manager: Operate at a macro level to ensure stability of the economy and to enforce a high standard of living for all Australians. However, sometimes they face conflicting interests which may impact HR management  Administrator of government policies on industrial relations  Representative of AU in the international arena in foreign affairs, trade and international labour matters:  AU is a member of the International Labour Organisation  Implements legislation in accordance with treaties and agreements made as part of the ILO  Have increased their power in industrial relations matters in attempts to reduce business costs and increase business efficiency which has reduced union power

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Statutes  Laws made by federal and state parliament  Constitution allows the federal government to make limited laws about industrial relations and allows the states to make laws about matters not covered under the constitution, known as residual powers  Provide the framework for awards, agreements and resolution of disputes  Examples of federal legislation:

Law of test case Conciliation and Arbitration Act

Date 190 4

Harvester case

190 7 196 9 197 4

Equal pay case Trade Practices Act

Racial discrimination Act

197 5

Maternity leave case

197 9 198 4

Sex discrimination Act

Affirmative action (Equal opportunity for Women Act)

198 6

Industrial relations act

198 8 199 0

Parental Leave test case

Industrial Relations reform Act

199 3

Workplace Relations Act

199 6

Features Gave the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission power to prevent and settle industrial disputes extending beyond the limits of the state Established the basic wage for full-time male worker with wife and two children Principle of equal pay for equal work established for women Secondary boycotts (provisions) made illegal. Jurisdiction later moved to the Australian Industrial Relations commission as it the federal government interfered with the right to strike Discrimination in employment on the basis of race, colour national or ethnic origin prohibited Test case on maternity leave won by ACTU Prohibited sexual harassment and discrimination on basis of sex, marital status and pregnancy Required all private sector employers and all higher education institutions to implement affirmative action programs for the employment of women and to submit annual reports on their progress Award restructuring introduced under the structural efficiency principle (SEP) Federally covered male employees given opportunity to take leave to mind newborn children Improved safety net provisions for employees through awards. Improved enterprise bargaining and provided protection against unfair dismissal Revised framework for collective bargaining, allowing for agreements to be made without

Fair Work Act

200 9

Australia used to have a dual industrial relations framework where private sectors were covered by the federal industrial relations system, whereas public sector workers were at the jurisdiction of the state  Fair work act (2009) was implemented so that all constitutional corporations were covered under federal industrial relations jurisdiction, meaning that all employees and employers have the same workplace rights and obligations regardless of state. Involves:  Industrial relations framework covering most private employees other than WA  Ten National Employment Standards developed to provide basic protections to employees  Collective bargaining required by all parties  Modern awards for certain industries  Enterprise bargaining  Annual National Wage Case sets minimum wage  Protection from unfair dismissal  122 modern awards cover most employees in a range of industries Industrial tribunals and courts  Exist at federal and state levels to enforce laws  The Fair Work Commission ensures bargaining processes and industrial action follow the law  Helps negotiate agreements between employer and employee  A panel of 7 senior members of the FWC are responsible for hearing annual wage cases and setting the minimum wage  Fines for breaking FWC orders can lead to fines of up to $12,600 for individual workers or $63 000 for a corporate entity Federal Court  Judicial court: Allowing them to interpret the law to make decisions about existing rights  Enforces industrial relations legislation involving breaches of law Other government agencies  Australian Human Rights Commission (HREOC)  Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA)  Anti-Discrimination Board 

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union involvement. Tighter restriction on industrial action and limited role of AIRC National framework for industrial relations implemented

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National Occupational Health and Safety Commission (now Safe Work Australia) Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU)

 Society o 1984 – UN passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, recognising the importance of work and fair work conditions o As businesses have increasingly outsourced human resources to maximise profits, structural unemployment has arisen in the abandoned workforce sectors o Community demands for safety and equality has increased for the benefit of marginalised minorities o Businesses now have an ongoing battle between costs and the needs of society

Legal influences – the current legal framework - The employment contract o A legally binding formal agreement between employer and employee which creates obligations for each party to act within common law and statute law  Unregistered individual common law contracts of employment, casual work and independent contracts became prevalent under the 2009 Fair Work act, leading to many ‘take it or leave it’ arrangements between employer and employee, shifting the responsibility to employees  Led to community concerns about financialising and privatisation of risk  Shifted from a strongly centralised industrial relations system in the 1980’s to a decentralised and more fragmented system today based increasingly on bargaining at the workplace (enterprise) level o Usually a written contract, either for an indefinite duration (until either party proposes termination) or a fixed term o Key features of employment contracts: Duties, Supervision, Hours, Location, Promotion policy and procedures, Discipline policy and procedures, Bonuses, Overtime, Superannuation, Benefits, Salary/Wages, Leave, Confidential information, o Common law  Developed by courts and tribunals (unlike statutes made by parliaments)  Under common law, judges make decisions based on the facts of a case, guided by precedent  Thus, common law is made over time by accumulation of past decisions Basic obligations of employers and employees under common law Employer obligations Employee obligations and rights  Providing work: Not allowed to  Carry out duties in ways that are dismiss employees if there is no beneficial to the business 

work Payment of income and expenses: Must pay the employee income stipulated by the award and contract, plus fees incurred by the consequences of their work Employee rights 

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Employees working in respect to WHS Employees carrying out work according to agreement/award Being notified according to agreement/award of an employee’s intention to take leave Receiving formal advice of workers intention to quit Meeting requirements of IR legislation Duty of care

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Ensure confidentiality in accordance with agreement

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Account for all money that comes into a business Take reasonable care and act safely Follow written and verbal procedures and policies Be honest and fair with employees and customers

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Obey lawful commands that are considered reasonable   Give appropriate notice of termination  Employee rights  Being paid for the time that they work, including overtime  Receiving the minimum award  Having all pay recorded by employer  Receive penalty rates  Receiving allowances for tools and uniforms  Having access to paid and unpaid leave entitlements o Minimum employment standards  Ten national employment standards (NES) have been developed in consolation with businesses, unions and the community and must be provided by employers National employment standards 1. Maximum weekly hours of work: 38 hours per week, plus reasonable additional hours 2. Requests for flexible working arrangements: parents or careers of children under 18 are allowed to request a change in working arrangements to assist with the child’s care 3. Parental leave and related entitlements: up to 12 months’ unpaid leave, and other forms of leave 4. Annual leave: four weeks paid leave per year, plus an addition week for certain shift workers 5. Personal/carer’s leave and compassionate leave: 10 days paid personal/ carer’s leave, two days unpaid carer’s leave as required and two days compassionate leave (unpaid for casuals) as required 6. Community service leave: unpaid leave for voluntary emergency activities and leave for jury service, with an entitlement to be paid for up 

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to 10 days for jury service Long service leave: a transitional entitlement for employees who had a certain LSL entitlements before 1/1/10 pending the development of a uniform national long service leave standard Public holidays: a paid day off on a public holiday, except where reasonably requested to work Notice of termination and redundancy pay: up to four weeks’ notice of termination (5 weeks if employee is over 45 and has at least two years of continuous service) and up to 16 weeks of redundancy pay, both based on length of service Provision of a Fair Work Information Statement: employers must provide this statement to all new employees about major employment matters and bodies o

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Minimum wage rates  Employees base rate of pay for the number of ordinary hours worked, determined by a modern award, enterprise agreement or the national minimum wage  Reviewed by a specialist minimum wage panel by the FWC each year  Cannot agree on a pay rate below minimum wage Awards  A determination that explains the legally enforceable minimum terms and conditions that apply to a business or industry  Modern awards: key features of current IR system that simplifies 2400 older existing awards into industry or occupation based categories. Undertaken to reduce confusion surrounding proper minimum employment entitlements  122 modern awards including: (all apply on top of NES)  base pay rates  conditions and requirements for different types of employment  overtime and penalty rates  allowances  leave and loading  hours of work  annual wage or salary arrangements  superannuation entitlement  conditions and procedures for consultation, representation and settling disputes  redundancy  Individual Flexibility Agreement (IFA) allow employer and employee to negotiate an agreement that varies the modern award for the individual’s circumstances and must not undermine existing minimum requirements (must leave the employee better off)

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 Can only address: arrangements for when work is performed (working hours), overtime rates, penalty rates, allowances and leave loading Enterprise agreements  Enterprise agreements are collective agreements made at a workplace level between an employer and a group of employees about terms and conditions of employment  Under the Fair Work act 2009 there are three types of enterprise agreements  Single enterprise agreements: made between a single employer and a group of employees (can involve more than one employer in limited cases) e.g two employers in joint venture  Multi enterprise agreements: Made between two or more employers and groups of their employees. May occur if they share common funding or collaborate in various ways  Greenfields agreements: single and multi-enterprise agreements relating to a genuine new enterprise of the employer(s) that are made before any employees to be covered by the agreement are employed. Made with one or more relevant unions.  Enterprise agreements include:  Pay, penalty rates, overtime etc  Must be approved by the FWC Other employment contracts  Individual common law employment contracts  Cover employees not on federal agreements of specific state agreements, particularly for those earning higher incomes  More common in the private sectors for workers usually in managerial level work earning more than $142,000 a year  Offer less protection than other agreements but still must provide conditions that equate to the minimum provisions or related awards to be considered legal Comparing the process of negotiating enterprise/collective agreements with the negotiation of individual contracts  Enterprise agreement  Should include:  Terms about the relationship between parties to the agreement  Deductions from wages for any purpose authorised by the employee  How the agreement will operate, a nominal expiry date that is no longer than four years from FWC approval

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 Dispute settlement procedure  Reference to IFA  Consultation terms in the event of any major changes likely to affect employees significantly  Independent contractors  Don't have the same legal status as an employee  Work for multiple clients  FWC has provided a set criteria to determine if someone is a contractor or employee  Usually submit an invoice on completion of contracted work  Contracts for casual work  Have contracts with employers for short term seasonal work  If employed for an extended period, may be eligible for benefits such as super  Miss out of training programs, promotion, experience fluctuating income and are more likely to experience workplace accidents  Less committed to the organisation they work for  Usually under employed  Part time contracts  Have a continuing employment contract and work less than 38 hours a week  Have access to employment entitlements offered to full time employees in proportion to the amount of time they work a week health and safety (WHS) National Occupational Health and safety Commission Act 1985 Safe Work Australia was established to conduct research and develop national standards and codes of practice for the workplace, endorsed by state governments Enforced by state governments due to constitutional restrictions, backed by common law Aims to improve productivity by reducing compliance costs of businesses as well as improving worker safety and improve workplace quality In NSW under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 the following are required:  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 managed safely and educating employees about plant and substances as well as ensuring the plant and substance pose no risk to employees  All employers must have worker’s compensation insurance  Must ensure non-employees on site are not exposed to risks

Employees must comply with WHS and ensure safety of others  Employees whose behaviour puts other employees at risk could be fined  SafeWork NSW may inspect the workplace, collect information and more under the Factories, Shops and Industries Act 1962 (NSW)  SafeWork must be notified of any deaths or serious injuries as well as plans to carry out dangerous work  Corporations can be fined up to $3 millions and individuals $300,000 and/or 5 years prison for serious breaches that exposes a person to the risk of death or serious injury  Unions also participate in WHS – ACTU conducts its own surveys to ensure worker safety Workers compensation  State legislation cover...