To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.Winston Churchill
In this topic, you will learn to identify the relevant terms and conditions of employment, employee entitlements, awards, agreements, and individual work contracts. You will examine ways to provide support for simple industrial relations disputes, support for negotiating employee awards and methods to record and maintain records.
By the end of this topic, you will understand:
- both set and varied terms and conditions of employment
- how to support simple industrial relations disputes
- methods you can provide support in the negotiation of employee awards
- how documents are to be recorded and maintained.
The Fair Work Act 2009 and other laws establish Australia's national workplace relations system. It covers the majority of private-sector employees and employers in Australia.
Where to find out about employment conditions
Several related agencies help to deliver the Australian Government's workplace relations system, including:
Workplace Agreements
The Fair Work Ombudsman provides the following information on agreements.
Enterprise agreements and other registered agreements set out minimum employment conditions and can apply to:
- one business
- a group of businesses
- note that Enterprise agreements that apply to individual employees cannot be made anymore.
When a workplace has a registered agreement, the award does not apply. However:
- the base pay rate in the registered agreement cannot be less than the base pay rate in the award
- the National Employment Standards still apply
- any terms about out workers (contractors) in the award still apply
- registered agreements apply until they are terminated or replaced.
Awards for different industry groups set out the minimum wages and conditions to which an employee is entitled. The various awards are also known as modern awards. They do not apply when an employer has an enterprise agreement or any other registered agreement covered by the employee.
When you need to establish which award applies, it is suggested to read the following documents.
- The coverage clause (usually clause 4).
- The job classifications (usually in the pay section or a schedule).
- Refer to Schedule A (Schedule B in some Awards) for further detail on who is covered by a particular Award. You will find this section at the end of each Award.
Industrial relations legislation should be reflected in various policies and procedures and will cover topics such as:
- the requirements as outlined in the National Employment Standards
- employee wages and entitlements
- tax and superannuation
- leave
- annual leave
- parental leave
- sick and carer's leave
- religious and cultural holidays
- allowances.11
The Fair Work Act 2009 sets out The minimum terms and conditions of employment for most employees. It is essential to know that employment agreements, modern awards and enterprise agreements are subject to the safety net of minimum requirements contained in the National Employment Standards (NES), which are part of the Fair Work Act.
To support both the industrial and employee relations policies and procedures in your organisation, you must be able to identify the relevant terms and conditions of employment, employee entitlements, awards, agreements, and individual work contracts.
Further reading
Read the following information to learn about the various employment conditions provided by the Fair Work Commission titled Employment conditions.
Read the information on employment contracts and conditions in this article titled "Employment contracts and conditions" by Victoria Legal Aid.
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When there is a negative relationship and breakdown between employers and employees, many disputes and complaints can occur, which could even lead to legal action by the employee.
Every organisation must have relevant policies, procedures, plans and processes to deal with these complaints and disputes. The various policies and procedures must ensure that industrial disputes resolve effectively and fairly.
| Common workplace grievances | Description |
|---|---|
| Pay and benefits | These complaints may involve the amount and qualifications for wage increases, pay equity, and benefit schemes. |
| Workloads | These relate to a heavy workload or the fact that employees must take on more work responsibilities - which may lead to employee frustration, workplace stress and job dissatisfaction. |
| Work conditions, including Workplace Health and Safety | Maintaining a safe and healthy environment is essential for employee motivation and job satisfaction. WHS legislation protects the rights of workers to a safe and healthy workplace. |
Other workplace grievances and conflicts that cause industrial disputes might include:
- Bullying and harassment
- Discrimination
- Work environment
- Relationships in the workplace
- Organisational changes
- Terms and conditions of employment.
The grievance procedure should encourage employees to come forward if they feel they are victims of unfair treatment and provide a transparent dispute resolution process. 12
Once you identify the sources of conflict or grievance, the organisation needs to ensure that it can alleviate or eliminate the sources or factors of the dispute according to legal requirements.
Following are examples of the most common workplace complaints and how you can help resolve the issue.
Most complaints relate to the employee rates of pay and entitlements; therefore, you should:
- Check the complaints that involve the amount of pay paid to the employee. Achieve this by checking against the relevant award or enterprise agreement.
- Check that the qualifications held are duly paid following the relevant award or enterprise agreement.
- Check to see if annual wage increases have been met according to legal requirements and any pay equity disputes, allowances and other benefit schemes, and adjust accordingly and quickly.
- Clear communication is vital. Ensure a swift response and notify the employee of the outcome and when adjustments will be made to their pay and entitlements.
These conflicts are often related to a heavy workload or the fact that employees must take on more work responsibilities. The additional responsibilities may lead to a dispute about pay; therefore, you should:
- Check the legal requirements for higher duties and pay according to the relevant award or enterprise agreement.
- Listen – Managers must listen to employee frustration, workplace stress and job dissatisfaction and develop a plan to support the employee.
Provide support – The manager must ensure that the employee is provided with the support to undertake the additional responsibilities. It may include training, on-the-job coaching, or other staff to achieve the required objectives.
Maintaining a safe and healthy environment is vital for employee motivation and job satisfaction. Work health and safety legislation protects workers' rights to a safe and healthy workplace, and all staff should follow legal and regulatory responsibilities and organisational policies and procedures.
Other support might include sourcing expert advice and information from specialists such as:
- Fair Work representatives
- industry bodies
- industrial relations lawyers
- mediators.
Read more of five common workplace conflicts and their solution.
Further reading
Read about how to resolve disputes
Read about dispute resolution by the FairWork Ombudsman
Read further information on the support for industrial disputes
Negotiations occur in the workplace for various reasons between employer and employees, co-workers and different departments and teams.
Most medium to large organisations will have a negotiation strategy, Policy or procedures that provide an outline of:
- What the negotiation will look like
- How it will work
- How the results will be measured and documented.13
Watch the following video to learn about how to negotiate effectively in the workplace
Negotiation Strategies
The negotiation strategy, Policy and procedure will be an agreed-upon course of action and direction to manage the relationship between the parties in the negotiation. The methods used to settle disputes or differences should outline the process by which a compromise or agreement is reached and should aim to avoid any further arguments, conflicts and disputes.
You can negotiate this type of negotiation by:
- conflict resolution procedure
- grievance procedure
- industrial relations procedure.
The procedure will outline the negotiation process that should be followed.
Awards set out the minimum pay, overtime rates and various employee entitlements such as holiday pay and other leave entitlements, including parental and carers leave. Different awards exist for multiple industries, which can also be used for enterprise bargaining negotiations.
On behalf of its members, unions negotiate the various conditions of the award with the employer and assist members with personal industrial advice on grievances, discrimination, harassment, unfair dismissal, occupational health and safety, and worker compensation.
A major type of negotiation is enterprise bargaining. This negotiation is conducted between the employer, employees and their bargaining representatives to make an enterprise agreement. The Fair Work Act 2009 has established clear rules and obligations about how this negotiation process is to occur. The process includes:
- rules about bargaining
- the content of enterprise agreements
- how an agreement is made and approved.14
The first step is to negotiate the terms and conditions of employment between the employee or group of employees and agree upon them. The enterprise agreement is then lodged with Fair Work Australia for approval.
Provision of support can be provided to relevant stakeholders in negotiating employee awards, agreements, and workplace conditions, including the following.
- Providing up-to-date information and legislative requirements on:
- Relevant industry awards
- Agreements
- Workplace conditions.
- Provide accurate written and oral advice about industrial matters.
- Using conflict management and resolution skills.
- Demonstrating professional conduct.
- Providing information on the dispute topics such as policies and procedures, terms and conditions of employment, award information, employee code of conduct, health and safety, etc.
- Any discipline and termination processes and relevant documentation.
Additional support may include sourcing expert advice and information from specialists such as Fair Work representatives, industry bodies, industrial relations lawyers, and mediators.
Case study
CBSA Business Solutions is in the process of developing an enterprise bargaining agreement with its employees. Only 50% of the workforce are union members, and the remainder of the staff have been happy with their current enterprise agreement and individual contracts. The general manager asked the human resources team to support the negotiation of employee awards, agreements, and workplace conditions with the union.
Think
Think about the type of award negotiations that occur in your workplace. Think about who would be involved in the negotiations.
Watch the following video to learn about enterprise bargaining processes from a union perspective.
Further reading
Read Important Negotiation Skills for Workplace Success to learn more about negotiation skills in the workplace.
When providing support in simple industrial disputes and negotiating employee conditions, gather all the relevant information, documentation and facts, and document any resolution process and agreements.
The documentation and information you might use to investigate a dispute will vary. It might involve:
- organisational policies and procedures such as conflict management, grievances procedures, discrimination policies, diversity and inclusion policies, anti-bullying policies, etc.
- relevant awards or enterprises agreements
- job descriptions
- training records
- reports on working conditions such as occupational health and safety (OHS work conditions and standards
- quality of equipment and materials used
- reports or information on unreasonable workloads, roles or objectives.15
Further reading
Read what terms must be included in an enterprise agreement to learn more about what documentation you need for enterprise agreements.
In addition to the documentation to assist with any industrial relations issues, such as an investigation, the organisation should keep and maintain records (that are up-to-date) concerning industrial issues and grievances. These written records should include details about the complaint, who was involved, and any agreements.
Documentation can consist of:
- eyewitness statements
- written complaints
- records from mediation sessions
- documented agreements.
Ensure that copies of all communications are documented, including any verbal conversations, email threads, official complaint documents and negotiation meetings, and are organised in chronological order. Keeping accurate and detailed documentation could protect the organisation from future legal action.
Ensuring the documentation required is complete and accurate will help manage and resolve industrial disputes and may support any required disciplinary actions or formal resolution agreements.
Record and store documentation according to organisational requirements and the Privacy Act laws if the documents contain personal information.
Further Reading
Read what's involved in negotiating an Enterprise Bargaining Agreement for more information on individual employee agreements.
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