Employee Relations
Overview
This unit aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the legal, political and industrial framework of Employee Relations in Australia and within a selected group of our international trading partners. The unit develops the student’s appreciation of both the academic and practical application of the influences that govern the employment relationship and examines the roles of employees, employers, trade unions and governments in the employment process. It discusses the impact of economics conditions and of social, political and structural business transformation on rapidly changing contemporary workplace environments, using relevant theoretical approaches and historical analysis.
Requisites
01-June-2025
02-November-2025
Learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Develop advanced and coherent knowledge of the legislation related to Human Resource Management and its application in interpretation
- Critically evaluate a range of workplace situations with regards to the industrial relations implications and make recommendations for how they may be resolved
- Critically analyse both sides of an industrial relations dispute giving clear rationale for the justifications of each side of the argument
- Communicate proficiently in professional practice to a variety of audiences, function as an effective member or leader of a team
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
| Type | Hours per week | Number of weeks | Total (number of hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| On Campus Class |
2.00 | 12 weeks | 24 |
| Online Lecture (asynchronous) |
1.00 | 12 weeks | 12 |
| Unspecified Activities Independent Learning |
9.50 | 12 weeks | 114 |
| TOTAL | 150 |
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assignment 1 | Individual | 40 - 60% | 2,3 |
| Assignment 2 | Individual | 10 - 20% | 1,2 |
| Presentation and Report | Group | 30 - 40% | 2,3,4 |
Content
- Current Australian developments in workplace reform
- Comparative Analysis of work in developed OECD countries, and emerging Asia Pacific countries
- Industrial relations changes that have occurred at both the macro level and micro level
- Current legislation related to Australian workplaces in particular the Fair Work Act 2009, Equal Opportunity Act (Vic) 2010, Gender Equality Act, 2012. OH&S Legislation
- Privacy and other relevant pieces of legislation
- Problem solving approaches to Enterprise Bargaining: distributive, integrative and intra-organisational bargaining
- Models of flexibility: functional, numerical, temporal locational, financial and the impact on key stakeholders
- Alternative industrial relations theoretical approaches to understanding and problem solving in industrial relations
Study resources
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.