BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures

BSBWRK411
Support Employee and
Industrial Relations Procedures
Learning Module

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 2
Table of Content
This Unit in Context ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Elements and Performance Criteria........................................................................................................... 4
Learning Objectives .................................................................................................................................... 5
1. Communicate and Implement ER Policies and Procedures ........................................................... 6
1.1. Introduction to employee and industrial relations ........................................................................ 6
1.2. Identify legislative requirements: The Fair Work System .......................................................... 10
1.3. Identify other legislative requirements ....................................................................................... 13
1.4. Identify awards and agreements ............................................................................................... 14
1.5. Identify and access relevant policies and procedures ............................................................... 16
1.6. Implement agreements, policies and procedures ...................................................................... 19
1.7. Support communication strategies ............................................................................................ 20
1.8. Promote the organisation’s IR and represent the organisation effectively ................................ 22
2. Assist in Minimising Industrial Relations Conflict ............................................................................. 23
2.1. Workplace conflict ...................................................................................................................... 23
2.2. Resolve disputes at the lowest level .......................................................................................... 28
2.3. Process documentation and report conflicts to management ................................................... 30
2.4. Resolve conflicts with employees .............................................................................................. 30
2.5. Source specialist IR expertise ................................................................................................... 33
3. Enhance Employee Relations .............................................................................................................. 34
3.1. Deploy strategies to monitor implementation of policies and procedures ................................. 34
3.2. Implement strategies to facilitate feedback on industrial climate .............................................. 38
3.3. Implement strategies to strengthen relationships with relevant groups .................................... 40
3.4. Provide feedback to management ............................................................................................. 41
4. References and Further Reading .................................................................................................... 43
5. Glossary ............................................................................................................................................. 45
6. Appendices ........................................................................................................................................ 46
6.1. Appendix 1 - Australian Hardware business plan (excerpt) ...................................................... 46
6.2. Appendix 2 - Australian Hardware key personnel ..................................................................... 47
6.3. Appendix 3 - Sample dispute resolution/grievance policy and procedure ................................. 49
6.4. Appendix 4 - Record of complaint template............................................................................... 50
6.5. Appendix 5 - Sample record of interview ................................................................................... 51
6.6. Appendix 6 - Sample permission to show letter/issues ............................................................. 52
6.7. Appendix 7 - Sample letter from HR to complainant ................................................................. 53
6.8. Appendix 8 - The national employment standards checklist ..................................................... 54
6.9. Appendix 9 - Employee climate survey sample ......................................................................... 55

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This Unit in Context
Welcome to Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures.
This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to communicate and implement industrial relations
policies and procedures to effectively represent organisations/employers.
It applies to individuals who work in support positions, assisting others in dealing with industrial relations
conflicts and issues.
No licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.

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Elements and Performance Criteria
Element Performance Criteria
1. Communicate and
implement
organisation’s industrial
relations policies and
procedures
1.1 Source and disseminate relevant legislation, agreements, policies and
procedures to relevant persons and groups
1.2 Implement agreements, policies and procedures according to site,
enterprise and statutory requirements
1.3 Support strategies to effectively communicate with relevant persons and
groups on industrial relations matters
1.4 Promote the organisation’s industrial relations procedures to relevant
persons and groups
1.5 Represent the organisation appropriately in discussions with key
stakeholders
2. Assist in minimising
industrial relations
conflict
2.1 Monitor the implementation of industrial relations policies and procedures
2.2 Process documentation and report to management and other relevant
parties about potential industrial relations conflicts
2.3 Support managers to contain industrial relations conflicts and deal with
grievances and disputes, within limits of own authority
2.4 Work with employees to resolve personal grievances and prevent
escalation of industrial relations conflicts
2.5 Work under supervision to source specialist industrial relations expertise
3. Enhance industrial
relations
3.1 Trial and implement strategies to monitor the implementation of the
organisation’s industrial relations policies and procedures
3.2 Implement strategies to facilitate feedback on the industrial climate
3.3 Implement strategies to strengthen relationships with relevant persons
and groups
3.4 Provide information and feedback to management on industrial relations
3.5 Provide information and advice to relevant persons and groups

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Learning Objectives
 Has the ability to communicate and implement organisation’s industrial
relations policies and procedures
 Has the skills to assist in minimising industrial relations conflict
 Knows how to enhance industrial relations

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1. Communicate and Implement ER Policies and Procedures
The focus of this section is on the skills and knowledge required to communicate and implement employee
relations (ER) policies and procedures.
Scenario: Australian Hardware
Australian Hardware (a simulated business) is a large and expanding hardware and homewares
retailer with approximately 140 stores located across Australia. In its vision statement, Australian
Hardware outlines that it intends to lead the hardware and home improvement market in Australia
within five years.
In order to realise this vision, the organisation will need to ensure the capability and engagement of its
people. To this end, Australian Hardware intends to improve its approach to ER. It intends to review
its ER and IR policies and enterprise agreements to ensure these align with the organisation's goals.
Pat is newly employed as an HR Business Partner at Australian Hardware. Her manager has asked
her to review, communicate, and implement the organisation's ER policies.
Australian Hardware simulated business information, including business and operational plans,
financial information, and policies and procedures can be accessed online at
<http://simulations.ibsa.org.au>.
What skills will you need?
In order to communicate and implement ER policies, you must be able to: source and disseminate relevant legislation, agreements, policies and procedures to relevant
persons and groups implement agreements, policies and procedures according to site, enterprise and statutory
requirements support workplace strategies to effectively communicate with relevant persons and groups on ER promote the organisation's ER procedures to relevant persons and groups represent the organisation appropriately in discussions with key stakeholders.
1.1. Introduction to employee and industrial relations
Employee relations (ER) and industrial relations (IR) can have a huge impact, for better or worse, on an
organisation’s ability to achieve their objectives and provide value to their main stakeholders. From a
human resources (HR) perspective, the ability of the organisation to attract, retain and develop workforce
capacity can be helped or hindered depending on the quality of the industrial relations climate.
IR may be taken in two related senses. The broad sense of IR may be described as: “The relationship
between management and labour, shaped by individual employers and employees and by employer and
employee organisations and government institutions, that exists at a workplace or in an industry and
influences how effectively they work together or achieve their joint and separate goals” (Cole 2007). This
broad sense is now often referred to as ER (or workplace relations).
The second sense of IR is narrower and refers to the formal processes by which good industrial relations
are maintained and disputes are settled, including the process of collective bargaining between employers
and unions or direct negotiations between employers and employees.

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This unit will discuss organisational policies and procedures, as well as the legal context of industrial
relations. Let's take a brief look at the history of IR in Australia, external factors affecting workplace
relations, and stakeholders.
History of IR
A timeline of important milestones in the development of IR in Australia appears below.
1901 saw the establishment of Federation and the Australian Constitution, which gave the parliament of
the day the right to legislate with respect to “conciliation and arbitration for the prevention and settlement
of industrial disputes extending beyond the limits of any one state” (Commonwealth of Australia 1901).
The Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, Australia’s first federal tribunal for industrial
relation, was established in 1904. It had the power to set awards and settle disputes (Australia Trade
Union Archives 2002). Much of Australia’s IR history has been about the determination of fair wages, from
the first basic minimum wage of seven shillings per day being set in 1907 by Harvester Judgement.
From 1988, minimum wages were set by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, until 2006 when
it was replaced by the Fair Pay Commission. Later it was replaced by Fair Work Australia, which was
renamed the Fair Work Commission.
Nowadays, ideally, wages and conditions of employment are determined by mutual consent at the
workplace level through enterprise agreements. These agreements are negotiated between employers
and employees directly or between employers and unions representing employees in a process called
collective bargaining. Traditionally, unions have been involved in these negotiations as worker
representatives but in recent years union membership has been declining to about 17% of the workforce
(Australia Bureau of Statistics 2014).
1901: Federation, Consitution of Australia
1904: Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act
1956-1973: Commonwealth Concilitation and Arbitration Commission
1973-1988: Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission
1988: Industrial Relations Act, Australian Industrial Relations Commission
(AIRC)
1993: Industrial Relations Act reform
1996: Workplace Relations Act
2006: WorkChoices, Workplace Relations Act amendments
2009: Fair Work Act, Fair Work Australia
2012: Fair Work Amendment Act, Fair Work Commission

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External factors affecting workplace relations
Many external factors affect the everyday environment of the workplace and therefore affect the ER and
IR climate in which policies and procedures are developed and implemented.
Let's look at a few of these external IR factors:
 Past events, such as historical strikes and industrial conflicts that have shaped the country's IR
system, for example:
o the system of conciliation and arbitration
o the semi-adversarial notion of maintaining a balance of power in the relationship between
employers/employees and their unions.
 Societal and cultural issues, such as the desire of employees to be given greater control and
involvement in decision-making in their working conditions, for example:
o obtaining and maintaining conditions of employment hard fought for, over the past 100
plus years
o conditions such as: paid maternity leave, increase in paid training, shorter working weeks
and higher wages.
 Political issues, such as who has won government at the time and what that government
perceives as a fair workplace, for example:
o the Australian Labor Party (ALP) generally favours more union power and collective
bargaining
o the Liberal-National Party Coalition (LNP) tends to favour more individual bargaining
(such as the Australian Workplace Agreements [AWAs] introduced under the now
superseded WorkChoices legislation), and restricting union power.
 Economic issues play an important part of what is happening in the workplace, for example:
Workplace
industrial
relations
Past events
Society and
culture
Politics
Economics
Technology
Legislation

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o the global economic downturn during 2009 saw many redundancies and downsizing of
organisations
o the decline of manufacturing
o a decline in productivity, e.g. employer groups campaigning for the need for IR reforms to
wages and conditions or for flexible bargaining.
 Technological issues have an impact on the way that work is designed and the hours that
employees are required to work, e.g.:
o modern technology has resulted in using such items as laptops and PDAs away from the
worksite, to work more efficiently and save time by not requiring workers to be on site as
in traditional workplaces
o a lessening need for labour, particularly in trade union-dominated industries, e.g.
manufacturing
o communications technology enabling the outsourcing of labour needs.
 Legislation has seen a number of changes, particularly over the past 15 years, e.g.:
o 2006 saw WorkChoices legislation and the ability of employers and employees to bargain
away conditions through AWAs
o 2009 saw the abolishment of WorkChoices and the introduction of the Fair Work Act,
generally seen to increase union power and encourage collective bargaining
o individual cases and decisions continue to contribute to precedent and influence future
decisions by the courts.
Stakeholders
Australian IR has three main stakeholders: employers and their representatives, employees and their
representatives, and the government:
Employers in the workplace are represented by:
 industry and employer associations, e.g. the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
 organisational representatives, e.g. managers, bargaining agents, and legal counsel.
Employees in the workplace are represented by:
 unions, e.g. the Australian Council of Trade Unions and specific unions
Workplace
Industrial
Relations
Federal and state/territory
government:
legislation, Fair Work Commission,
Fair Work Ombudsman
Employees
Employers:
managers, team
leaders/supervisors, HR staff
Employer representatives:
industry groups, employer
associations, bargaining,
legal counsel
Employee representatives:
ACTU, specific unions, WHS
representatives, bargaining
agents, legal counsel

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 elected employee representatives, e.g. health and safety representatives, bargaining agents and
legal counsel.
The government regulates the workplace via:
 legislation, e.g. Fair Work Act 2009 (Cwlth), Equal Employment Opportunity Act 1995 (Vic)
 tribunals and commissions, e.g. Fair Work Commission.
1.2. Identify legislative requirements: The Fair Work System
As an HR professional responsible for developing, reviewing and implementing employee and industrial
relations, you will need to identify, access, and distribute information on legislation. The key piece of IR
legislation is the Fair Work Act 2009.
Let's look at a summary of the Act, the conditions of employment set under the Act and an overview of the
Fair Work System.
The Fair Work Act 2009
The Fair Work Act 2009 (Fair Work Act) was created to strike an appropriate balance between the needs
of employers to promote productivity and the needs of workers for fair treatment. The Fair Work Act sets
out to offer:
 a fair and comprehensive safety net of minimum employment conditions
 a bargaining system of good faith at the enterprise level
 protections from unfair dismissal for all employees
 protection for the low paid
 a balance between work and family life
 the right to be represented in the workplace
The following are some key elements of the Fair Work Act. As an HR professional responsible for
reviewing policies and procedures for hiring and dismissal, you should be aware of these elements to
ensure relevant policies and procedures are compliant:
 Fair Work Commission (FWC): Overlooks workplace relations. Has the power to vary awards,
make orders relating to minimum wage and settle unfair dismissal claims.
 Unfair dismissal: Employees may lodge unfair dismissal claims to FWC within seven days if they
were employed for six months or longer (12 months if the business employs 15 people or less).
 Safety net: Minimum standards protect workers' rights through, for example:
o flexible working arrangements after 12 months
o 12 months' unpaid parental leave
 contracts, agreements and policies between employers and employees that reflects the National
Employment Standards (NES)
 Discrimination: Prohibition of discrimination based on: race, colour, sex, sexual preferences,
age, physical, mental disability, marital status, religion or pregnancy.
 Increased union right of entry: Unions may enter a workplace in which they have a member
who works on the premises, to investigate any suspected breache s of legislation.

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 Enterprise bargaining: FWC will grant approval to enterprise agreements (either single
enterprise or multi-enterprise) if they consider 'that each employee is "better off overall" under the
agreement, compared to an applicable modern award' (NSW Business Chamber 2013).
 Transfer of business: After the transfer of assets, employees (between related companies),
outsourcing or insourcing, the work is not to be significantly different after the transfer, compared
to that pre-transfer.
National Employment Standards (NES)
Under the Fair Work Act 2009, National Employment Standards (NES) have been developed to underpin
any award conditions and pay rates. These standards apply to all employees in the federal system,
regardless of industry, occupation or income. They also provide employers with flexibility and simplicity
while also ensuring employees’ key entitlements are protected.
In general, the NES sets out the following ten conditions:
 minimum rates of pay, such as hourly rates and annual salaries
 ordinary hours of work
 annual leave and leave loading
 long service leave
 personal or carer’s leave
 notice to be given on termination
 rest periods
 loadings for overtime, casual work and shift work
 anti-discrimination provisions
 provision of a Fair Work Information Statement, which contains information about the NES,
modern awards, agreement-making and conditions (Fair Work Ombudsman 2017a).
A NES checklist is provided in Appendix 8.
The Fair Work System
The Fair Work System is comprised of four main organisations. Let’s look at these four organisations.
Fair Work
Commission (FWC) Formerly Fair Work Australia (FWA), the FWC is Australia 's national
workplace relations tribunal. It:
 oversees workplace relations
 has the power to vary awards, make orders relating to minimum
wage and settle unfair dismissal claims.
The FWC deals with applications for unfair dismissal, termination of
employment or contravention of a general protection. If the FWC is not able
to conciliate or resolve the issue, the applicant can then apply to the Federal
Court or the Fair Work Division of the Federal Circuit Court (see below) (Fair
Work Commission 2017a).

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Fair Work
Ombudsman
(FWO)
A statutory office, which works closely with the FWC to coordinate and
integrate its services. It:
 offers people a single point of contact for information about Australia
's workplace relations system
 educates Australian workers about fair work practices, rights and
obligations
 investigates complaints or breaches of workplace laws, awards and
agreements
 takes action through the courts (Fair Work Ombudsman 2017b).
Fair Work Building
and Construction An organisation that provides education, performs audits and enforces
compliance with Commonwealth workplace laws in the building and
construction industry (Fair Work Ombudsman 2017c).
The Federal Court
of Australia The Federal Court has jurisdiction over all civil and criminal matters arising in
the Fair Work jurisdiction. The Fair Work Division of the Federal Circuit Court
provides a simpler alternative to employment litigation in the Federal Circuit
Court. It uses streamlined procedures aimed at a quick resolution of IR
disputes (Fair Work Commission 2017a).
Coverage
While the national workplace relation s system covers most workplaces, some are covered by state -
based workplace relations systems. Consider the following:
Note: New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania have referred their IR powers to the
Commonwealth. Western Australia, on the other hand, has chosen not to participate in the national
system; however, since most private sector employers in that state are ‘constitutional corporations’ most
workplaces are, in fact, covered by the Fair Work system (CCH Australia 2010).
Your workplace is covered if it is: Your workplace is NOT covered if it is:
 a constitutional corporation
 in Victoria, the Australian Capital
Territory or the Northern Territory
 in the private sector in New South
Wales, Queensland or South Australia
 in the Tasmanian private sector or local
government sector.
 in the Western Australian state public
sector or a non-constitutional corporation
 in the New South Wales, Queensland or
South Australian state public sector or
local government
 in the Tasmanian state public sector (Fair
Work Commission 2017b).
Definition: Constitutional corporation
A constitutional corporation is a
 financial corporation formed in Australia
 a trading corporation formed in Australia or
 a corporation incorporated outside Australia that does business in Australia.

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1.3. Identify other legislative requirements
Beyond the Fair Work Act, there are a number of other key types of legislation relevant to supporting ER
and IR policies and procedures. These include work health and safety, anti-discrimination and equal
employment opportunity (EEO) legislation.
Work health and safety (WHS/OHS)
Work health and safety (WHS), also known as occupational health and safety (OHS) in some states,
refers to the legislation, policies, procedures and activities that aim to protect the health, safety and
welfare of all people in the workplace. It doesn't just include owners, managers and employees. It also
includes external people, including:
 contractors
 suppliers
 visitors to the workplace.
Work health and safety legislation is enacted and enforced at the state or territory level. Thus, you should
be familiar with your state or territory’s requirements. In general, under WHS/OHS legislation, employers,
such as individual owners or organisations, are obliged to provide:
 safe premises
 safe machinery and materials
 safe systems of work
 adequate information, instruction, training and supervision
 a suitable working environment and facilities
Managers, or other people in positions of authority, have a general duty to work within their areas of
responsibility to ensure the organisation complies with all aspects of legislation.
Employees also have obligations under WHS/OHS legislation. They must take reasonable care for their
own health and safety (which includes complying with reasonable instructions, policies and procedures
related to WHS/OHS), as well as help the workplace comply with its WHS/OHS obligations.
Employers are also required to consult with employees directly, or indirectly through intermediaries, on
WHS/OHS issues. Consultation allows workers to provide input into workplace practices that may affect
their health and safety.
Note: Workplace health and safety legislation is enacted and enforced at the state or territory level.
Anti-discrimination legislation
Laws about discrimination are enacted at both the Commonwealth and the state/territory level.
Commonwealth laws and state/territory laws generally cover the same grounds and areas of
discrimination. However, there are some differences in the protection that is offered between different
states and territories and at the federal level. In general, however, workplace discrimination is unlawful.
As an HR professional responsible for the review of relevant policies, you need to be familiar with relevant
legislation to prevent incidences of discrimination in the workplace. Some relevant anti-discrimination
legislation is listed below:
 Age Discrimination Act 2004
 Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986
 Disability Discrimination Act 1992
 Racial Discrimination Act 1975
 Sex Discrimination Act 1984.

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These laws provide a basis on which individuals may lodge a complaint due to discrimination. Generally, it
is unlawful to discriminate on the basis of any of the following 19 characteristics:
 Age  Physical features
 Breastfeeding  Political belief or activity
 Employment activity  Pregnancy
 Gender identity  Race
 Impairment or disability  Religious belief or activity
 Lawful sexual activity  Sex
 Irrelevant medical or criminal record  Social origin or migration status
 Marital status  Parental or carer status
 Industrial activity (complaint about
conditions/safety or trade union action)
 Personal association with someone who has, or is
assumed to have, any of the above characteristics
Anti-discrimination legislation may be relevant to HR functions dealing with the treatment of both internal
and external customers. For example, all employees should be given the same access to HR services
regardless of the 19 characteristics listed above. Similarly, the performance management, coaching or
training of employees must be carried out in a non-discriminatory manner (Australian Human Rights
Commission 2017).
It is important to realise that practices which may not be intentionally or obviously discriminatory can still
breach legislative requirements. For example, a policy that stipulates services or opportunities are only
available to full-time employees may unintentionally discriminate against women if they are
disproportionately employed on a casual or part-time basis.
Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012
The purpose of this Act is to help promote and educate employees and organisations to achieve gender
equality in the workplace. Women should not be treated unfavourably on the basis of their gender.
Examples of breaching equal opportunity laws for women that are relevant to HR functions or employee
relations can include:
 not interviewing a person because of their gender
 not employing a female because of an assumption that she might get pregnant and leave
 paying workers differently based only on their gender
 making choices around redundancy, or forcing someone quit, because they are female
 not including an employee in regular work group/social activities because of their gender.
Equal opportunity policies for organisations may provide specific guidance for managers for practising
positive discrimination, e.g. setting quotas in recruitment.
1.4. Identify awards and agreements
To support ER and IR, you will need to be familiar with modern awards, contracts of employment, and
enterprise agreements. Let's look at these in more detail.
Awards
Awards, also known as modern awards, are legal documents that set minimum employment entitlements
for specific industries or occupations. They apply on top of the National Employment Standards (Fair Work
Ombudsman 2017d).
Awards set out minimum conditions of employment for employees doing a particular job or working in a
particular industry. Awards, therefore, may be industry based (e.g. retail or hospitality employees) or may

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be occupationally based (e.g. plumbers or nurses). Awards may cover the entire workforce of an
organisation or may cover only some members of the organisation.
Awards include conditions such as:
 wage rates
 penalty rates and allowance
 hours of work
 leave provisions.
Other conditions, such as long-service leave and workers' compensation, are usually covered by state
legislation. Awards are generally used as a minimum starting point for enterprise agreements.
What’s happening in my state?
The Fair Work system covers most organisations operating in Australia, but not all. To see what’s
happening in your state, visit the ‘Fair Work System’ page on the website of the Fair Work Ombudsman
at <https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/legislation/the-fair-work-system>. For example, in Western
Australia, awards may be set by the Western Australia IR Commission (WAIRC).
Contracts of employment
A contract of employment is an agreement between an employer and an employee that is
legally enforceable. Contracts of employment may be written or agreed to verbally.
For a contract of employment to be legally valid it must contain six essential elements; briefly, these are:
 the intention of the parties to create a legal relationship
 an offer by one party and the acceptance of that offer by the other party
 form of consideration (wages)
 capacity to contract
 genuineness of consent
 legality (Vickery & Pendleton 2009).
A contract of employment sets out the conditions of employment that have been agreed upon; however,
these conditions must not fall below the minimum standards or those contained in the award applicable to
that particular job.
Not all contracts of employment give rise to the familiar employer-employee relationship. Organisations
must be able to expertly distinguish between those who are employees (contract of service) and
independent contractors (contract for service).
Enterprise agreements
Enterprise agreements are written documents that set out the conditions of employment between an
employer and an employee or groups of employees (Fair Work Commission 2017c).
The Fair Work Act provides for the following types of agreement:
 Single-enterprise agreements: applicable to a single employer or to two or more employers who
are 'single interest employers', operating what is essentially a single enterprise.
 Multi-enterprise agreements: applicable to two or more employers.
 Greenfields agreements: single-enterprise agreements or multi-enterprise agreements
applicable to genuine new enterprises. These are usually negotiated with trade unions as
employee representatives.

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Unlike awards, enterprise agreements don't contain minimum standards; however, under the Fair Work
Act, the following requirements must be met in order for approval by the FWC:
 the agreement has been made with the genuine agreement of those involved
 the agreement passes the 'better off overall test' (BOOT) and does not include any unlawful terms
of designated outworker terms and does not include any unlawful terms or designated outworker
terms
 the group of employees covered by the agreement was fairly chosen
 the agreement specifies a date as its nominal expiry date (not more than four years after the date
of approval by the Commission)
 the agreement provides a dispute settlement procedure
 the agreement includes a flexibility clause and a consultation clause.
1.5. Identify and access relevant policies and procedures
Policies and procedures are the main, underpinning documents of organisational management systems,
including human resources management, employee relations and IR. In general, policies set out the
general aims of the organisation with respect to some aspect of organisational activity or responsibility, as
well as senior management's commitment to the policy.
Procedures give practical, sometimes step-by-step, guidance for carrying out policy aims. In addition,
policy frameworks set out the larger context of policy-making within the organisation, including the
purpose of creating policy, applicable legal and ethical requirements or frameworks, and who is
responsible for developing or approving policy changes.
Policies and procedures are generally available in print manuals or in electronic form organisational
intranets.
Why have ER or IR policies?
ER or IR policies and procedures are designed to:
 encourage a harmonious workplace free from conflict
 give managers a direction to make appropriate decisions
 meet legal requirements.
An audit should be carried out to ensure all workplace policies and procedures are current and up-to-date.
Factors that must be taken into account include:
 Are they legally compliant?
 Are they user friendly? (e.g. no discriminatory language, and in a language that employees will
understand)
 Do they educate and inform?
 Will they assist mangers to make correct decisions?
Let's look at policies and procedures, as well as policy frameworks, in more detail.
Enterprise agreements
Single-enterpise
agreements
Multi-enterprise
agreements
Greenfield agreements
(usually with a union)

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Policies
A policy is a general statement of aims. For example, a conflict management policy may state the intention
of an employer to resolve conflicts in the interests of both the organisation and employees, and to adhere
to legal and ethical requirements regarding the equity of the process.
Policies usually contain statements regarding:
 the purpose or intent of policy
 the scope, or what areas or people the policy covers or may cover
 responsibilities for implementation
 the applicable legislation, standards and codes of practice.
At a minimum, a workplace policy should contain a statement of purpose and one or more broad
guidelines on the action required to achieve that purpose. The statement of purpose should rarely exceed
one page in length and should be written in simple terms that are free of jargon. The length of the policy
may vary depending on the issues it addresses.
There are several reasons why organisations have policies and procedures. They not only provide for
consistency and direction within an organisation; they also assist with training, communication,
demonstrating compliance with legislation and demonstrating compliance with standards. Overall, they
provide for sound management and organisational practice.
A policy may be required where there is a diversity of interests and preferences, which result in vague and
conflicting objectives among those who are directly involved. Not all workplace issues require a policy.
Many routine matters can be dealt through simple procedures or common sense.
IR policies and procedures will deal with such things as:
 conditions of employment
 conflict management
 discrimination and equal opportunity
 consultation and negotiation
 work health and safety (WHS/OHS).
Policies are typically supported by a range of factors, including culture and management practices, and
procedures. In order to be effectively implemented, policies need whole-hearted commitment from all
levels of the organisation, including senior management.
Procedures
A procedure, also known as a work instruction, is a written instruction outlining the preferred method of
performing a task or activity. Procedures often including:
 an action or task
 description of the action to be taken
 standards
 who is responsible
 safety requirements
 step by step instructions
 diagrams and flow charts.
Where policies provide the overall aims, the procedures tell people how things will be done. A procedure
specifies what will be done, when, by who m, and what records are to be kept. It is the recipe' by whichꞏ
the policies are enacted. For example, a conflict management or grievance procedure will contain steps
for management and employees to take to resolve issues in accordance with policy, legal requirements
and best practice.

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Policy frameworks
As discussed, policy frameworks set out the larger context of policy-making within the organisation. You
could think of a policy framework as a policy about policies; that is, a statement of the general purpose of
creating policies within the organisation, the overall process through which policy-making is undertaken,
and the legal and ethical requirements that may apply.
A policy framework may contain information under the following headings:
 purpose
 scope
 legislative context and requirements
 definitions
 policy statement
 governance of the framework
 delegations of authority
 policy development, approval and review
 communication and implementation
 supporting documents
 responsibility for implementation.
Much like individual policies to support HR and ER functions, the purpose of policy frameworks must align
to organisational and human resources goals and strategies.
At the highest levels of organisational planning, decisions must be made about what matters to the
organisation about, for example, what activities or values provide the most benefit to organisational
stakeholders, namely shareholders and investors, customers and employees. These activities and values
constitute the key determinants of quality for the organisation.
The key determinants of quality are spelled out in policy statements. These policy statements, in turn, are
supported by specific procedures or work instructions to provide appropriate guidance for their
implementation.
Consider the following diagram (Dyson 1999):
Key determinants
of quality
Anti-
discrimination
policy
Procedure
Procedure
Grievance
policy
Procedure
Procedure
Consultation and
negotiation
policy
Procedure
Procedure

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1.6. Implement agreements, policies and procedures
As an HR professional responsible for the implementation of agreements and ER and IR policies and
procedures, you will need to develop schedules and action plans.
Action plans detail all the tasks involved in implementation, including who is responsible for completing
each task and when it will be completed. Action plans may also include strategies or tactics for achieving
objectives and resources or budget required.
Roles and responsibilities
When planning implementation, it is critical that you clearly define the roles and
responsibilities of:
 human resources team members
 line managers
 third-party providers.
Failing to clearly outline who is responsible for which aspect of achieving plans can result in confusion and
a failure to complete tasks in time, which can cause disruptions in the implementation of important
initiatives for ER or IR.
Roles and responsibilities are best defined when documenting and agreeing to the policies and
procedures that will be implemented to manage the provision of the service.
The following is an example action plan to manage the implementation of Australian Hardware’s ER
initiatives.
Example: Australian Hardware implementation planning
Susan, the HR General Manager at Australian Hardware, has completed the following action plan to
manage the implementation of the organisation’s employee relations initiatives.
Action plan
Objectives  Improve employee engagement and satisfaction
 Complete renegotiation of Enterprise agreement
Owner of plan Susan Black (HR General Manager)
Action
required Responsibility Timeline Strategies/tactics Resources/
budget
Publish revised
procedures on
intranet
 Pat Lee 1
February
N/A N/A
Promote
revised
grievance
procedures
 Pat Lee 1
February
 Conduct video conference
presentation with
managers (see
Communications
Strategy).
Room
bookings/$10,000
Develop and
trial employee
climate survey
 Pat Lee 10 March  Test prototype at
Wollongong store for
usability and validity of
tool to determine
employee satisfaction

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 20
Conduct
employee
climate survey
 Line managers 15 March  Use line managers to
explain survey.
 Distribute survey through
secure online survey tool.
IT
consultant/$5,000
Promotion of
enterprise
bargaining
 Pat Lee 1 April  See Communications
Strategy.
See
Communications
Strategy.
Negotiation of
enterprise
agreement
 Susan Black
 Tania Smith
(IR consultant/
negotiator)
 Union
10 April TBA N/A
New enterprise
agreement put
in effect
 CEO
 BOD
 Susan Black
1 July N/A N/A
1.7. Support communication strategies
To effectively communicate policy and agreements and promote understanding and support of employee
relations, you will need to develop effective communication plans or strategies.
Purpose and audience
Possibly the two most important considerations in communication are purpose and audience. Firstly, why
are you communicating? Do you wish to inform, assist, influence or gain support for organisational IR
plans? Make your purpose explicit by determining several clear objectives for your communications
strategy.
Secondly, what impact do you intend to make on your audience? What do you want your audience to do?
What do you want them to think? What do you want them to think of you (so that they trust your judgement
and intentions)? In an organisational setting, it is often best to design your report with the organisation's
goals firmly in mind, your mission being to convince others to take actions or support actions to further
those goals.
In order to achieve your purpose, you will need to consider the needs of your audience. In a business
setting, these needs are likely to be for:
 personal respect
 respect towards the organisation's:
o goals
o values
o business culture
 useful, relevant information
 reassurance that:
o threats to job security, benefits, for example, have been minimised
o change or disruption to normal work practices won't be too uncomfortable
o feedback and support channels are available
 recommendations or calls to action that are clear and actionable.
Questions that you may need to consider are:
 What information is to be communicated?

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 Who is the audience?
 Who are the relevant stakeholders who need to receive the information?
 What are their needs? What cultural and accessibility considerations of employees need to be
taken into account?
 What times and dates are best to deliver the information? Does this take into account?
o shift workers
o employees on leave
o part-time workers
o casual workers
o employees on leave
o new employees?
 Is there commitment from the top down (i.e. management support)
 How will feedback be received?
 How can it be confirmed that all required stakeholders have received and understood the
information?
Message
It is important to consider what message you want to convey. Messages should be clear and
unambiguous and relate directly to your communication objectives.
Medium
Once you have determined your objectives, audience needs, and the message you wish to convey, it is
time to consider the best media or channels for communicating information to your target audience.
Some suggested means of communicating are as follows:
 team meetings
 training sessions
 employee orientations and inductions
 information sessions
 organisational meetings
 individual enquiries
 emails
 intranet
 notice boards
 brochures
 fact sheets
 newsletters
 magazines
 employee handbooks.
It is important to consider how you can use the chosen media to the best effect to achieve your
communications objectives. You will also need to consider your organisation’s financial and budgetary
needs. Let’s look at an example of a communications strategy.
Example: Australian Hardware’s communications strategy
Communication objectives
(aligned to HR objectives and
organisational strategic goals)
 Inform employees of rights and responsibilities
 Promote employee engagement
 Build support for enterprise bargaining
Audience
(characteristics/ receptivity
to message)
Message Strategy: media,
approach, rationale
(why it will communicate
message and meet objectives)
Resources/
budget
(if applicable,
estimate)
Person
 Wollongong
customer service
and sales staff
 organisation's objectives
and positive approach to
ER.
 organisation's plans to
negotiate an enterprise
agreement.
 organisational grievance
procedures.
 email
 face-to-face
presentation
N/A HR officer

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1.8. Promote the organisation’s IR and represent the organisation effectively
In addition to, or as part of, your communication strategy, you will need to promote the organisation's ER
and IR strategies to both peer managers and organisational decision makers, while also representing the
organisation to employees.
Managers and officers
In order for ER and IR policies to be effectively implemented, manager and HR team members at all levels
of the organisation must be committed to the policies. This will help maintain a culture of mutual trust,
respect and loyalty between the employees and employers by presenting a unified front.
To this end you may need to promote ER and IR initiatives via:
 team meetings
 training sessions
 management meetings
 board of directors’ meetings.
As discussed earlier with regard to communication strategies, you will need to be aware of your purpose
of your promotional activities and the special needs of your audience.
Represent the organisation
It is often part of the duties of human resources managers, officers or business partners to represent the
organisation at various forums such as:
 employee orientations and inductions
 information sessions
 organisational meetings
 individual enquiries
 external bodies (e.g. the Fair Work Commission or state/territory health and safety bodies)
 external hearings (e.g. the Federal Court or Fair Work Commission)
 health and safety committee meetings
 negotiations.
Again, you will need to consider your objectives and the needs of your audience. You will need to ensure
you present correct and up-to-date information and advice on ER and IR issues, and work to ensure
compliance with relevant legislation.
As a representative of the organisation it is also important for you to show leadership by embodying
positive attributes and values. You will need to:
 be honest with employees and negotiating partners: develop a reputation for truthfulness
 ensure consistency and fairness in your personal behaviour
 eliminate the fact or appearance of conflict of interest: be clear about your loyalty to the
organisation
 use appropriate communication skills and body language.

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2. Assist in Minimising Industrial Relations Conflict
The focus of this section is on the skills and knowledge required to assist in minimising IR conflict.
Scenario: Australian Hardware - IR conflict
Pat is newly employed as an HR Business Partner at Australian Hardware. She has recently
assisted her manager in reviewing, communicating and implementing the organisation's ER policies.
Pat's role involves ensuring the delivery of HR services to managers and employees as required.
Importantly, she works with managers to ensure they are able to meet the needs of the business,
their customers and their employees.
Occasionally conflict may arise. It is Pat's responsibility to help her manager manage risk of conflict
to the organisation by:
 monitoring the implementation of IR policies and procedures
 processing documentation and reporting to management
 supporting her manager to contain IR conflicts
 work with employees to resolve grievances and prevent escalation.
Pat will need to work with her manager and seek expert advice where required to manage conflict.
What skills will you need?
In order to assist minimising IR conflict, you must be able to: monitor the implementation of IR policies and procedures process documentation and report to management and other relevant parties about potential IR
conflicts support managers to contain IR conflicts and deal with grievances and disputes, within the limits
of you own authority work with employees to resolve personal grievances and prevent the escalation of IR conflicts work under supervision to source specialist IR expertise.
2.1. Workplace conflict
As an HR professional with responsibilities that cover ER or IR, you will need to minimise or assist others
to minimise workplace conflict. Conflict can take different forms and has many potential causes. The
results of conflict may be very obvious, such as industrial action, or less obvious.
Even small conflicts need to be managed. Such conflict, while starting out as a small, localised issue, can
have the potential for escalation.
In the end, it is important to investigate and understand the root causes of industrial conflict in order to
develop and implement effective policies and procedures for minimising conflict.
Types of conflict
Conflict arises generally between:
 two or more employees
 management and employees

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 24
 employees and team leader/supervisors
 employees and the policies and procedures.
The conflict may be in regard to:
 personalities
 poor supervision
 lack of communication
 conflicting values
 misunderstandings of rules and procedures
 lack of training
 interpretation of conditions of employment
 not being involved in decision-making
 pay and conditions and share of profits.
Overt and covert effects
Conflict may be either overt (obvious or open) in the workplace, e.g. arguments during meetings, or covert
(hidden or subtle), e.g. snide or sarcastic comments made under the guise of a 'joke'). The impact of the
tension caused by subtle conflicts can have serious and long-reaching results.
Taking a systematic approach to conflict
It is important to anticipate the root of causes of potential conflict and take a systematic approach to
minimising conflict before it arises.
Often conflict arises from a sense of unfairness. Alexander, Lewer, and Gahan (2008) note, “workplace
conflict arises when there is an injustice, perceived or real, by one of the parties as a result of the action
by another”.
From an ER and IR standpoint, therefore, it is important to develop and implement ER policy frameworks
that build trust through promoting clear, transparent and consistent principles and processes.
• increased
absenteeism
• requests for
transfers
• staff resignation
• increased health
and safety
issues
• lower productivity
• theft or industrial
‘sabotage’
• passive
resistance
• lack of
cooperation.
• workplace
limitations, i.e.
bans and
boycotts
• union meetings
• stop work
meetings
• strikes
• suspension of
staff
• transfer or
termination
• use of contract
staff
• company going
‘off shore’.
Overt results of workplace conflict include:
Covert results of workplace conflict include:

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 25
Policies and procedures, for example, should spell out the organisation's approach to collective bargaining
and managing disputes, as well as clear, step by step instructions where relevant.
Grievance and dispute resolution procedures.
Ideally, effective policies and procedures will help reduce the need for grievance or conflict resolution
procedures, nevertheless, some potential for conflict always exists and it is important to have clear and
fair processes in place to follow if it eventuates.
A grievance procedure sets out the steps involved to resolve a conflict when it arises or is made known.
Grievance procedures are intended to:
 maintain harmonious working relationships
 provide fair and effective methods for resolving grievances
 identify legitimate causes of concern among employees
 provide prompt and agreed upon resolution of grievances
 ensure equal employment opportunity is applied within the organisation.
A key principle of grievance procedures and dispute resolution is to resolve the dispute at the lowest
possible level to avoid unnecessary, time-consuming and expensive escalation.
Dispute resolution is an important of IR and enterprise bargaining. For example, both awards and
enterprise agreements must contain a clause dealing with dispute mechanisms. An example grievance
procedure is provided in Appendix 3.
Monitor implementation of IR policies and procedures
Conflict and grievance have a disruptive effect on the workplace and on organisational goals. It is
important to minimise IR conflict in order to for example:
 maximise productivity
 reduce wastage
 build trust and loyalty in management
 reduce accidents and lost-time injures (LTls)
 reduce absenteeism
 reduce turnover rates.
You will need to measure the success of implementation of IR and ER policies and procedures. In order to
do this, you will need to develop a monitoring plan or strategy or help implement one. It will be important to
ensure you do this while keeping in mind the broad goals of the organisation or HR department, especially
with respect to maintaining good employee relations.

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 26
First, let’s look at some key terms for organisational planning and monitoring implementation within that
context.
Term Definition Example/s
Goal
A broad ambition for the
organisation or department. Think
big.
 Become an Employer of Choice
 Become a model for another organisation’s
IR.
Strategy
How you work in a purposeful
way to achieve goals, your
approach, also a document that
describes such as an approach
 Improve ER through transparent
mechanisms for negotiation and dispute
resolution and effective ER initiatives.
Objective
Something that you do to achieve
a strategy, a measurable or
observable step. A strategy may
have several objectives
associated with it.
 Increase employee satisfaction
 Retain talented, motivated employees
Outcome The desired end result of a
process or activity.
 Successful completion of enterprise
bargaining,
Activities
and tasks
Units of work that have specific
beginnings and endings but
should be connected with
important, ongoing work
processes or with achieving
specific objectives.
 Negotiating agreements
 Communicating changes to employees
 Drafting of policies
Metric How you measure success, a
number, fraction, percentage
 Turnover rate =
Employees leaving in a time period x 100
Number of grievances resolved
 Percentage of employees participating in
bargaining
Baseline/
benchmark
A standard level of performance
as defined by previous
measurements or by industry
averages
 Last year’s number of IR grievances
 Industry average WHS incidents
Target Success described in terms of a
metric, a number
 Achieve 5% turnover
 Resolve 95% of disputes
Data
collection
methods
How or where you will gather
information on the relevant
metrics
 Human resources management systems
 Employee satisfaction and climate surveys
Now let's look at an example document in which the various elements above, such as the drafting and
implementation of grievance procedures, are brought together into a coordinated monitoring strategy.
The key features of a monitoring strategy include: a description of what outcomes are desired, how
success will be measured, a baseline (where relevant) to compare previous performance or industry
benchmarks, targets, and a description of how the information will be gathered.

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 27
Monitoring strategies will be discussed further in Section 3 in connection with enhancing employee
relations and organisational planning.
Example: Australian Hardware ER/IR monitoring strategy
Description of
objective/ outcome/
activity/task
Metric Baseline
(previous year's
performance)
Target Data collection
methods
Drafting of dispute
procedures
Employees consultation
completion
Task completion
N/A
N/A
Completion by
June 1
Finalisation and
approval by May 1
Forum minutes
Formal review
meeting
minutes
Retain key
employees through
positive employee
relations rewards,
promotion and
training
Turnover rate
% grievances resolved
15%
80 %
Turnover rate (8%)
9 5%
HRMS
Compliant
reports
Increase employee
satisfaction
Absenteeism rate
% of employees who feel
disputes and grievances
are handled fairly and
promptly
5%
70%
Absenteeism rate
(1%) 90 %
satisfaction level
HRMS
Climate survey
Implementation of
communications
strategy
% staff informed of
organisational plans,
dispute/grievance
procedures and positive
ER approach
N/A 100 % staff
informed
Meeting rolls
Monitor and review grievance procedures and resolution
At a lower level of monitoring the implementation and during individual cases, you may need to review, or
assist in the review of the effectiveness of the dispute resolution process as actually followed by you or
someone else.
The process should be monitored at every stage. For example, during the dispute resolution, ask yourself
the following questions:
 Am I following procedures?
 Are all main stakeholders engaged and appropriately participating in the process?
 If the process is not working or has gone off track, what can I do to bring the process back on
track?
After the process has been completed, ask yourself these simple questions:
 Did I communicate with all the necessary stakeholders in a timely manner?
 Did I give the correct information at the correct time?
 Was confidentially maintained?
 Was I fair?
 Did I follow procedures?
 Was the issue resolved to the satisfaction of all parties?
 Is the agreed resolution continuing to be effective in terms of organisational goals and objectives

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 28
2.2. Resolve disputes at the lowest level
You will often need to work through the process of resolving disputes or support your manager or superior
to do this. You will need to assess individual cases and then take action to resolve the disputes at the
lowest possible level.
Assess the conflict or dispute
In order to be effective, you will need to understand the nature of the dispute or conflict; identify the
relevant stakeholders; and then decide upon, and undertake, appropriate actions to resolve the dispute in
accordance with relevant organisational policies and practices.
The process of assessing the dispute may be thought of as having four components:
You will need to ensure you consider all four components and consult appropriately to find the right
approach.
Resolve disputes at the lowest possible level
It is an important principle in dispute resolution to always resolve issues at the lowest level. Doing so
avoids unnecessary escalation, resolves issues faster and less expensively, and gives managers who are
closer to the issue and the people concerned, the opportunity to respond first.
Importantly, while disputes should be resolved primarily by the parties concerned, you may be invited or
required to mediate the dispute in order to ensure the process is followed in an impartial way.
Initially, grievances fall into two basic categories:
 Informal: The issue remains with the immediate people concerned and is resolved at that level,
without outside intervention or escalation.
 Formal: When the issue has not been resolved at the informal stage and has now been escalated
within the organisation or to an external authority.
1. Understand the
conflict:
• issues
• reasons
• past events
• causes
• seriousness or
risk to individual
employees or
organisation.
2. Identify
stakeholders:
• individual staff
member/s
• union members
• management
• employer/industry
groups
• employee
representatives.
3. Choose conflict
resolution
methods:
• workplace
grievance and
dispute
procedures
• investigation
and consultation
• consultation and
negotiation
• workplace
bargaining
• mediations
• concilliation and
arbitration
• legal system.
4. Identify
appropriate results
to aim for:
• enterprise
agreements and
contracts
• formal
enterprise
agreement
• awards
• revised policies
and procedures
• individual
dispute
resolutions.

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Once you have begun to undertake the process of resolving disputes or disagreements, you will need to
closely manage the process. Managing the conflict and grievance process is important in order to
minimise the impact on the workplace and to avoid the escalation of the conflict to such a degree that
external intervention is required to resolve or adjudicate the issue.
The dispute resolution process typically follows a continuum, from private and informal to public and
external:
As you move along the process (from left to right), the conflict:
 becomes more public and more formal
 involves greater third-party intervention
 becomes more stressful for all parties concerned
 may be costlier in terms of
o greater demand on organisational resources, e.g. time, replacement employees,
o loss of productivity and greater wastage
o higher absenteeism and employee turnover
o increased health and safety issues, e.g. stress and potential for increased workplace
accidents.
To help resolve the issue at the lowest level, you should follow procedures and organisational processes
and ensure all parties, while still in disagreement, at least recognise and understand the process. When it
is known that a grievance exists, a copy of the grievance policy should be given to all parties involved and
careful provided.

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 30
2.3. Process documentation and report conflicts to management
In order to facilitate conflict management, you will need to follow procedures and processes to complete
required reporting. You will also need to report conflicts to management, particularly if grievances need to
be escalated or if the dispute falls outside of your level of authority.
Reporting
Grievances should generally be submitted and/or recorded in writing. This way the facts of the complaint
can be stated clearly, in neutral terms, ready for consideration by the appropriate decision-maker.
When a conflict or grievance issue is reported, it is important to record all information, also information
pertaining to any investigation. For example, this can be done by completing (in writing) a complaints form
that includes the following information:
 name of complainant
 date of report
 names of stakeholders involved
 witness
 nature of complaint
 name of who is taking the information
 signatures.
When recording and storing written reports, it is important to be aware of confidentiality. You will need to
follow organisational policies and procedures for recordkeeping as well as relevant legislation, e.g. privacy
or anti-discrimination legislation.
Report conflicts to manager and other important stakeholders
If a dispute needs to be escalated beyond your level of authority or if the dispute threatens to increase risk
to organisational goals beyond acceptable levels, it may be necessary to report the issue to appropriate
personnel or relevant stakeholders. These may include
 employees
 HR/IR managers
 employee representatives such as unions
 department managers
 team leaders/supervisors
 employee negotiators or representatives.
These stakeholders may also need to be part of any investigation undertaken to resolve the issue.
2.4. Resolve conflicts with employees
On a practical level, it is important to be able to approach dispute resolution in the right way. You will also
need to employ communication and listening skills, dealing effectively with strong emotions, as well as
using conflict resolution techniques and strategies. While it is not often possible, it is best to take a
collaborative approach to conflict resolution and bargaining.
Proactive approach
Perhaps most importantly, you will need to act quickly to detect and resolve issues. The early detection of
potential IR conflict is a major part of minimising disruption in the workplace.

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 31
The diagram below depicts conflict escalation, i.e. the effects of tension over time (Tillett 1991).
Taking a proactive approach is one way of avoiding disruption and identifying or eliminating conflict before
it develops.
Strategies to assist with the early detection may include:
 managing by walking around
 adopting an 'open door' policy, which involves employees being able to 'drop in' to the HR
department and ask questions without feeling intimidated.
 practising active listening skills that foster two-way communication
 implementing consultative committees.
Tillett (1991) suggests 'adopting a participatory approach to management'. This approach involves
management and HR professionals being seen around the organisation. Employees need to be able to
just open a conversation about a concern in a neutral and non-threatening manner.
Active listening
Effective listening involves not only passively hearing what the other person has to say, it also involves
drawing out and confirming additional information that may help you resolve the issue. Effective listening,
therefore, is also active listening.
To practise active listening, you must first show that you are prepared to listen through appropriate body
language. A useful memory aid to assist in ensuring you are practising effective body language is 'SOLER'
(Boulle 2005):
Squarely face the person to show involvement.
Adopt an Open posture, literally and metaphorically.
Lean towards the client at times.
Maintain Eye contact most of the time.
Relax, be natural.
Incident
Incident
Incident/s
Crisis
Action
Time
War
Stalemate
Resolution
Tension

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 32
You will need to ask questions and confirm your understanding by paraphrasing or restating the other
person's words. It is important to let employees know that it is okay to explore issues of concern. Show the
employee that you understand the situation, empathise, and provide practical information.
Dealing with strong emotions
Employees are often in a distressed state when they make the decision to speak to someone in HR about
a workplace problem. An important part of the dispute resolution process is to defuse emotional situations.
For example, for a grievance to be resolved satisfactorily, representatives of management and employees
must be able to discuss issue/s rationally and appreciate each other’s points of views.
Often strong feelings such as anger on the part of employees stems from a sense of frustration and lack of
power. Folberg and Taylor (1984) defines a dispute as 'an interpersonal conflict that is communicated or
manifested'. Dispute resolution, therefore, involves achieving a balance of power in non-coercive ways
that will achieve accommodations among disputants.
When participating in or mediating heated disputes, you need to listen to others, recognise and
acknowledge their feelings, establish a fair and equal basis, and move as smoothly as possible into
promoting and initiating a cooler and more neutral process. In this way, the underlying issues can be
discussed in productive ways that are likely to lead to resolution.
Conflict resolution techniques and strategies
There are a number of approaches available to negotiation and conflict resolution. Thomas and Kilmann
(cited in Cole 2005) have identified 5 major styles of coping with conflict. These include competition,
avoidance, accommodation, compromise and collaboration.
The diagram below demonstrates the relationship between these styles, and the degrees of assertiveness
and cooperativeness. Assertiveness refers to the extent to which the person attempts to satisfy his/her
own concerns. Meanwhile, cooperativeness refers to the extent to which the person attempts to satisfy the
other person’s concerns.
Let's look at a comparison of two approaches to conflict resolution in terms of whether they are directed
towards win/lose or win/win outcome:
Uncooperative Cooperative
Unassertive Assertive
Competition:
win-lose approach
Collaboration:
win-win approach
Avoidance:
lose-lose approach
Accommodation:
win-lose approach
Compromise
Best possible
outcome

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 33
Generally, the best approach to conflict resolution is a collaborative approach. Certainly, as a mediator,
the goal of the dispute resolution process should be to achieve a win/win outcome, with neither party
feeling they have given up key objectives or compromised.
An important feature of taking a collaborative approach involves being open and supportive to the process
and following standard procedures. This attitude helps to ensure that both the employer (and/or their
representative) and employee/s feel that the outcome will be achieved by the parties involved through a
fair process and hopefully not escalate to external authorities.
2.5. Source specialist IR expertise
On occasion you may need to source information or specialist advice on ER or IR. Sources may be
internal to the organisation or external. It is important to determine what sort of information you require in
order to decide upon the most appropriate sources of expertise.
Internal sources
Internal sources of information and advice include:
 managers
 employees
 technical experts
 HR centres of excellence, for example, training, policy, and compliance.
People within the organisation are often closer to issues and understand organisational processes and
culture; therefore, the advice and information they give is very often tailored to organisational needs and
relevant to the particular issue you need advice on. On the other hand, particularly during disputes, the
advice or information is often limited to the narrower focus and individual interests of managers and
employees.
External sources
For neutral and expert advice, particularly in industrial disputes, it is often better to consult outside
expertise. Some options include:
 private consultancies specialising in IR matters
 IR lawyers
 government regulatory and statutory bodies, e.g. the Fair Work Ombudsman or the Victorian
WorkCover Authority (VWA)
 industry bodies and employer organisations
 HR networks
 unions.
Possible drawbacks of seeking outside advice include additional expense and unnecessarily involving
other parties in disputes.
Win-Lose Win-Win
 The aim is for total conquest vs defeat.
 Only one view point prevails.
 Could be a temporary solution if the defeated
party does not really accept the outcome, the
same issue may flare up again.
 Dispute tends to remain emotional and difficult
to manage.
 Parties are looking for a ‘fight’.
 Characterised by a lack of trust.
 The prevailing attitude is ‘let’s work together’.
 Participants are open to a variety of
viewpoints and the ‘big picture’.
 Long term solutions are more likely.
 The issue being discussed and debated is the
real issue.
 Is an opportunity to improve and develop the
relationship between management and
employees.
 Characterised by trust.

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 34
3. Enhance Employee Relations
The focus of this section is on the skills and knowledge required to enhance employee relations.
Scenario: Australian Hardware
Recall that Pat is newly employed as an HR Business Partner at Australian Hardware. Part of Pat’s
role involves assisting her manager to monitor HR performance and progress on employee relations.
Pat will need to:
 follow monitoring strategies for the implementation of ER policies and procedures
 implement climate surveys to employees in accordance with the monitoring strategy
 follow communications strategies to strengthen relationships between employees and
management
 hold information sessions for stakeholders in ER
 report to management on performance in accordance with organisational needs.
In order to contribute to organisational goals and continuous improvement, Pat will need to work
closely with her manager to determine appropriate metrics and monitor the progress of ER.
What skills will you need?
In order to enhance employee relations, you must be able to: trial and implement strategies to monitor the implementation of the organisation’s ER policies and
procedures implement strategies to facilitate feedback on the industrial climate implement strategies to strengthen relationships with relevant people and groups provide information and advice to relevant people and groups provide information and feedback to management on ER.
3.1. Deploy strategies to monitor implementation of policies and procedures
When working as an HR professional, a key part of your role in enhancing ER is to monitor the success of
ER or IR initiatives. For example, you may be required to implement professional development policies,
rewards and recognition, IR policies, grievance policies, or enterprise bargaining. In general, to ensure the
continuous improvement of ER, the organisation or HR department will set objectives, determine how to
measure achievement or progress, set performance targets, gather information, and identify gaps
between targets and actual performance.
Tip: Measuring success
When identifying gaps, you can measure success by monitoring or examining:
 lost-time disputes
 work bans, go-slows and work to rule campaigns
 disruptive conflict
 high labour turnover
 external interference
 quality, health and safety, environment failures and incidents
 productivity below targets, costs exceeding budget
 failure to meet strategic and/or operational targets (Jones 2008).

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 35
In order to monitor the implementation of IR polices and processes, you will need to take a performance
management approach to monitoring ER and IR success. This may be done through the following
methods:
 Developing KPls (key performance indicators) for IR within the context of a formal performance
management system.
 Implementing HR practices including conduct of exit interviews, formal performance management,
career planning and succession planning.
 Implementing the ongoing measurement of employee job satisfaction and morale.
 Implementing the ongoing measurement of organisation climate and organisational culture/values
strategies (Jones 2008).
Let's look at monitoring ER and IR in the context of organisational performance management.
Performance management: Goals, objectives and targets
To take a performance management approach to monitoring IR, you will need to develop or identify goals,
objectives and targets.
In performance management, the terms 'goals', 'objectives', and 'targets' are often used loosely and
interchangeably. Where a distinction is drawn, goals are more general than objectives, and targets are
more narrowly defined than objectives. In addition, objectives may be called 'strategic' objectives, if they,
together with associated metrics and targets, are coordinated and focused on achieving higher-level,
organisational or HR goals.
For example, an organisation may have 'enhancing employee relations' as a goal. The organisation may
have identified that to become an Employer of Choice and improve the industrial climate to differentiate
itself from competitors for labour in the industry, it must increase productivity and performance, as well as
reduce IR risk. Objectives associated with the strategy may include reducing employee turnover,
increasing employee satisfaction ratings, and negotiating a strong enterprise agreement. The organisation
might then define a number of specific, quantifiable and time-bound targets for the HR department, teams
and individuals to realise the objectives.
The hierarchy of this example of a goal and its associated objectives and targets can be illustrated as
shown below:
Goals, objectives and particularly targets as defined above should be SMART:
Goal Enhance employee relations
Objectives
Targets
Reduce
employee
turnover to 8%
Increase
satisfaction
ratings from
70% to 90% in
climate survey
Reduce
turnover
Increase
employee
employment
satisfaction
Complete
enterprise
bargaining
100%
participation

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 36
S Specific
Goals, objectives or targets should be clearly defined, reducing the risk of
HR professionals, employees or teams misunderstanding performance
expectations for IR.
M Measurable
Goals, objectives or targets should ideally be expressible as a number or
quantity in order to enable development of, or alignment to, performance
metrics. They should also facilitate monitoring activities.
A Agreed Goals, objectives or targets should be set in consultation with employees.
R Realistic/Relevant
Goals, objectives or targets should be relevant to the organisation's overall
aims and the individual's job role. They should also be attainable without
being too easy to achieve. There is no point in setting unreachable targets.
On the other hand, targets that are too easy to achieve may undermine
performance potential.
T Time framed
Goals, objectives or targets should have deadlines if they are to be
effectively monitored. You need to measure achievement to know if you
have succeeded; you also need to know when to measure.
Develop performance metrics for IR
In order for performance to be effectively monitored and evaluated, it needs to be measured. Performance
is generally measured using key performance indicators (KPls). KPls measure an organisation's
performance in critical areas, often called key result areas (KRAs). Key result areas may include general
areas of performance important to the business or the role, such as financial measures, productivity,
customer focus, training and development, or ER/IR.
KPls show the progress (or lack of it) toward realising the organisation's objectives or strategic plans by
monitoring activities in KRAs. These are the activities that, if not properly performed, are likely to seriously
impact the implementation of IR plans. KPls will differ depending on the organisation.
To be useful in the context of IR performance management, KPls should generally conform to the
following three requirements:
1. KPls should promote common, clear understanding. They must be:
a. simple enough for anyone to understand
b. calculated in a standard way across the organisation
c. documented.
2. KPls should correlate with performance. They must:
a. directly measure the results of a process
b. be directly affected by changes to that process
c. not be directly affected by factors outside of that process.
3. KPls, including 'soft' KPls such as behaviours and attitudes, should be quantifiable, i.e. they
should be expressed as a number or a percentage so that they can be measured.
Note: KPls are geared towards measuring ongoing processes, e.g. safe work practices or employee
recruitment/exits. While commonly used and popular with managers, KPIs are not always the most
appropriate way to measure employee relations.
For example, the successful completion of an enterprise agreement is an activity or task that has a definite
beginning and end, as such, it either happens by a certain date or does not. In other words, it cannot be
expressed as a number, percentage, rate or ratio. To take another example, interviews, forums, and

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 37
climate surveys may provide rich descriptive information useful for assessing employee satisfaction but
are not expressible in numeric terms.
You will, therefore, have to cleverly design your monitoring strategy to capture all the numeric and
descriptive, non-numeric information you need to determine, or help your manager or supervisor to
determine, the success of ER and IR efforts.
Monitoring strategy
As discussed briefly in Section 2 in relation to measuring the success of implementation of IR and ER
policies and procedures, you will need to develop a monitoring plan or strategy, or help implement one for
measuring the success of ER and IR.
You will need to develop or implement your strategy with the broad goals and objectives of the
organisation in mind, making sure you include, for example, financial, customer satisfaction, and legal
compliance KRAs.
Let's look at an example monitoring strategy in the form of a document that outlines strategic objectives,
tasks and activities, as well as associated metrics, baselines, targets and data collection methods to
achieve the overall goal of enhancing employee relations.
Example: Australian Hardware ER/IR Monitoring Strategy
Description of
objective/outcome/
activity/task
Metric
Baseline
(previous
year’s
performance)
Target
Data
collection
methods
Maintain a safe
workplace
Lost time injury frequency rate
(LTIFR) = (Number of
LTIs/Total hours worked) x
1,000,000
National
LITFR =
11.3
Australian
Hardware target =
9
HRMS
Incident
reports
Health and
Safety
Committee
meetings
Incident rate (IR) = (Number
of occurrences/Number of
workers) x 100
National IR
= 1.5
Australian
Hardware target =
1.5
Retain key
employees through
positive employee
relations rewards,
promotion, and
training
Turnover rate = (Number of
employees leaving/Number of
employees) x 100
15% Turnover rate
(8%) HRMS
Promote levels of
diversity in
workplace
proportional to
percentage of
population
% female managers 0% % female
managers (50) HRMS
% Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islanders (ATSI) 0% % ATSI 92.7%) HRMS
Increase employee
satisfaction
Absenteeism rate 5% Absenteeism rate
(1%) HRMS
% of employees who feel:
 valued by Australian
Hardware
 Australian Hardware
develops their potential
70% 90% satisfaction
level
Climate
survey

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 38
 disputes and grievances
are handled fairly and
promptly
Implementation of
communications
strategy
% staff informed of
organisational plans,
dispute/grievance procedures
and positive ER approach
N/A 100% staff
informed
Meeting
attendance
rolls
Negotiation of
enterprise
agreement
% employees participating N/A
100% employees
(or their
representatives)
participating
Meeting
attendance
rolls.
Interviews
with union
officials
Completion of
agreement % employees agree N/A 100% affected
employees agree
Signed
draft
New enterprise
agreement in effect
Approval by Fair Work
Commission N/A Approval by 1
July this year
Approved
agreement
3.2. Implement strategies to facilitate feedback on industrial climate
In order to determine the organisation's success in building a culture of IR performance and promoting a
climate of good ER and IR, as well as to identify any emerging trends in employee satisfaction, you will
need to survey the organisational climate.
Organisations will use such information to measure success and to determine if actions need to be taken
to improve poor industrial climates, and, if so, which actions are appropriate. Action taken as a result of
surveys or interviews before industrial issues escalate into major conflicts will help build trust and loyalty
with employees, as they will have evidence that they have been taken seriously and that employee views
are important to the organisation.
Methods to gauge the organisational climate may include:
 formal, senior management review meetings
 meetings with managers and line managers
 holding focus groups with individuals and teams
 feedback from exit interviews
 conducting employee satisfaction surveys and climate surveys.
Let's look at these ways of gathering climate information in more detail.
Formal review meeting
At the highest level, a formal review meeting may be undertaken to conduct a review of the organisational
workforce climate. A review meeting should include managers at senior, decision-making levels, and
should focus on high-level business changes and emerging business needs.
A formal review meeting may include:
 managers' top-level assessments of employee satisfaction, productivity, employment conditions,
pay, benefits and IR
 assessment of ER/IR plans against performance outcomes
 changes to the level of risk to objectives due to changing internal and external
 business, labour market and IR conditions

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 39
 analysis of current internal and external business and IR, including the possibility of changed
legislation and regulations environment to identify any changes requiring consideration
 confirmation of any changed resource requirements
 development of revised goals, strategies and targets
 confirmation of past outcomes and development of a revised plan for ER and IR initiatives
 input from:
o industrial consultants, lawyers
o industry representatives and employer groups
o employee representatives, e.g. unions
o health and safety committees and employee health and safety representatives.
Line manager consultation
At a lower, more operational level, undertake consultation with people in supervisory and line
management positions to gain a first-hand perspective of how the organisation's plans are progressing
and where changes should be made to improve employee satisfaction and ER and IR. This is a good way
of gathering real- time ' information which can then be compared to the senior management level inputsꞏ
gathered in the formal review of the IR climate.
Focus groups, team and individual discussions
To gather information on the implementation and success of ER and IR initiatives at the lowest levels,
consider holding formal or informal group discussions regarding the organisation and its business direction
with employees and managers at the core of the business. Such focus groups may be conducted as part
of regular employee meetings, or incentives may be offered for employees to participate in focus groups
conducted outside office hours. Information on organisational climate may also be gathered from
individuals during formal exit interviews.
Employee surveys
Employee surveys are very useful ways of gathering information on employee satisfaction. Conducting
organisational climate surveys enables employees to give feedback regarding all aspects of their working
life. Surveys can be used to measure job satisfaction, to determine employee work intentions, receive
feedback about work processes and systems and obtain recommendations for improvements to these
systems and processes. Survey feedback can provide an informed understanding of employee
perceptions about the workplace and provide suggestions for retaining existing employees and attracting
new employees.
Climate surveys
A climate survey is a particular type of employee questionnaire that provides information on the views of
employees within an organisation and how they see the workplace. Climate surveys measure the internal
climate and the general feel of how people view their work and workplace.
The types of issues covered in a climate survey may include, among others:
 pay and conditions
 physical work environment
 enjoyment of work
 rewards and recognition
 management practices
 leadership, including vision
 understanding of the business
 opportunities to develop

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 40
 promotional possibilities, career progression
 customer focus of the business
 relevance of work to business objectives
 compliance with legislation in regard to employment, e.g. WHS/OHS, EEO.
The survey is a useful tool for providing management with a snapshot of the general feeling of employees.
By including demographic information in the collection of data, the organisation has the ability to 'drill
down' into locations or business units, or even across gender or age groups, e.g. to analyse the data to
identify areas requiring managerial input, depending on the relevant ER objective.
Climate surveys are used to provide management with information to assist in decision-making and
provide alerts about areas requiring urgent attention. It is recommended that climate surveys be
conducted electronically, preferably as an outsourced process, in order to remove privacy and
confidentiality concerns. Alleviating such concerns is essential to ensuring that employees answer the
survey honestly.
To involve employees in the process and to gather support, it is best practice for the survey results to be
transparent and to publish the results for employees to view. The climate survey should be run periodically
to be able to show that improvements have been achieved and to focus attention on the need for continual
improvement.
3.3. Implement strategies to strengthen relationships with relevant groups
In order to strengthen relationships between management and employees, and between different ER
stakeholders, you will need to implement effective communication and consultation strategies.
Communication strategies
Keeping stakeholders informed is vital to maintaining a harmonious and productive workforce. The
stakeholders that may need to be informed of ER or IR initiatives or changes include:
 employees
 employee representatives
 department managers
 team leaders/supervisors.
If, for example, the organisation needs to make changes that will affect employees, then information on
how this will affect them also needs to be communicated.
As discussed in Section 1, you will need to effectively communicate ER initiatives and changes to
employees. To do this, you will first need to determine your objectives or your overall purpose for the
communication, e.g. to inform, to win support for initiatives, or to call for action.
Second, you will need to determine the message or messages you wish to convey. To ensure your
message gets through, you will need to identify specific audience characteristics and needs. What is their
level of knowledge or expertise? What style of communication are they likely to respond positively to?
Finally, you will need to determine the specific media or format for your communication. For example, via
presentations, emails, IR frequently asked questions (FAQs) posted on the organisation's intranet, or
social media.

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 41
Consultation and feedback
One-way communication is not always the most effective way to communicate and win support. In order to
really build a strong IR climate of trust, as well as to gather as much input as possible into developing
strong IR systems, you will need to determine ways to consult and gather feedback. Formal and informal
consultative mechanisms are also important ways of building strong relationships.
Ways of developing a positive relationship with the workforce can take the form of participating in or
facilitating:
 consultative committees
 health and safety committees
 forums and focus groups
 project team meetings
 workplace agreement negotiation.
There are several benefits to consultation. For example, involvement of the employees in these types of
forums can result in a more productive and efficient organisation. It is important to remember that the
employees who perform work tasks often have a better idea of innovative ways to be productive.
Also, employees are more likely to comply with policies, procedures, and agreements that they have had
input into. In addition, consultative mechanisms, at least in the case of health and safety concerns
touching IR, are mandated by legislation. Therefore, promoting consultation is an important way for
organisations to fulfil legal obligations.
Finally, seeking feedback builds goodwill. Doing so sends the message that employee input into work
processes is important and valued by the organisation.
A participative, open and consultative style of management is the best way to foster positive ER and IR.
However, there must be a top-down commitment from management for the consultative process to work,
and a genuine belief that employees have something to contribute, whether it be through interviews, team
meetings, health and safety meetings or formal negotiations for pay and conditions.
3.4. Provide feedback to management
In order to satisfy organisational requirements, you may need to provide feedback analysis or
recommendations to management on ER and IR performance. You may need to report this information to
for example, your HR manager, or heads of departments within your organisation. You may also need to
provide progress reports, formal management reports or presentations.
To ensure your reporting is effective, you will need to understand the purpose of the report and its
intended effect, the needs of your business and HR audience, and adhere to organisational requirements,
such as the use of a style guide and templates.
Progress reports
Implementation and monitoring plans for ER and IR policies and initiatives may require regular reporting to
your manager or supervisor to keep them informed and to trigger remedial action should it be necessary to
keep plans on track. One common tool for progress reporting is the traffic light report. Let's look at an
example.

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 42
Example: Traffic light report
Pat has provided the following progress report to her manager:
Objective/activity Status Notes
Increase employee satisfaction Green Climate survey has been delivered.
90% completion rate.
Results are currently being tabulated and
analysed.
Implementation of
communications strategy
Yellow Complaints from line managers indicate
confusion among workers over the
implementation of grievance procedures.
Many do not understand how to raise a
complaint.
Negotiation of enterprise
agreement
Green 95% employees represented in negotiations.
Pat will now need to take action to revise her communications strategy. Her manager will require a
further update in two days’ time.
Management reports and presentations
Many organisations will require you to present ER and IR data or recommendations in the form of
management reports. Reports may differ from organisation to organisation, but generally contain four
parts:
1. Executive summary
2. Discussion and presentation of evaluation data
3. Conclusions
4. Recommendations for action or change.
To win credibility or support for recommendations, you will need to understand the purpose of your report
and the requirements of your business audience. You will also need to adhere to the organisation's
formatting requirements. Ensure you follow organisational style guides and use appropriate templates for
reports.
In many cases, particularly in the context of business meetings, you will need to present management
reports or information and feedback in the form of presentations, for example, using Microsoft PowerPoint
or Apple Keynote. When preparing slides, ensure you summarise information and provide dot points.
Consider interesting ways to present data using colour charts and graphs.

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 43
4. References and Further Reading
Note: Some resources used in this course may not be accessible through this handbook. For more
information please access them directly.
External website links are provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only. Every effort has
been made to ensure the links are up-to-date at time of publication. Where links are not current, we
recommend using the reference information provided to search for the source in your chosen search
engine.
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 ERC 2014, 20 common HR metrics & their formulas, viewed November 2017,
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 Fair Work Commission 2017c, Make an agreement, viewed November 2017,
<https://www.fwc.gov.au/awards-and-agreements/agreements/make-agreement>.

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 44
 Fair Work Ombudsman 2017a, National employment standards, viewed November 2017,
<https://www.fwc.gov.au/awards-and-agreements/minimum-wages-conditions/national-
employment-standards>.
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<https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us>.
 Fair Work Ombudsman 2017c, The Fair Work system, viewed November 2017,
<https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/legislation/the-fair-work-system>.
 Fair Work Ombudsman 2017d, Awards, viewed November 2017,
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 Fair Work Ombudsman 2017e, Effective dispute resolution, viewed November 2017,
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guides/effective-dispute-resolution>.
 Fair Work Ombudsman 2017f, Enterprise bargaining, viewed November 2017,
<http://www.fairwork.gov.au/About-us/policies-and-guides/Fact-sheets/rights-and-
obligations/enterprise-bargaining>.
 Folberg, J & Taylor, A 1984, Mediation: a comprehensive guide to resolving conflicts without
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 Jones, R 2008, HRM fundamentals, 2 nd edn, Pearson Education, Frenchs Forest, NSW
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 Loundes, J 2000, Management and industrial relations practices and outcomes in Australian
workplaces, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of
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 Tillett, G 1991, Resolving conflicts: a practical approach, Oxford University Press, Melbourne
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 Vickery, R & Pendleton, W 2009, Australian business law: compliance and practice, 6 th edn,
Pearson, Frenchs Forest, NSW
 Victoria Business School 2013, How to write a business report, Victoria University of Wellington,
viewed November 2017, <https://www.victoria.ac.nz/vbs/teaching/resources/VBS-Report-Writing-
Guide-2017.pdf>.
 Yeung, A, Berman, B 1997, ‘Adding value through human resources: reorienting human resource
measurement to drive business performance’, Human Resource Management, Vol. 36, No. 3, pp.
321-335. Deep Blue, University of Michigan, viewed November 2017,
<https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/34580>.

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 45
5. Glossary
Term Definition
ACTU Australian Council of Trade Unions.
AHRC Australian Human Rights Commission. The government body
responsible for the application of federal legislation in the area of human
rights, anti-discrimination, social justice and privacy. Formerly called the
HEROC.
AIRC Australian Industrial Relations Commission: now superseded by the Fair
Work Commission (FWC).
BOOT The Better Off Overall Test. A test applied by the FWC to determine
whether workplace agreements include conditions, benefits and
entitlements at least as good as those set out in the relevant award.
Constitutional
corporation A constitutional corporation is:
 a financial corporation formed in Australia
 a trading corporation formed in Australia, or
 a foreign corporation (a corporation incorporated outside
Australia) that does business in Australia.
A constitutional corporation is a corporation covered by the National Fair
Work system. 21
EEO Equal Employment Opportunity.
ER Employee relations.
Enterprise
agreement
Enterprise agreements set out the employment conditions between an
employee or group of employees and an employer. Agreements may
not contain pay rates less than that set out in awards.28
Enterprise
bargaining The process of negotiation between the employers and employees and
their representatives, usually with the goal of reaching an enterprise
agreement.
FWA Fair Work Australia; now called the Fair Work Commission (FWC).
FWBC Fair Work Building and Construction.

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6. Appendices
6.1. Appendix 1 - Australian Hardware business plan (excerpt)
The Business
Business name: Australian Hardware Ltd
Business structure: Public company since 1982
ABN: 4000000000
Business location: Australian Hardware is headquartered in Sydney, NSW. The business owns and
operates 138 stores throughout Australia.
Date established: 26 January 1921
Ownership and governance: The Greenwright family retains controlling interest in Australian
Hardware. Holden Greenwright serves as both Chair of the Board of Directors and CEO.
Products/services: Australian Hardware supplies hardware and home improvement products and
provides expert advice and service.
The Market
Target market: The market has been divided into three target markets or segments: home improvers;
DYIs; tradespeople.
Marketing strategy: Australian Hardware takes a two-pronged strategic approach characterised by
product and service differentiation along with select targeted marketing activities.
The Future
Vision statement: within five years, Australian Hardware will lead the hardware and home-
improvement market in Australia.
Strategic directions: The Australian Hardware strategic directions are:
 increase sales revenue and gross profit
 maintain or increase market share
 control direct and indirect operational costs
 maintain superior product and service quality standards
 establish Australian Hardware’s reputation as a socially and environmentally responsible
company.

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6.2. Appendix 2 - Australian Hardware key personnel
Current staff
Position Name
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Holden Goldenwright
Chief Financial Officer (CEO) David Mifsud
Chief Operating Officer (COO) Mary Chu
Marketing General Manager Elizabeth Madden
HR General Manager Susan Black
Store General Managers x 138
Required Staff
Job Title Quantity Expected
staff turnover Skills/experience necessary
Store general manager 3 3% per annum
 Five years management
experience running an SME (small-
medium enterprise)
Timber manager 3 5% per annum  Trade-specific skills/knowledge.
 Leadership skills.
Plumbing and electrical
products manager 3 5% per annum  Trade-specific skills/knowledge.
 Leadership skills.
Garden products manager 3 5% per annum  Trade-specific skills/knowledge.
 Leadership skills.
Hardware and home
products manager 3 5% per annum  Trade-specific skills/knowledge.
 Leadership skills.
General store operations
manager 3 5% per annum  Trade-specific skills/knowledge.
 Leadership skills.
Sales consultants TBC 15% per
annum
 Product/trade-specific skill sets.
 Sales training.
Cashiers TBC 15% per
annum  Some sales experience.
Admin and office staff TBC 10% per
annum
 Various accounting/clerical skill
sets.

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 48
Recruitment options
Australian Hardware will deploy targeted advertising in trade magazines and online using organisations
such as Seek.com.
Australian Hardware will undertake an investigation of competitor wages and seek to match or better.
Training programs
Australian Hardware will offer a range of ongoing training options to meet business requirements and
develop staff skills in the following areas:
 Sales training
 Technical training in product areas
 Managerial and leadership training
 Environmental training
 Community sensitivity training
 Health and safety training
 Support or subsidies for external training, including TAFE and tertiary education.

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 49
6.3. Appendix 3 - Sample dispute resolution/grievance policy and procedure
Grievance policy
Australian Hardware supports the right of every employee to lodge a grievance with their manager if
they believe a decision, behaviour or action affecting their employment is unfair. An employee may
raise a grievance about any performance improvement action taken against them.
Australian Hardware and Australian Hardware employees should follow the principle that disputes
should be addressed at the lowest possible level and should not be escalated either within Australian
Hardware or to outside bodies until all reasonable avenues for resolution have been explored.
Relevant legislation may include, but is not limited to:
 Privacy Act 1988
 anti-discrimination legislation.
Grievance/dispute resolution procedure:
This procedure is applicable to all grievances or disputes, for example, involving health and safety, anti-
discrimination, or industrial relations matters, such as disputes over pay or conditions.
If you have a grievance or wish to lodge a complaint:
1. Arrange to meet with your direct supervisor to discuss the grievance.
a. Your manager or HR representative will record details on a standard Record of
Complaint, a copy of which is to be stored on the organisation’s HRMS. Your manager
or HR representative will provide you with or ensure access to this procedure.
2. Failing resolution at this stage:
a. Your direct supervisor will escalate the matter to more senior management.
b. If your supervisor fails to do this, escalate the matter to more senior management.
3. Failing resolution at this stage:
a. JKL will refer the matter to an independent mediator for assistance in resolving the
dispute.
b. If you are not satisfied, contact the relevant regulator for mediation, for example:
i. State/territory health and safety regulator
ii. Human Rights Commissioner
iii. Fair Work Ombudsman.

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6.4. Appendix 4 - Record of complaint template
Name: Employee number:
Department: Phone number/s:
Date of report: Time:
This is to record that you inquired about the following matter/s:
Issue date/s: Time/s:
Stakeholders involved:
Witnesses:
Where did it happen:
Nature of complaint:
I, ___________________________ [insert name] have been given a copy of the grievance procedure Yes   No
Signature: Date:
HR or management representative to complete:
Investigation of the issues: Investigation by Date
Action take/recommended:
Stakeholders informed of situation:
Name: Name:
HR name: Position: Signature:
Case file updated: Date:

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6.5. Appendix 5 - Sample record of interview
Name: Employee number:
Department: Phone number/s:
Date: Time:
This is to record that you were interviewed in relation to the following matter/s:
You were given an opportunity to respond to the complaint/s outlined above and the following
responses were given:
Investigation of the issues: Investigation by Date
Organisational action take/recommended:
As a result of the interview, it was agreed/you were informed [delete as appropriate] of the following:
I, ________________________ [insert name] acknowledge this to be an accurate record of the interview.
Signature:
Note: It is preferred but not essential that the employee sign.
Other witness/es present:
Name: Position: Signature:
Name: Position: Signature:
Review and evaluate outcome:
HR name: Case file updated: Date:

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6.6. Appendix 6 - Sample permission to show letter/issues
To: (please indicate relevant categories/personnel) Yes / No / Comment
Respondent 
Appropriate manager/supervisor 
HR manager 
Mediator/s 
Representative: employee 
Representative: employer 
Name of complainant or respondent [delete one]:
Staff number: Department:
Phone number/s
Address:
Postcode:
Declaration:
I/We ____________________________ [insert name/s] give permission for my/our letters and/or issues
of complaint to be shown to the people indicated above. [Delete irrelevant options]
Signature: Date:
HR name: Position: Signature:
Case file updated: Date:

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6.7. Appendix 7 - Sample letter from HR to complainant
[insert organisation letter head]
[insert date]
[insert address]
Ref: [insert]
Dear [insert name]
Subject: [insert complaint]
The matter that you raised in regard to [identify the subject matter] was investigated and the following is
[insert name of organisation]’s response:
[insert details of the actions taken, or to be taken, or the reasons why it was considered that no action
was required].
[insert details of the reasons for the outcome]
Should you require further information or wish to discuss the issue(s) that you have raised, please do
not hesitate to contact me on [insert contact phone number].
Yours sincerely,
[insert HR staff member’s name]
[insert position]

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6.8. Appendix 8 - The national employment standards checklist
The National
Employment Standards
checklist
Yes

No
Comments
1. Maximum weekly
hours of work
2. Requests for flexible
work arrangements
3. Parental leave
4. Annual leave
5. Personal/carer’s leave
and compassionate
leave
6. Community service
leave
7. Long service leave
8. Public holidays
9. Termination and
redundancy pay
10. The right to be
provided with the fair
work information
statement
Signature: Verified signature:
Print name: Print name:
Position: Position:
Date: Date:

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 55
6.9. Appendix 9 - Employee climate survey sample
Employee climate survey
The following questions are designed to provide you with the opportunity to provide your view of
managerial practice within your working environment. While you are under no obligation to complete the
survey, your valued feedback is considered integral to the success of the initiative, as it will provide the
business with a means to measure its success.
Please read the definitions offered below and answer the corresponding questions in reference to your
working environment. Please circle your response.
Giving and receiving feedback
Within organisations, feedback is the exchange of information between employees and their managers.
It often involves frequent formal and informal discussions about role performance with the view to
improving role effectiveness.
Two-way feedback is something that is valued within my workplace.
Agree Disagree
My supervisor hosts formal or informal feedback sessions with me.
Agree Disagree
My supervisor hosts formal or informal feedback sessions with me at least on a monthly basis.
Agree Disagree
I have a working relationship with my supervisor that allows me to give them feedback.
Agree Disagree
I am satisfied with the amount of feedback I receive from my supervisor.
Agree Disagree
My supervisor values my feedback.
Agree Disagree
My work team is satisfied with the feedback we receive from our supervisor.
Agree Disagree
The feedback I receive is always of an objective, impersonal nature.
Agree Disagree
I believe that I am well informed of what is happening within the organisation.
Agree Disagree

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 56
Coaching
Coaching is a skill that aims to maximise learning and development within the workplace. When new
equipment, systems and processes are introduced, a good coach ensures that employees attain the
skills required so that motivation and effectiveness is maintained.
My supervisor spends adequate time coaching me in my role.
Agree Disagree
When delegating a new task to me my supervisor coaches me in any new skills required to do
the job.
Agree Disagree
When a new task or skill is required, coaching is a key concern from my supervisor.
Agree Disagree
During a coaching session, allowances are made so that interruptions and distractions are
reduced.
Agree Disagree
Empathy, patience, structure and planning are behaviours that are often displayed with
coaching sessions within this workplace.
Agree Disagree
I am confident that I have the skills to conduct an effective coaching session.
Agree Disagree
My supervisor demonstrates confidence when they conduct a coaching session with me.
Agree Disagree
Performance recognition
Performance recognition is considered the provision of positive reinforcement when employees
complete drastic, visible accomplishments, as well as small everyday successes. Positive reinforcement
can vary from a financial reward or bonus to a verbal ‘well done’ or ‘thanks’.
Performance recognition is valued within this workplace.
Agree Disagree
My supervisor often provides positive reinforcement.
Agree Disagree
I am satisfied with the performance recognition I receive from my supervisor.
Agree Disagree

BSBWRK411 Support Employee and Industrial Relations Procedures - Learning Module (v.1.0) 57
Listening skills
Listening is the skill of absorbing information from others and acknowledging understanding of the
information.
My supervisor gives me their full attention when I speak to them.
Agree Disagree
Summarising and paraphrasing are skills I use to acknowledge understanding of a message.
Agree Disagree
Communication skills, such as listening, are skills that are recognised by this workplace as
important.
Agree Disagree