Assessment 3: Portfolio on Employment Relations at Bentley Motors Limited

This portfolio provides an in-depth understanding of employment relations at Bentley Motors Limited, including personal details, philosophy, goals, legal obligations, organizing and unions, individual contracts, equal employment opportunities, managing conflict, and the future of ER.

BUSM1080:
Recommended Structure
for Assessment 3: Portfolio

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Your personal details..................................................................................................................1
Your philosophy and understandings of employment relations..................................................1
Your goals and objectives for effective employment relations...................................................2
Legal obligations, the Fair Work Act, policies, standards, and relevant award/s.......................2
Organising and Unions................................................................................................................3
Individual Contracts and Collective Bargaining.........................................................................3
Equal employment opportunities for staff..................................................................................4
Unfair dismissal — approaches and ways to mitigate................................................................5
Managing conflict.......................................................................................................................5
Future of ER and casualisation...................................................................................................5
Key elements of international and comparative ER found beneficial for organisation..............5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
The following paper is a portfolio which is presented to the Board of Directors on one's
knowledge of employment relations within the bounds of the company. The company considered
for this portfolio is Bentley Motors Limited. Now, Bentley Motors Ltd is a well renowned as
well as established manufacturer of SUVs alongside luxury cars. It is known to be one of the
subsidiaries of Volkwagen Group since the year 1998. The respective organisation has its
headquarters situated at Crewe, England. This British company was founded by Walter Owen
Bentley during the year 1919 within Cricklewood in North London. The portfolio will consist of
12 sections, overall helping in laying down the knowledge of a person of the employment
relations.
Your personal details
I am working as the HR manager within the bounds of Bentley Motors Limited. I have a
team of associates who work under my guidance and supervision. I lead them by providing them
with support and aid in regular intervals of time. I make sure that proper laws and legislations are
stipulated as well as enforced within the organisation at all times. This provides assistance to me
in making sure that a positive atmosphere is developed within the confines of Bentley Motors.
This also ensures that employees work in a collaborative manner while exhibiting cooperation
and coordination with one another. I strongly believe that positive working atmosphere and
strong employment relations are the prime requirements for obtaining high productivity from the
employees.
Your philosophy and understandings of employment relations
Since the foundation of Bentley Motors, the company has believed in creating a
favourable atmosphere for the workforce so that they can work in an effective manner for the
long term welfare of the organisation. In this relation, I have believed in developing a working
scenario whereby direct as well as open communication is facilitated between the workforce and
the company. I strongly hold the belief that the abilities and skills of the employees get inflated
by virtue of positive working relations. This contributes to the development of a working culture
whereby employment relations are given importance and value. I take proper responsibility of
providing the employees with favourable operating situations, compensation, monetary and non
monetary benefits, growth opportunities and so on. I believe that the dignity of each and every
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employee needs to be respected by the management at all times. This will enable them to treat
others also with respect, regard and dignity. Thus, the ER approach of Bentley Motors is
effective enough in terms of developing healthy relations between the employees and the
management.
Your goals and objectives for effective employment relations
The goals as well as objectives for any specific department or domain within an
organisation are set for the purpose of providing support to ensure the development of the
company as a whole within the market. This allows the entity to act as a leader in the market
place and gain an edge over the rival firms prevailing within the bounds of same sector. Now,
employment relations is the domain which is identified to be the linking pin between the
management and the employees. Setting goal and objectives for this domain ensures that the
work in the company is being effectively carried out as per the organisational requirements and
expectations. In relation to ER within the confines of Bentley Motors, my objectives are
developing strong relations between workforce and management to accelerate employee and
organisational productivity, preserving the interests of employees to retain them for a
considerably longer period of time and alignment of organisational working with the essential
laws and guidelines as stipulated by the statute. In addition to this, it has been identified that
there are also certain goals that have been laid down by me to make sure that working takes place
within the bounds of Bentley Motors in a sound manner. The first and the foremost goal is to
develop a pleasant and positive atmosphere for the employees that can stimulate the behaviour as
well as performance of workforce in an affirmative way. The second goal is to enhance the
motivation levels of workforce by creating a workplace whereby open communication is given
priority over any other aspect. This allows the staff to exhibit loyalty towards the enterprise and
reduce the interpersonal and employment conflicts. Thus, this serves as an ideal approach
towards employment relations within the bounds of Bentley Motors Limited allowing to make
sure that the staff does not feel burdened at any point of time and works to their full potential for
the growth and development of entity within global market place in the long run.
Legal obligations, the Fair Work Act, policies, standards, and relevant award/s
Fair Work Commission renders modern awards where 20% of the manpower is free from
the awards. Now, Australia is acknowledged to be having 122 awards. The Fair Work Act did
not bring back the old regime but widened the legal minimal regulations to 10 National
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employment standards. The fair work commission emphasizes over ensuring any associated
industrial action and bargaining process compliance with the relevant Commonwealth workplace
laws. Bargaining representatives are those who plan to take industrial action in support of their
cases, but firstly they must request an order from the Fair Work Commission for secured vote
approving the industrial action. The employees of Bentley Motors are entitled to the 10 national
employment standards and they are the 10 minimum employment entitlements that must be
granted to all employees, including parental leaves, annual leaves, and so on.
Organising and Unions
Organising within Bentley Motors Limited is carried out with the assistance of workers
by motivating them to become members of the union. For this purpose, it is well known that the
staff member should possess interest in being a part of the union. This is seen as an imperative
way of demonstrating grief associated with wage rates or any other workplace concerns that may
arise with the passage of time. It is essential to take into due consideration the manner in which
the employees make contribution to the rules which are applicable to Bentley Motors Limited. It
is considered important to provide employees with a say in their work. For this purpose, it
becomes imperative to make sure that the organisation has sufficient unions which can operate to
protect the interests as well as rights of the employees at all times. Now, the delegates of union
are generally either volunteer or unpaid member selected by the other members of union. Union
delegates represent the employees working within the bounds of a company. Delegates play a
crucial role in making others become a member of the union so as to strengthen the union and
stand against the organisation if needed. The unions within the bounds of Bentley Motors
Limited address the grievances of the employees, represent the employees of the company and
play political as well as educational role to ensure empowerment of the manpower at all times.
Individual Contracts and Collective Bargaining
Individual contract can be referred to as a document that encompasses the terms and
conditions associated with employment contract entered between the employer and employees.
Now, it has been identified that there are mainly two kinds of individual contracts which are
named Common Law and Statutory. Common law contract modified to state regulation and
awards to employees who aren’t under any rewards or enterprise agreements. Statutory
individual contracting, AWAs are no longer valid after the Rudd Labor Government’s Fair work
Act 2009 abrogated AWAS. The Fair Work Act however, introduced a limited, peculiar form of
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individual statuary contract of its own, which it states all enterprise agreements and modern
awards must include a condition allowing individual arrangements on flexibility.
It is identified that the individual contract put forth the argument that there will be a
fiduciary relation between employees and their employer post the negotiation of the contract,
without involvement on the part of third party like regulator or trade union. This enables the
individual to be productive, thereby significantly giving their contribution towards the effective
performance of company as a whole at the forefront of the global market place. Yet evidence has
demonstrated that within such cases, the companies make use of conditions of the individual
contracts to weaken the trade unions and the concept of collectivism. As a result of this, the
employees within the confines of Bentley Motors Ltd. who are devoid of a satisfactory pay from
the company are not able to effectively raise their voice in front of the management and
consequently unable to negotiate with the employer in favour of their empowerment.
Collective bargaining is negotiated between the employer and a registered trade union in
relation to working condition, wage rates, employment benefits and other kinds of perks and
benefits that employees are promised but not provided with. This agreement is acknowledged to
be just binding upon those individuals within Bentley Motors who are identified to be a part of
the trade unions functioning within the bounds of the organisation, and whose positions are
covered by virtue of coverage clause in agreement.
Equal employment opportunities for staff
It is important to provide equal employment opportunities within the bounds of the
company as it allows the creation of diverse workforce to take place. To foster EEO within the
confines of Bentley Motors, I make sure that all the employees operating within the entity are
given the opportunity to demonstrate open participation within activities and practices of the
organisation. They are given the chance to get equal treatment from the higher authorities
regardless of their age, gender, culture, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation,
and so on. This means that each member of the workforce within the bounds of Bentley Motors
Ltd. is provided with the opportunity to perform in accordance with their potential, skills,
knowledge and competence to fulfil their work profile responsibilities. Besides this, it is made
sure by me that no instance of harassment, discrimination, bias or stereotyping takes place within
the organisational premises.
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Unfair dismissal — approaches and ways to mitigate
As per The Commonwealth Fair Work Act 2009, an employer can not dismiss an
employee without proper justification and reason. I make sure that there is no unfair dismissal
within the bounds of Bentley Motors Ltd. by recognising the training needs and other needs of
employees. This empowers the workforce to give desired performance. Also, I communicate
with the employees to make sure that they do not have any grievance. Further, I make sure that
employees are intimated about their under performance and given the time frame to improve
their performance so that they can not be dismissed.
Managing conflict
For management of conflicts within the bounds of Bentley Motors, I execute three main
stages. The first stage is arrangement of meeting for addressal of issue. The second stage
witnesses the attainment of view points of all parties involved in the conflict. The third and the
final stage is concerned with stipulation of a solution through which the issue can be effectively
addressed. This ensures the mutual agreement of all the parties to comply with the provided
solution.
Future of ER and casualisation
The emerging time is coming up with the trend of casualisation. Currently, one in every
four employees is working as a casual worker. The future of employment relations in context of
casualisation is bleak as casual employees are paid lower than the permanent employees. They
are also devoid of many benefits such as sick leaves, holidays, etc. Bentley Motors provide
casual jobs to candidate, especially students to empower them and give them an opportunity to
grow and develop. However, this may lead to decline in loyalty exhibited by full time employees
and even increase the staff turnover ratio.
Key elements of international and comparative ER found beneficial for organisation
National ER is concerned with unions, state regulations, strikes, work rules, collective
bargaining and so on within a nation. Comparative ER provides assistance in making a
comparison as well as analysis of ER within the bounds of two or more than two nations. In
addition to this, International ER effects multinationals along with the labour standards within
other nations. Gaining understanding of these provide assistance to Bentley Motors Limited to
comprehend what happened in every nation in case of industrial disputes. As a result of this, the
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organisation is able to effectively at the fore front of global market place, ensuring its
sustainability for a considerably longer period of time.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Becker, S., McCutcheon, H. and Hegney, D., 2010. Casualisation in the nursing workforce-the
need to make it work. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing (Online), 28(1), p.45.
Berg, P. and et. al., 2013. Collective bargaining and public policy: Pathways to work-family
policy adoption in Australia and the United States. European Management
Journal, 31(5), pp.495-504.
Markey, R. and McIvor, J., 2018. Regulating casual employment in Australia. Journal of
Industrial Relations, 60(5), pp.593-618.
Hunt, K.M., 2015. CloudConsumer: contracts, codes & the law. Computer Law & Security
Review, 31(4), pp.450-477.
McGrath-Champ, S. and et. al., 2015. Global destruction networks, the labour process and
employment relations. Journal of Industrial Relations, 57(4), pp.624-640.
Murray, G., Lévesque, C. and Le Capitaine, C., 2014. Workplace Empowerment and
Disempowerment: What Makes Union Delegates Feel Strong?. Labor Studies
Journal, 39(3), pp.177-201.
Ng, S.H., 2017. ‘Employment across Markets or Nations’: A Review Paper on International and
Comparative Employment Relations. Employee Responsibilities and Rights
Journal, 29(3), pp.165-171.
North-Samardzic, A. and Gregson, S., 2011. Commitment or even compliance? An Australian
university's approach to equal employment opportunity. relations
industrielles/industrial relations, 66(2), pp.279-301.
Southey, K., 2015. Unfair dismissal for Australian workers: the hundred-year journey. Asian
Academy of Management Journal, 20(1), p.147.
Sridhar, R. and Nayak, A., 2013. Employment Relations. Management and Labour
Studies, 38(4), pp.411-423.
Tjosvold, D., Wong, A.S. and Wan, P.M., 2010. Conflict management for justice, innovation,
and strategic advantage in organizational relationships. Journal of Applied Social
Psychology, 40(3), pp.636-665.
Vettori, S., 2012. The role of human dignity in the assessment of fair compensation for unfair
dismissals. Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal/Potchefstroomse Elektroniese
Regsblad, 15(4), pp.102-123.
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