Reflective Portfolio: HRM Practices and Legislation at Unilever

This reflective portfolio examines Human Resource Management (HRM) practices within Unilever, a multinational consumer goods company. The assignment explores employee relations, including workplace representation and its relevance to HRM, emphasizing aspects like setting good relations, ensuring equality, and increasing employee efficiency and productivity. It also identifies key employment legislation, such as equal opportunities, data protection, health and safety, and employment contracts, providing evidence through examples like contract templates, job descriptions, and interview checklists. The portfolio analyzes how internal and external factors impact HRM decision-making, demonstrating the student's ability to develop essential HRM documentation and critically evaluate the application of HRM practices within their workplace. The portfolio's goal is to provide a detailed overview of HRM practices, focusing on the critical role of HR in Unilever's organizational success.

Reflective
Portfolio

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY.................................................................................................................................................3
Employee Relations & Employment Legislation......................................................................................3
Employment legislation...........................................................................................................................4
Human Resource Management Practices................................................................................................7
Relevance of employee relations.............................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Human Resource Management refers to a specific branch of management which deals
with the issues concerning the human resources of an organization (Delery and Roumpi, 2017).
HRM is a main function in any organization and therefore this is managed by the HR
departments in most of the companies. For this report, Unilever has been selected which is a
British-Dutch multinational consumer goods company which is headquartered in London, United
Kingdom. In this assignment, specific focus will be made on employee relations & employment
legislation and Human Resource Management practice. It will focus on how organizations’
workforce is managed effectively by the HR department.
MAIN BODY
Employee Relations & Employment Legislation
Role of workplace representation-
Workplace representation refers to the right of the employees working within an
organization to seek a union for representing them to fight for their rights (García-Lillo, Úbeda-
García and Marco-Lajara, 2017). It is to ensure that they are able to fight for their various rights
such as wages, hours, benefits and the working conditions. As I work in Unilever, there is a
workplace representation here in the form of labor union which fights for the rights of employees
with the higher-level management of the company.
Relevance of employee relations-
 Setting good relations- There is an importance of setting good relations with the
employees. This is important because by setting good relations the HR department can
ensure that they are able to work efficiently for the cause of the workers. According to
me, the HR department has to take the steps which are considered necessary for
maintaining good relations with the employees. In Unilever these steps are taken by the
HR department.
 Ensuring equality- I think that for ensuring equality it is important that the HR
department works effectively in maintaining good relations with the employees. While
working in Unilever, I have noticed that the HR department tries its best to make sure
that it behaves equally with all the employees. This ensures that good relations are made
with the workers which help a lot in increasing the overall efficiency, effectiveness as
well as productivity level in the organization.
 For getting the best out of employees- The employee relations are quite relevant
because according to me it helps the HR department to get the best out of the employees.

In the context of Unilever, it is necessary because the production needs to be carried out
at optimum capacity and for that maximum potential of the workers is required.
 Increasing efficiency- Maintaining of good employee relations is necessary in my
opinion because it can result in increase in the overall efficiency in the organization
(Guest, 2017). Therefore it is required on the part of HR department in Unilever that it
can maintain the good relations with its employees so that their efficiency rises.
 Increase in effectiveness- By maintaining sound relations with the employees the HR
department can make sure that it can increase the effectiveness of the employees. I think
that it is quite important for Unilever’s HR department as by maintaining the right
relations with the employees it can make sure that the overall effectiveness raises.
 More productivity- In my opinion, the HR department should work on employee
relations because it has a positive impact on the productivity. I have seen that in Unilever
the HR department makes sure that the productivity rises by maintaining good relations
with the employees.
Employment legislation
Employment legislation refers to the rules and regulations which have to be followed by
the organizations (Gurkov, 2016). While working in Unilever, I have seen that the HR
department has to deal with the following elements of employment legislation-
 Equal opportunities- The HR department needs to deal with this because equal
opportunities are required to be provided as per the employment legislation. I think that
the HR department of Unilever ensures that and makes sure that there is no partiality in
employment.
 Data protection- The HR department has to make sure that the data related to the
employees is safe (Jabbour and de Sousa Jabbour, 2016). According to me, the HR
department of Unilever has to work forward in this manner to make sure that the data of
its workers is well-protected.
 Health and safety- The HR department needs to work on the health and safety aspect in
the organization. I think that the HR department of Unilever works effectively in this
manner to ensure it.
 Employment contracts- The HR department has to provide the contract of employment
to its newly-recruited workers. While working in Unilever, I have noticed that its HR
department plays this role effectively without any problems and issues.

Contract of employment-
Contract of employment-
Dear XYZ,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected for the post of
Accountant in Unilever. We think that your skills will be very useful for this
role’s needs and requirements.
Initially you will be based at London, U.K. at our main office. However, in
future according to our needs and requirements you can be transferred to
one of our other offices also.
Your initial remuneration will be 45,000 pounds per month plus incentives
for working extra and displaying efficient and effective skills for the job.
We think that you will be able to excel in this role.
If you choose to accept this contract, please put a signature on it and mail it
to us at our postal address.
Yours sincerely,
Senior HR Manager
Unilever Ltd.

Induction Material-
Job Description-
Hello and welcome to Unilever Ltd.,
As you know that Unilever Ltd. is a multinational company which is
spread all over the world there is a reputation which it enjoys due to the
goodwill which it has created over the years.
You all as newly selected accountants need to take care of a few things
before starting out-
 Ensure complying with the instructions of your seniors given to
you at training.
 Cooperate and coordinate for achieving tasks.
 Do not hesitate to ask for help if required.
 Make sure that you are able to put your best in work.
Wish you all success for future in Unilever.
Thank You,
Senior HR Manager
Unilever Ltd.
Accountants Required-
Unilever Ltd. is looking forward Accountants for its Head Office in London.
Here are all the details for the job-
Position- Accountant
Location- London, United Kingdom
Number of vacancies- 10
Remuneration- 45,000 pounds per month + Incentives for better performance
Roles and Responsibilities- To maintain the accounts in a fair and transparent
manner and to make sure that the records are maintained correctly.

Human Resource Management Practices
Job and person specification-
Accountant-
Reports to- Head of Accounts Department
Remuneration- 45,000 pounds per month + Extra incentives
Roles and responsibilities-
 Maintenance of accounts
 Cross-checking of accounts
 Compiling with the accounting rules & regulations
 Helping the auditors during the audit process
Qualifications- A graduate is required in commerce discipline.
Personal characteristics-
 Smart personality
 Willing to work as a part of the team
 Willing to learn and grow in a new environment
 Willing to maintain team-spirit, cooperation and coordination
Skills-
 Computer operating skills
 Good typing skills
 Should know how to maintain accounts on computer
 Should be able to maintain cooperation and coordination
Experience- An experience of at least 1 year is desired from the candidate.

Job Advertisement-
Interview Checklist-
Accountants required-
Unilever, a leading British multinational company requires accountants for its
Head Office in London. The selected candidates will be required to maintain the
accounts of the company. It is a challenging role in which the right candidates can
excel.
Following are the requirements for the job-
Post- Accountant
Location- London, United Kingdom
Remuneration- 45,000 pounds per month
Experience- At least 1 year experience is desired
The interested candidates can contact the HR department of company after which
they can set a right date for the interview and the further process to be followed.
Senior HR Manager
Unilever Ltd.
The interested candidates are required to bring the following documents for
the interview process-
 An up-to-date Resume
 Secondary Marksheet
 Senior-Secondary Marksheet
 Graduation Degree
 Post-Graduation Degree( If Applicable)
Also the candidates should bring with them latest passport sized photographs,
identity card and proof of address.
The candidates will be allowed entry only after ensuring that they have all the
required documents. They must make sure that they come in formal clothing
for the interview process.
Senior HR Manager
Unilever Ltd.

Relevance of employee relations
There is a relevance of employee relations because they are required in order to ensure
that the work gores on smoothly within an organization (What Are Employee Relations and Why
Are They Important, 2020). I have seen while working in Unilever Ltd. that these are given
preference because they help the company in improving its overall efficiency as well as
effectiveness level easily without facing any problems and issues.
I feel that relevance is there because of the following reasons-
 Employee engagement- Employee relations ensure that the employee engagement is
carried on effectively. According to me, it is required so that the employees are
effectively engaged by the company in their work. In Unilever Ltd., it is done in order to
ensure that the right recruitment and selection practices are carried out in the company.
 Employee satisfaction- Employee satisfaction requires that the HR department behaves
correctly with them. I think that it is essential that the workers working in the company
are satisfied fully with their jobs. I have seen that in Unilever this is given high value
because it is needed to make sure that employees are able to communicate effectively.
Also this ensures that the right recruitment and selection practices are carried out in the
organization.
 Right ethics- Employee satisfaction requires the use of right work ethics (Kianto, Sáenz
and Aramburu, 2017). While working in Unilever, I have noticed that the HR department
needs to use the right ethics so as to make sure that the recruitment and selection is
carried on without any problems and issues.
 No partiality- Right employee relations ensure that the HR department is not partial
towards any particular employee of the organization (Manda and Wood, 2016). In
Unilever, I have noticed that the HR department has to be completely impartial towards
the candidates in order to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in the recruitment and
selection process. Thus sound employee relations are required for the management.
 No biasness- Maintaining of employee relations also ensures that the HR department is
completely unbiased towards the candidates (Olson and et.al., 2018). In Unilever, I have
noticed that the HR managers have to be unbiased while making a decision of selecting
the candidates. This is to make sure that the required smoothness is brought in the
recruitment as well as the selection process.
 Uniformity- Maintaining the right relations with employees makes sure that the HR
department of the organization is working forward to introduce uniformity in the
organization. In Unilever, I have seen that this helps a lot to the candidates as the
recruitment and selection process becomes a lot fairer when there is uniformity in the
company.

Thus, I can say that maintaining of right relationships with the employees is
extremely important for the HR department. It can make sure that the right practices are
followed in the recruitment as well as selection process in the company ensuring smoothness
in the operations of the company (Sekiguchi, Froese and Iguchi, 2016). Therefore, I think
that it is extremely necessary for the HR department of Unilever to adopt the right practices
towards employees.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that HRM is a section of management which
deals with the workforce of the organization. Employee relations are required to be maintained
and employment legislation is required to be followed. Different types of documents are required
to be prepared by the HR department to bring smoothness in the recruitment and selection
process. Also, maintenance of good employee relations is important from the point of view of the
HR department because it helps a lot in bringing efficiency and effectiveness in the recruitment
and the selection process of the company.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Delery, J. E. and Roumpi, D., 2017. Strategic human resource management, human capital and
competitive advantage: is the field going in circles?. Human Resource Management
Journal. 27(1). pp.1-21.
García-Lillo, F., Úbeda-García, M. and Marco-Lajara, B., 2017. The intellectual structure of
human resource management research: A bibliometric study of the International Journal of
Human Resource Management, 2000–2012. The International Journal of Human Resource
Management. 28(13). pp.1786-1815.
Guest, D. E., 2017. Human resource management and employee well‐being: Towards a new
analytic framework. Human Resource Management Journal. 27(1). pp.22-38.
Gurkov, I., 2016. Human resource management in Russian manufacturing subsidiaries of
multinational corporations. Post-Communist Economies. 28(3). pp.353-372.
Jabbour, C. J. C. and de Sousa Jabbour, A. B. L., 2016. Green human resource management and
green supply chain management: Linking two emerging agendas. Journal of Cleaner
Production. 112. pp.1824-1833.
Kianto, A., Sáenz, J. and Aramburu, N., 2017. Knowledge-based human resource management
practices, intellectual capital and innovation. Journal of Business Research. 81. pp.11-20.
Manda, R. and Wood, B., 2016. Human resource management.
Olson, E. M. and et.al., 2018. The application of human resource management policies within the
marketing organization: The impact on business and marketing strategy
implementation. Industrial Marketing Management. 69. pp.62-73.
Sekiguchi, T., Froese, F. J. and Iguchi, C., 2016. International human resource management of
Japanese multinational corporations: Challenges and future directions. Asian Business &
Management. 15(2). pp.83-109.
Online
What Are Employee Relations and Why Are They Important. 2020. [Online]. Available through:
<https://blog.smarp.com/what-are-employee-relations-and-why-are-they-important>