Employee Relations for Organisational Effectiveness:Written Assessment Task: Contemporary Employment Relations Issues.
The aim of this task is for students, through research of discipline specific academic literature and other authoritative sources (for example policy statements or submissions to government established inquiries), to examine and seek to develop a comprehensive understanding of select aspects of the legislation enacted for the purpose of regulating Australian workplace relations and the debates that surround them, and to critically evaluate the operation and impact of such legislation in the modern Australian employment context
MMH709 Employee Relations for Organisational Effectiveness – Trimester 3 2021 Assessment Task 2 – Written Assessment Task: Contemporary Employment Relations Issues – Individual Assignment DUE DATE AND TIME: Monday, 7 February 2022, by 8:00pm (AEDT) PERCENTAGE OF FINAL GRADE: 60% WORD COUNT*: 3,500 words (Part A = 2500 words & Part B = 1000 words (excluding the reference lists). * Word counts are inclusive of all assessment task content except the reference lists. Word counts provide a hard cap, which should not be exceeded. Description The aim of this task is for students, through research of discipline specific academic literature and other authoritative sources (for example policy statements or submissions to government established inquiries), to examine and seek to develop a comprehensive understanding of select aspects of the legislation enacted for the purpose of regulating Australian workplace relations and the debates that surround them, and to critically evaluate the operation and impact of such legislation in the modern Australian employment context. Specific Requirements Setting the scene: Schofield-Georgeson (2021) contends that in Australia, some of the most significant effects of the 2020/21 COVID-19 pandemic, setting aside health-related impacts, have been felt in the realm of employment relations. Australian organisations, and those within them responsible for labour management, namely managers and HR practitioners, have had to rapidly recast many of their traditional labour management practices as lockdowns and other precautionary measures (such as ‘social distancing’) were imposed across the country. Mandated for reasons of community health and safety, these necessary measures led to the collapse of entire industries, mass stand downs, Page 2 of 7 record high unemployment and ‘work-from-home’ practices not hitherto seen within the Australian labour market. As a result, the pandemic precipitated a number of industrial reforms at the federal level of Australian government. Some such as the ‘JobKeeper Scheme’ were an emergency response to the crisis, whilst others, such as The Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2020 (commonly known as the ‘Omnibus Bill’), were introduced into parliament with the intent of giving rise to major industrial reforms that would have long-lasting effect, and, it was argued, assist Australia’s recovery from COVID-19, had they been enacted in their entirety (which they were not). At the same time as having to stay abreast of, and comply with those changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cwlth) bought about when the Omnibus Bill, in significantly revised form, passed both houses of parliament in March 2021, the other pressing issue for Australian organisations and those responsible for labour management as they sought to move beyond the emergency response to a ‘COVID-19 normal’ future, was that of workplace health and safety, and their legal obligations in relation to keeping their workers safe. Schofiled-Georgeson, E. (2021) ‘Industrial legislation in Australia, 2020’ Journal of Industrial Relations, 63(3): 377-394. The Assessment Task: In the context of the background information presented above, this assessment task requires students to undertake a critical analysis of: - a. the amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 proposed in The Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2020 - b. the employer’s legal obligations under the Occupational Health & Safety Act 2004 (Vic) when determining their organisation’s response to COVID-19. Part A: Critical Analysis of The Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2020 Word Limit: 2500 words (excluding the reference list) The Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2020 (otherwise known as the ‘Omnibus Bill’) was first introduced into the Australian Federal Parliament by the Morrison Coalition Government in December 2020. We now know that it would Page 3 of 7 be significantly revised prior to being passed. However, if it had passed into law in its original form, its provisions would have amended the Fair Work Act 2009 in ways that would have substantially changed the way Australian workplace relations are regulated. The Omnibus Bill itself had its supporters and detractors, who divide themselves across employer associations and trade union respectively. The purpose of this first task is to enliven you to the debate that surrounded this proposed legislation. Doing so will allow you to tap into a contemporary industrial relations issue of some significance. It will also allow you to apply the knowledge gained in the unit to make sense of the debate, as well as provide you with an understanding of the vices and virtues of the Fair Work Act 2009, as perceived by employers and workers and the major collective organisations representing their interests. To these ends you are asked to research and write an essay that addresses the following questions: • What amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 were sought by the Federal Morrison Coalition responsible for the introduction of The Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2020*? • What were the main arguments put forward by employer associations on behalf of employers to support the Bill? • What were the main arguments put forward by trade unions on behalf of workers to oppose the Bill? In answering the first question, you need only provide a brief summary of the amendments being proposed. In answering the remaining two questions, you need only offer representative examples of what you consider to be the most important rationales being put forward by the organisations in question. You should conclude the essay as to which set of arguments appears the most compelling, and why you deem it to be so, in addition to giving consideration to which set of arguments ultimately prevailed when one considers the final version of the Bill that was passed by parliament in March 2021. * Note that the original Bill, introduced to parliament in December 2020, was retitled to be the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2021 prior to being enacted. Part B: The Employer’s Legal Obligations under the Occupational Health & Safety Act 2004 (Vic) When Determining their Organisation’s Response to COVID-19. Page 4 of 7 Word Limit: 1000 words (excluding the reference list) As Australia moves beyond an emergency response footing to COVID-19 and lockdowns get lifted and workplaces reactivate, organisations are being forced to turn their attention to their legal obligations under workplace health and safety legislation, as the risk of employees contracting COVID-19 at work will be a real prospect. Notably, a New South Wales employer’s insurance provider (Sara v G & S Sara case) was recently ordered, by the NSW Personal Injury Commission, to pay over $830,000 to the widow of an employee who died from COVID-19 – with millions more in medical bills still to be assessed (Sara v G & S Sara case Ltd [2021] NSWPIC 286). The purpose of this second task, therefore, is for you to examine the legal considerations currently confronting Australian organisations, as they determine what their obligations are to their workers in a ‘COVID-19 normal’ world if they are to act in a legally compliant manner. To this end, you are asked to research and write an essay that addresses the following questions: • What are an employer and director’s duties to their employees in this scenario under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic)? With reference to an organisation you know well, what considerations and implications do (have) these legal duties give(n) rise to? • What, if any, input do employees have a legal right to in their organisation’s determinations as to its COVID-19 response under the provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic)? Once again, with reference to the same organisation that you know well, outline if and how the organisation complied with these legal rights. In answering these questions, note that there is no need to reproduce the provisions of the Act in full or word for word. Rather it is beneficial to the learning process to discuss the provisions that you identify as pertinent to the questions in your own words as much as possible. Presentation: A professional-looking document builds credibility. Your essays should be presented in a reader-friendly way, so please ensure it: o has a title page o has essay headings for each task o is written in essay format o is in Calibri 12pt font o is 1.5 or double spaced with 2 cm margins on each side o has numbered pages o uses correct in-text referencing (Harvard system), and o includes a reference list which is correctly formatted (Harvard system) and begins on a new page. http://www.deakin.edu.au/students/study-support/referencing/harvard http://www.deakin.edu.au/students/study-support/referencing/harvard Page 5 of 7 Learning Outcomes This task allows you to demonstrate achievement towards the unit learning outcomes. The ULOs are aligned with specific graduate learning outcomes – that is, the skills and knowledge graduates are expected to have upon completion of their studies – and this assessment task is an important tool in determining achievement of those outcomes. If you do not demonstrate achievement of the unit learning outcomes, you will not be successful in this unit. It is good practice to familiarise yourself with the ULOs and GLOs as they provide guidance on the knowledge, understanding and skills you’re expected to demonstrate upon completion of the unit. In this way they can be used to guide your study. Unit Learning Outcome (ULO) Graduate Learning Outcome (GLO) ULO3: Analyse the role that employment laws play in governing Australian workplace relations GLO1: Discipline specific knowledge GLO2: Communication GLO4: Critical thinking Submission You are to submit your assignment in the Assignment Drop Box provided in the CloudDeakin unit site on or before the due date. When uploading your assignment, name