BSBWRK510 Manage employee relations

BSB50615 Diploma of Human Resource Management

Assessment Task 1 ‒ Activities based on Case Study

In this Assessment Task, you are required to complete four (4) activities based on the Case Study to demonstrate your knowledge across key concepts and variables involved conflict resolution. This includes a consideration of policies, procedures and guidelines followed for effective conflict resolution.

Assessment Task 2 ‒ Research based Activities

In this Assessment Task, you are required to complete four (4) research based activities to demonstrate an applied knowledge of grievance handling in the workplace. It focuses on an understanding of the plans, policies, procedures and strategies to manage grievances at workplace effectively.

Assessment Task 3 ‒ Training Activities

In this Assessment Task, you are required to complete three (3) training related activities to demonstrate an understanding of relevant industrial relations legislation or regulations, enterprise and workplace bargaining processes and entities in the current Australian industrial relations system.

Assessment Task 1 – Activities based on Case Study

The business scenario given below relates to all assessment questions.

Case Study

You are the HR Manager at OzMarket Consulting, a firm that offers business coaching and human resources (HR) consulting services to small to medium enterprises (SME) who do not have their own HR department and/or need expert advice.

Jodie, a team leader from the business coaching department, requires your assistance with one of her clients. The client, Raynar Fabrication (Raynar), is a fairly small company and they do not have a dedicated HR function in the business.

There has been an incident between a staff member and the foreman at Raynar since most of the HR function at Raynar is taken care of by OzMarket, the General Manager (GM) has requested OzMarket’s assistance to resolve the situation.  Jodie has requested that you take this issue on.

The information you have been provided regarding this incident is given below:

Tony, the staff member in question, believes that the equipment he is using is dangerous. He was involved in a near miss incident that left him shaken but uninjured and he reported it to the foreman. The foreman told Tony he was happy to discuss the incident it but it would have to wait three (3) weeks as he is very busy. The foreman also said that this machine’s maintenance schedule was up to date and that it had never been a problem in the past. He told Tony that as they were running behind on an important job he needed to just get on with his work. Tony refused and the foreman sent him home, insisting that the lost time be taken as annual leave.

Tony’s departure left production substantially behind the next day, impacting on Raynar’s ability to delivery on an order that is worth tens of thousands of dollars. 

The GM has said that Tony is happy to come back to work but will not work on the equipment he was previously using until it has been serviced and declared safe to use. Unfortunately the service company cannot service the machine for another three (3) days. Tony is threatening industrial action if he is forced to take annual leave because he refuses to work on unsafe machinery.

Since the dispute began, the GM has offered to meet with Tony to discuss the situation but Tony has declined, citing that with no proper HR department, he is not likely to get a fair hearing regarding this issue.

Raynar’s position is that they intend to have the machine serviced in three (3) days and return Tony to his previous position as soon as possible. They concede that the foreman did not handle Tony in an appropriate way and would like to see a resolution that does not involve industrial action, especially since 76% of their current workforce is unionised. They are hoping that the situation can be defused without further issue and without having to go to mediation.

A similar incident happened at Raynar five (5) years ago when a machine was reported as faulty and the same foreman told the worker to go back to work and he would deal with the problem. The worker returned to work as instructed and sustained a lost-time injury three (3) hours later as a result of the machine’s safety mechanism failing. Raynar was fined under WHS legislation for failing to respond to a reported hazard in an acceptable manner.

Since then Raynar have been particularly strict with their maintenance schedule and take reports of this nature very seriously.

Raynar is keen to avoid incidents like these in the future and have asked you to design a procedure for conflict resolution and a form to document the procedure. They have also asked you to meet with Tony to work out an acceptable solution to the situation. Their preferred outcome is that Tony agrees to come back to work immediately if he is given suitable alternative duties until such time as the machine is repaired.

Having considered the above scenario, complete the following four (4) activities:

Activity 1: Conflict Resolution Procedure and Form Design

a) Using standard process mapping notation or step-by-step instructions, create a procedure with at least five (5) steps for resolving the conflict situation at Raynar Fabrication.

b) Create a form template that would be used to document the details of conflict resolution process. The template should include the following:

• The incident that led to the grievance
• The parties involved in the conflict
• Documentation to be consulted to provide additional information on the grievance
• The organisation’s position on the conflict
• Ways to eliminate or alleviate the source of the conflict
• The desired negotiation outcomes
• The planned negotiation strategy
• The negotiation timeframes
• Consultation with experts or relevant precents
• Interview notes from the aggrieved party
• Interview notes from other involved parties
• Agreements made during the negotiations regarding outcomes
• Timeframes for follow up of the agreements

Activity 2: Preparation for conflict resolution meeting

Complete the following two parts of this activity:

1. In the conflict resolution form template that you created in Task 1, complete the following details with reference to the conflict between Tony, the staff member and the foreman at Raynar in the case study.

• The incident that led to the grievance
• The parties involved in the conflict
• Documentation to be consulted to provide additional information on the grievance
• The organisation’s position on the conflict
• Ways to eliminate or alleviate the source of the conflict
• The desired negotiation outcomes
• The planned negotiation strategy
• The negotiation timeframes
• Consultation with experts or relevant precents

2. Write a set of questions six to eight (6-8) you intend to ask Tony during your meeting.

Activity 3: Simulated workplace scenario of meeting with Tony

Arrange a time with your trainer/friend/work colleague for this activity. In this activity, the trainer friend/work colleague will play the role of Tony, the aggrieved employee. You will play the role of the HR Manager for OzMarket Consulting.

With Tony you will discuss his grievance and negotiate a path through the problem. During this meeting (lasting for 10-15 minutes), you will need to do the following:

• Find out as much as you can about the sources of the conflict from Tony’s perspective
• Advocate Raynar’s position in the conflict
• Obtain Tony’s agreement to return to work on suitable duties immediately

As evidence of completion of this activity, you need to prepare and submit the following:

1. Detailed notes of the meeting (10-15 minutes) with Tony.
2. A video/audio recording of any five (5) minutes of this simulated meeting.
3. A memo addressed to the foreman in question and management outlining the results of the meeting, the agreements made and what they are to do to implement the agreement.

Activity 4: Follow-Up

Scenario

Not long after your meeting with Tony, he contacts you to say that he has returned to work as per your agreement but that the foreman has assigned him janitorial duties. He says that this work is demeaning and is designed to punish him for making trouble. He says he is willing to work through the situation but that these are hardly suitable duties and that Raynar isn’t keeping up with its side of the agreement.

Read the scenario above and answer the following questions:

1. What remedial action will you take in this situation? (150-200 words)
2. Who would you report the non-compliance to and how would you report it? (100-150 words)
3. What recommendations will you give to Raynar on how to handle the situation? (250-300 words)

Assessment Task 2 – Research based Activities

Scenario:

During the discussions on Workplace Health and Safety that followed Tony reporting the potential hazard, Raynar recognised some of their policies and procedures may not meet current legislation, regulations and industry best practice.

Your manager has approached you to be a member of the team that is to undertake research to identify any potential areas for improvements. The team leader, Janice, has asked you to focus on Employee Relations, with a particular focus on policies, plans, procedures and strategies.

Complete the following five (5) research based activities in context of the above scenario:

Activity 1: Business Report

1. Collect current examples of Employee Relations documents, policies and plans. These could come from your current employer, a previous employer or other online resource. A minimum of two (2) documents must be collected. You may need to access the organisation’s website, annual reports, stated business objectives or other available information. You may need to access industry advisory board websites to collect industry specific information. Ensure you cite all references and web links.
2. Analyse these documents and prepare a business report which should include the following:

• All employee relations objectives (current, short, medium and long term) and an analysis of these objectives to determine if they are appropriate and compliant with business objectives and targets, legislative and regulatory requirements and industry standards.
• How these objectives are being met and how these objectives relate to current Employee Relations practises.
• List and explanation of the relevant Industrial Relations legislation and regulations, including correctly and accurately naming the legislation or regulation.
• Outline how the documents meet business objectives and targets in addition to legislative and regulatory requirements and how it does not.
• Outline what needs to be undertaken to ensure compliance with business objectives and targets and legislative and regulatory requirements where necessary. Evaluate and identify any penalties for non-compliance with legislation and regulations.
• Undertake a cost-benefit analysis and a risk analysis to determine the priority order for rectifying the problems you’ve identified.
• Review the documentation and determine if the current employee performance is meeting the workforce objectives based on the employee relations plans and policies.
• Explain how employee performance is and is not meeting workforce objectives based on the employee relations plans and policies. 

Activity 2: Simulated Workplace Scenario

Background information:

Your research report you created in Activity one (1) was well received both by your team leader and the management team as a whole. You’ve been asked to assist in correcting and updating the industrial relations policies and plans. Your team consists of three people; you, Janice the team leader, and Stefan, the administration trainee.

As a number of policies and plans need to be reviewed, updated or developed, the three of you have decided to start with the policy and plan that is most urgent, the grievance policy. The grievance policy is most urgent because it was found to be an incorrect copy and paste policy that actually referred to leave entitlements.  Raynar has decided they need a grievance policy that reflects the business culture.  Janice has had to take time off work to care for a sick relative so has asked you to attend a meeting with Stefan to discuss the requirements for the policy. You will then need to send Janice an email, summarising the discussions and suggesting a direction.

Simulated workplace scenario of meeting with Stephen to discuss the requirements of the Grievance Policy

• Arrange a time (10-15 minutes) with your trainer/friend/work colleague for this activity.
• In this activity, the trainer friend/work colleague will play the role of Stefen, the administration trainer who will be helping you with the creation of the documents. You will take the role of acting Team Leader and discuss the requirements of this policy with Stephen.

• Prior to this meeting, undertake some research into grievance policies to:
• Identify three (3) different styles of grievance policy (based on different industries). Different styles may include language, style, format or other factors
• Determine the most appropriate style for your industry
• Identify any legal requirements for grievance policies
• Identify four issues concerning grievance policies, plans, strategies or procedures
• Determine your negotiation strategy

You will use this information as a basis for your discussions with Stefan.

During the meeting you will need to:

• Collaborate on the development of the policy
• Explain to Stefan any workplace procedures that are currently used to address grievances and conflict
• Discuss legislative, regulatory or industry standards for grievance policies

Come to an agreement as to what should be included in the grievance policy, the style of the grievance policy and the format of the grievance policy

Activity 3: Drafting a Grievance Policy and a Policy Implementation Plan

Now that agreement has been reached regarding the grievance policy, you need to create the first draft of both the policy and a policy implementation plan including contingency plans.

1. To help you write the policy and implementation plan, answer the following questions:

1. How do I identify the skills and knowledge needed to write and implement the plans (150-200 words)?
2. Does the workforce need any additional knowledge, skill or training before they can use the plans and policies and if so, what do they need (150-200 words)?
3. What contingency plans will I need to include in this plan and policy (150-200 words)?
4. What are the associated employee relations activities that may need to be undertaken (200-250 words)?
5. How do I manage feedback and changes (200-250 words)?

Prepare a draft grievance policy, grievance policy implementation plan and contingency plan to include the following:

1. Reference to appropriate legislation and regulations.
2. Definitions of any term or phrase used within the policy.
3. Outline all steps in the process.
4. Outline where to get additional advice and assistance.
5. All steps in the process of implementing the policy.
6. A response to logical and foreseeable problems that may occur when implementing a new policy within the business.

Activity 4: Reach agreement on changes required by the new organisational policy

You now need to write an email to the managers and supervisors at Raynar to explain the reasons why the grievance policy is being implemented and what it means to them in their role at Raynar. You also need to assure them that their input is valuable and give them the opportunity to provide comments and feedback. Ensure you use positive language while making it clear that following the policy is part of Raynar’s obligations under WHS legislation and that it will help them in their roles.

Assessment Task 3 – Training Activities

Scenario:

The new grievance policy and plans have been in place for a week when Janice returns from leave. She looks them over and calls you into her office to ask about the training that needs to be undertaken to ensure each member of the team understands the importance and can use the new policy. Janice asks you to organise an appropriate time and place for the training and for you to present a talk on the importance of employee relations.

Based on the scenario given above, complete the following three (3) training activities:

Activity 1: Planning for training

1. Training for Raynar is always undertaken in the large meeting rooms at the function centre across the road. Write an email to them to request booking a room for three (3) two (2) hour blocks across two (2) days.
2. You will need to organise catering for each of these two (2) hour training sessions, but only light snacks and tea, coffee and juice. Write an email requesting a quote for the hire of the facilities and a separate quote on the supply of refreshments.
3. You have a budget of $750.00 to cover room hire and refreshment. You have received the following quotes.
   • The restaurant charges $300.00 for room hire, if the rooms are vacated before 2.30 pm or $675 if the rooms are vacated between 2.30 and 5.30 pm. Rooms can be accessed after 8.30 am each morning
   • Refreshments provided with the hire of the room include Arnott’s biscuits, tea and coffee. Juice (apple and orange only) can be provided at an additional cost of $7.50 for every 1.5 litre bottle
   • Self-catering is allowed for items not available at the function centre. The local supermarket sells bottles of Orange, Passion and Tropical juice for $3.50 for two (2) Litres. You take the quote to Janice who asks you to organise the event. You have a budget of $750.00 to cover room hire and refreshments

Analyse the above quotes, calculate and suggest the option that would meet the budgetary requirement

Activity 2: Training document (Fact Sheet)

Prepare a fact sheet (700-800 words) that you would use as handout to explain the importance of good employee relations. This fact sheet should include:

• An explanation of the industrial relations legislation and regulations your industry works under
• Summary of the common enterprise and workplace bargaining processes used within your industry
• Outline of the key entities within the industrial relations system, including courts, tribunals, trade unions and employer bodies and how they work together
• Explanation of how these entities impact employee and industrial relations
• Outline of the process to be used in conflict management under the new grievance policy

Activity 3: Training

Create a PowerPoint presentation (10 minutes) that you would use to train your team on conflict management techniques. This should include:

• Description of conflict management
• Why conflict management is necessary
• Key issues in conflict management
• Description of two conflict management techniques that could be use

As an evidence of completion of this activity, submit the following:

• A copy of the PowerPoint presentation prepared
• A video/audio recording of any five (5) minutes of you making the presentation