The key issues affecting Australian workplaces bear a strong resemblance with those in the United States. While generalizations suffer from the limitations of being just that, here are five issues HR and workplace leaders in...more
We work with human resources professionals everyday, and at all levels.
They have been at the forefront of dealing with the most dramatic change of our time felt directly in the workplace....more
As you will recall, the view of many is that enterprise bargaining in Australia has run its course. Essentially the view is that there’s little incentive for an employer to bargain (beyond avoiding harm to the business...more
Last week I declared that most cases of employee underpayments are inadvertent and that businesses, especially large employers, are working on compliance measures....more
Almost daily, we read about employer failure to comply with award or enterprise agreement obligations. Opportunistically and in keeping with the sport of “business bashing”, the failure is termed “wage-theft”, as if to brand...more
Lots has been said recently in the press about enterprise agreement making and the approval process by the Fair Work Commission (FWC). In short, the numbers of agreements being made is down and approval times are “long”. The...more
In a previous blog, we’ve mentioned the decline of enterprise bargaining in Australia.
Some data to support this follows in this blog. Both agreement numbers and employees covered by in-term agreements are in decline....more
In yesterday’s blog, we commented on the state of play in enterprise bargaining in Australia.
So what’s the outlook for enterprise bargaining in Australia? Here’s the top 7...more
A consistent theme in recent years for both employers and unions is that enterprise bargaining is broken.
The genesis of enterprise bargaining in the mid 1990’s lay in its potential to generate productivity gains at a time...more
Traditionally, alternative labour models – including outsourcing and contracting – have been used by business to defray cost and risk and deal with workflow fluctuations. Today’s environment is creating new challenges for...more
7/12/2018
/ Australia ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
International Labor Laws ,
Outsourcing ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Supply Chain ,
Unions
More than ever boards and senior executive teams are held accountable for workplace liability. This combined with the impact of social media, and its capacity to spread tales of woe, makes ‘the workplace’ attract boardroom...more
6/5/2018
/ Corporate Branding ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Diversity ,
Health and Safety ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Risk Management ,
Supply Chain ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
At a recent industry conference, a keynote speaker talked about great outcomes a number of our clients achieved in a critical enterprise bargaining round.
One observation was the importance of “patience“ – with which we...more
Within eight days of each other Bill Shorten and ACTU head, Sally McManus, have called for changes to the enterprise bargaining regime which is a central feature of Labor’s own Fair Work Act. Whilst we will no doubt hear more...more
Social, technological and economic forces impacting the workplace will continue to pose challenges for employers, employees, unions, policy makers and regulators in 2018....more
2/6/2018
/ Australia ,
Construction Industry ,
Infrastructure ,
International Labor Laws ,
Mining ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
Ports ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Supply Chain ,
Trade Unions ,
Wage and Hour
According to the Shadow Minister for Workplace Relations, Brendan O’Connor, (collective) bargaining power has tilted too much in favour of employers. This would rankle many an employer who, amongst other things, would feel...more
Enterprise bargaining is down. That’s the big call out from the Department of Employment Report on Enterprise Bargaining February 2017. Comparing private sector agreement numbers from 2014 there is a reduction by a third...more
The Chinese Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS) has launched a new nationwide grading system to evaluate employers’ employment law compliance. This system has been put in place via the Measures for the...more
In his book Bargaining with the Devil, Harvard Professor Richard Mnookin probes the challenges and options available when negotiating with “a devil” – anyone you perceive as a harmful adversary.
“The devil” is usually a...more
Often enterprise bargaining ends with a deal brokered in circumstances of crisis. Perhaps industrial action and a union media campaign are now viewed as too distracting or expensive. Perhaps management discontent with long...more
Leverage in collective bargaining negotiations is so important in a regulatory framework which condones its use.
When does an employer in a collective bargaining negotiation in a tough environment typically close the...more
Our blog on HR Now. The Big Issues has generated much discussion amongst our clients. They have told us about several other issues on their minds...more
Last year, we wrote about the 7 lessons for successful bargaining which highlighted that “tit for tat” communications rarely lead to a successful bargaining outcome. We regularly see that leading the communication agenda...more
What matters to HR today? While every client has their own unique challenges, here’s what we are hearing consistently from our leading employer client base.
1. Business change -
Change, and big change, is...more
The Bargaining Coach rarely comments on decisions of courts or tribunals. Plenty of others do that. This is a rare exception.
Many of you will by now be aware of the Aurizon decision where a Full Bench of the Fair Work...more