Support Employee Relations

Employees need to have a basic understanding of the laws and legislation that governs their work environment. Ensure your team understand the following critical legislation.

Communicate how it works:

1. The Commonwealth Parliament enacts the workplace relations laws.
2. Industrial relations policies and procedures adhere to legislative requirements of workplace rights and responsibilities outlined in Australia's workplace laws.
3. The Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act) and the Fair Work Regulations 2009 govern Australia's employee and employer relationship.

The laws outline the minimum entitlements, flexible working arrangements and fairness at work. These laws are aimed at preventing any discrimination against employees. Since industrial relations relate to managing work-related obligations and entitlements between employees and their employer, the organisation's employee relations and industrial relations procedures must be communicated to relevant stakeholders.³

The communication must follow the relevant organisation, enterprise and statutory requirements. An effective communication process should be undertaken with relevant stakeholders to ensure compliance with the employer's legal needs.

A range of communication processes must be in place through which the organisation can communicate important messages and provide up-to-date information to staff.

You can provide support by firstly communicating with employees. Employees like to know what is happening across the organisation. Sharing important messages and providing up-to-date information to staff on employee relations policies and procedures may minimise any serious employee relations conflicts.

Communication strategies will vary according to the size and location of the organisation and can include the following.

The process of communicating in an organisation will vary depending on the type and size of the organisation. In some cases, the organisation may have a communication plan and Policy to outline the process of communicating employee relations, industrial relations procedures, and other information. In smaller organisations, a team meeting, sending an email, or one-on-one sessions may be more feasible.⁴

Examples of how communication may occur in the workplace include the following.

• Email
• Intranet
• One-on-one meetings
• Formal training or briefing sessions
• Team meetings
• Consultative groups
• Oppurtunities for internal stakeholders to contribute ideas and information

It is vital to ensure that all up-to-date, relevant legislation from all levels of Government that affects business operation, especially regarding WHS and environmental issues, EEO, industrial relations and anti-discrimination, are communicated effectively to the stakeholders.

When communicating IR and ER processes, it is always important to consider who the audience is. For example, when dealing with managers, you expect them to know and understand the processes well, whereas team members may be new to the information and need it explained more simply.

Watch the following video to understand more about workplace communication.

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Conflict in the workplace is a fairly common occurrence. Conflict can occur at any time and in any part of the organisation. Conflict may be caused by several factors, including miscommunication of roles and objectives, differing opinions and personality clashes between colleagues and managers. Below outlines the various grievances and conflicts that might occur in an organisation.

• Employee rights

  Employees are entitled to certain rights and entitlements, including leave, not being discriminated against or harassed, and having a safe and healthy work environment.

• Job role and responsibilities

  Employees have a right to be aware of job roles and responsibilities and if any changes occur.

• Violation of union rights

  Employees have the right to freedom of association, allowing them to choose whether to join a trade union.

• Disciplinary action

  Employees can lodge a workplace grievance if they do not believe disciplinary action against them is warranted.

Employers must have a transparent and fair process for employees to feel comfortable raising and settling grievances or complaints in the working environment.

Critical components of a Grievance policy are outlined below.

• Definition

  It is essential to describe the Policy and explain the definition of a grievance.

• Who

  The Policy must describe who it applies to in the workplace.

• Procedures

  The Policy must outline the procedures to follow. It will include What sort of issues might be dealt with by a grievance procedure, for example, a conflict between staff and customer dissatisfaction.
  It must also describe how the procedures will work; for example, it will list the different stages from lodgment to resolution. The procedures will outline how to develop possible solutions and follow-up meetings.

• Confidentiality and Protection

  The Policy must include a confidentiality clause to ensure all information is kept private and a statement on protecting the person (s) making the complaint or lodging the grievance.

Grievance resolution procedures should be:

• flexible to allow them to be managed appropriately and adequately
• have a focus on resolution and fairness
• be consistent with relevant employment legislation, awards and enterprise agreements (where applicable).⁵

Grievance resolution processes should be fair and balanced. They may include the following steps.

1. The employee meets with their direct manager to discuss the grievance – a representative may be present in some cases
2. The manager listens carefully and they try and resolve the dispute
3. If the dispute cannot be resolved, then the matter may go to more senior management
4. An independent mediator such as the Fair Work Commission may be called to resolve the dispute.

Despite the cause of the grievance or conflict, the organisation must have effective workplace grievance and conflict resolution procedures. Practical procedures will outline and provide a consistent process and assist in maintaining good relationships with employees by dealing with workplace issues early.⁶

Watch the following video defining and outlining what conflict resolution is.

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Employee relations conflicts can occur in any size or type of organisation, especially if teams and individuals have diverse backgrounds and priorities. Conflict can occur at any time and can be caused by several factors, including:

• miscommunication of roles and objectives
• differences in opinions
• personality clashes.

An organisation must ensure that they have policies and procedures that swiftly deal with conflict in the workplace and conflict resolution procedures that deal sensitively and confidentially with the dispute between the parties. The organisation must avoid any emotional stress associated with the conflict and provide a safe and trustworthy process that assists those involved.

Employee relations strategies must include clear, timely communication and transparent conflict resolution processes. For the method to be effective, it must be:

• built on effective and timely communication
• built on trust across all aspects of the organisation
• clear, objectives and expectations must be transparent
• a sound and responsive conflict resolution process.⁷

It is vital to ensure that you are familiar with the organisation's policies and procedures and grievance and conflict resolution procedures that relate to the particular employee relations dispute.

The provision to update any of the following may be required to support the employee relations conflict. Employees are entitled to certain rights and entitlements, including:

• taking Leave
• not being discriminated against or harassed
• having a safe and healthy work environment.

You could provide the following information to ensure that the employees' rights are adhered to.

The provision of support to resolve simple employee conflicts may also include:

• active and critical listening
• using effective communication techniques to support the resolution of simple workplace grievances and conflicts
• using conflict management and resolution skills
• demonstrating professional conduct
• providing accurate and up-to-date information such as policies and procedures relating to employee relation conflicts, for example, anti-discrimination, harassment, employee code of conduct and health and safety
• referring to employee terms and conditions of employment where needed
• if there is an issue between employees, assist employees in resolving the matter between them
• providing sources of where specialist advice, such as unions or anti-discrimination experts.

It is essential to provide the necessary support to the relevant stakeholders in resolving employee relations conflict, resolving the conflict's issues as quickly as possible, and following any legal or organisational requirements.⁸

When dealing with a grievance or complaint, you must handle the situation professionally and with care. Communications techniques will include:

• always following the organisation's grievance procedures
• responding to questions clearly and concisely
• using suitable and clear language
• using effective strategies to moderate conflict and negotiate solutions, including active listening techniques and showing empathy
• using effective non-verbal communication to assist with understanding
• ensuring an agreement is made regarding the next step in the grievance procedure.⁹

Watch the following video describing three ways to resolve conflict by Dorothy Walker for TED Institute. 

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You must document and maintain records related to employee relations conflicts and resolution agreements. It includes any hard copy documents or electronic documents.

The documentation will vary depending on the type of employee relations conflict and any legal requirements that must be adhered to, and this may include:

• organisational policies and procedures such as conflict management, grievances procedures, discrimination policy, diversity and inclusion policies, the anti-bullying Policy
• relevant awards or enterprises agreements
• job descriptions
• training records
• reports on working conditions such as occupational health and safety (OHS) work conditions and standards
• quality of equipment and materials used
• reports or information on unreasonable workloads, roles or objectives.

There are various ways to record and maintain documentation, including:

• secure internal IT systems
• human resources management systems
• cloud-based systems.10

Keeping accurate and detailed documentation could protect the organisation from future potential legal action. The documentation must be complete, accurate, and in line with various legislation. If the documents contain personal information, they must be recorded, stored and maintained according to the organisational requirements and the Privacy Act 1998.

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