Monash University Handbook 2011 Postgraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Synopsis

1. The contract of employment: the rights and obligations of employers and employees; rights in respect of unfair dismissal and redundancy, and remedies for breach.
2. Industrial awards: the role of awards in employment relations; making awards and resolving disputes at federal level; the role of industrial tribunals; legal constraints and regulation of award making powers; enforcement; role of unions in arbitration.
3. Collective and individual agreements under the Commonwealth Workplace Relations Act 1996; process of negotiation; legal status of such agreements; procedures for enforcement; role of unions and industrial tribunals.
4. Legislative prescription of minimum entitlements.

Objectives

On completion of this unit students will have acquired:

1. a knowledge of the law relating to employee relations in Australia, the sources of rights and obligations between employers and employees and the processes of resolving employer-employee disputes
2. an understanding of the theoretical and philosophical bases underpinning the resolution of industrial disputes and the determination of relationships between employer and employees in Australia
3. an appreciation of the operation in practice of the systems of dispute resolution and determination in Australia.

Assessment

Research assignment (3,750 words): 50%
Class participation: 10%
Take home examination (3,000 words): 40%

Chief examiner(s)

Mr Richard Naughton

Contact hours

24 contact hours per semester (either intensive, semi-intensive or semester long, depending on the Faculty resources, timetabling and requirements)