Manage Disputes

and Grievances
BSBWRK520 Manage employee relations
Presentation 3
Purpose of this presentation

At the end of this session, you should know how to:

• ensure that procedures for addressing grievances and
conflict are properly documented
• communicate key issues about procedures for addressing
grievances and conflict.
• train individuals in conflict management techniques and
procedures
• identify and, where possible, alleviate or eliminate
sources of conflict or grievances in accordance with
legal requirements
• check documentation and other information sources to
clarify issues in dispute.
Purpose of this presentation
(cont.)
At the end of this session, you should know how to:
• obtain expert or specialist advice and/or refer to
precedents, if required
• determine desired negotiation outcomes, negotiation
strategies and negotiation timeframes
• advocate the organisation's position, through
negotiation, to obtain agreement
• document and, if necessary, certify the agreed
outcomes with the relevant jurisdiction
• implement agreed changes
• take remedial action where groups or individuals fail to
abide by agreements.
Nature of disputes and
grievances

Grievances and disputes – conflicts or

complaints from one employee toward either
another worker, group of workers, manager or
employer about unpleasant, unfair or offensive
treatment:
• disputes about pay
• disputes about workplace conditions
• discriminatory behaviour
• personal conflict.
Dispute handling procedures

Where the dispute

remains unresolved,
If the matter can not the Fair Work
be resolved in the Commission may
workplace, the exercise any method
dispute can be of dispute resolution
Failing resolution at referred to the Fair permitted by the Act.
lowest level, parties Work Commission
attempt to resolve and parties to the
the dispute with dispute may agree
more senior levels on the process for
Employee/s of management. resolution.
attempt to
resolve dispute
with their direct
supervisor.
Communication methods

• Orientation and induction programs, either online,

face-to-face or in employee handbooks
• Manager training
• Team meetings
• Intranet sites
• Printing and distribution of hard copies of the
procedure
• Posting soft copies on intranet
• Inclusion of the procedure in employee resources
such as handbooks, induction materials, etc.
• Employee updates such as newsletters and emails.
Conflict management

• The process of recognising and dealing with

disputes and grievances in a rational, balanced
and effective way that achieve win-win
outcomes.
• Conflict techniques:
• competing
• accommodating
• avoiding
• collaborating
• compromising.
Techniques for resolving conflict

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Pause Listen Empathise Think Respond

AND

Step 1. Step 2. Step 3. Step 4.

Initiate a Give good Gather good Problem
conversation information information solve
Conflict management training

• Develop knowledge and skills.

• Use a coaching plan tool to plan:
• resources
• information requirements
• schedule
• training methods
• evaluation procedure.
Identifying sources of conflict

Potential sources of conflict, with regards to the

implementation of an organisation’s employee
relations strategy and policy, could be identified
through:
• employee consultation
• feedback from managers
• review of past employee relations
performance.
Eliminating sources of conflict

Sources of conflict can be alleviated or

eliminated by:
• confirming what won’t change
• minimising change within areas that are most
contentious
• training and development
• following process
• adherence to legal requirements.
Clarifying issues

Issues can be clarified via the following sources of

information:
• 10 National Employment Standards
• Relevant modern award
• Previous/current enterprise agreements and
contracts of employment
• Job descriptions
• Company policies and procedures
• Formal complaint notices
• Internal or external specialists
• Relevant legislation.
Expert advice
External:
Internal:  employment lawyers
• payroll
 state work place safety
• legal department. authority
 Fair Work Commission
 Fair Work Ombudsman
 Australian Human Rights
Commission.
Negotiating a workplace
agreement

• Collective bargaining is the process of

negotiating the terms and conditions of
employment between the employer, a group of
employees and their bargaining
representatives (where applicable) with the
aim of making an enterprise agreement.
• Effectively negotiating an outcome involves
determining the:
• desired negotiation outcomes
• negotiation strategy
• negotiation timeframe.
Negotiation strategies

When developing a negotiation strategy you should

consider:
• the desired negotiation outcome
• the skills and knowledge of managers and employees
regarding the issue to be negotiated
• employee’s and manager’s ability to participate in
negotiations, e.g. language barriers, literacy issues,
negotiation skills, personality clashes
• existing relationships with employee groups and unions
• past negotiations to understand what strategies worked
well and what strategies did not work so well.
Good faith bargaining

Bargaining representatives must:

• attend and participate in meetings at reasonable times
• disclose relevant information, other than confidential or
commercially sensitive information, in a timely manner
• respond to proposals made by the other bargaining
representatives in a timely manner
• give genuine consideration to the proposals of other
bargaining representatives and reasons for any responses
• refrain from capricious or unfair conduct that undermines
freedom of association or collective bargaining
• recognise and bargain with the other bargaining
representatives.
Timeframes

When developing timeframes for negotiations,

the following should be considered:
• the number of parties involved
• the complexity of the
issue that is being
negotiated
• notification requirements
• logistics.
Advocating the organisation’s
position

• Be clear on what the organisations position is.

• Remain focused on the desired outcome.
• Deal with concerns professionally.
Obtaining agreement

In the workplace this may include:

• agreement on the terms and conditions of an
enterprise agreement
• agreement for the introduction of a new piece
of equipment
• agreement to make changes to an existing
policy
• agreement to make improvements to a
process.
Reaching agreement

Reaching an agreement involves:

• recognising what each participant wants out of the
negotiation
• identifying things that each participant has and the
other wants
• identifying what participants are willing to trade or
give away
• identifying alternatives to the original position
when agreement can be reached
• thinking innovatively to identify solutions that
meet the needs of each party.
Documenting agreed outcomes

A draft agreement should include:

• a date as its nominal expiry date
• dispute settlement procedures
• a clause providing for consultation
• a flexibility clause
• a sign-off sheet for all employees.
Approving an agreement

The FWC considers the following factors when making a decision:

• the agreement has been made with the genuine agreement of those involved
• the agreement passes the better off overall test and does not include any
unlawful terms or designated outworker terms
• the group of employees covered by the agreement was fairly chosen.
• the agreement specifies a date as its nominal expiry date (not more than four
years after the date of FWC approval)
• the agreement provides a dispute settlement procedure
• the agreement includes a flexibility clause and a consultation clause.
• approval is consistent with good faith bargaining
• for multi-enterprise agreements, only employers whose employees have
approved the agreement are included
• textile clothing or footwear outworkers do not have detrimental terms
compared with those under awards or industrial instruments.
Implementing an agreement

Develop an implementation plan for the

enterprise agreement:
• support
• resources
• communication
• training and education – managers and
effected workers.
Addressing non-compliance

All breaches of agreements must be investigated and dealt with. The

process for addressing groups or individuals who fail to abide by
agreements typically follows:
• receive the complaint or information regarding the breach
• advise the individual/group of the issue
• investigate the breach
• speak to any witnesses
• refer to relevant documents or other information sources
• present the outcomes of your investigation to the
individual/group and provide them with time to consider the
allegations and respond
• determine the seriousness of the breach by considering
• determine and implement the appropriate course of action.
The next steps

You should now:

• complete the learning activities in Section 4 of
your Student Workbooks
• complete Assessment Task 3.