BL642 EMPLOYMENT LAW 2006

1
BL642 EMPLOYMENT LAW2006

• AIMS
• To appreciate the various factors and theories
  that help us understand the context in which
  employment and labour law is developed
• To explore the common law and statutory law that
  governs the employment relationship
• To appreciate the ways in which managers can use
  the law to their advantage and manage risks
• To analyse the Workplace Relations Act 1996
  (Cth), including the recent Work Choices reforms

2
OBJECTIVES CONTENT

• Knowledge, skills values see UD
• Content
• Introduction to Employment Law
• Collective IR systems vs individual labour law
• Employment Relationship
• Job Security and Unfair Employment Practices

3
LEARNING TASKS TEXT

• Tutorial participation 10
• Essay 40
• Examination (open book) 50
• Prescribed Van der Waarden, N. (2004).
  Employment Law an outline AND
• CCH. (2006). Understanding Work Choices a
  practical guide to the new workplace relations
  systems
• Other useful texts?

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TOPIC ONEIntroduction to Employment Law

• Whats in a name
• Employment law
• Labour law
• Industrial law
• Industrial relations
• Workplace relations
• Personnel Management
• Human resource management
• Employee relations
• Employer-employee relations

5
Historical Overview

• Emphasis changing from social justice to
  efficiency and international competitiveness and
  flexibility
• English origins master and servant
  industrial revolution early statutes re working
  conditions
• Australia as a penal colony all English law
  applied gold rushes
• 1901 Federation - independent nation?
• 1904 Conciliation Arbitration Act
• 1920s to 1980s central wage controls
• 1983-86 Labour Party, centralised but beginning
  of international factors Aus floated, Accords

6
Historical overview cont.

• 1987-90 managed decentralism micro eco
  efficiency reforms, 1988 IR Act introduced
  certified agreements, National Wage cases
  requiring review of Awards, structural issues
• 1991-96 coordinated flexibility authority of
  AIRC reduced but safety net retained, 1993 IR Act
  to facilitate EB, ILO standards, certified
  non-union agreements Competition Policy reforms
  more tariff cuts
• 1992 the Kennett experiment Vic
• 1996 Liberal government fragmented
  flexibility Workplace Relations Act 1996
  AWAs, restricted AIRC role to 20 allowable
  matters Karpin Report

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Historical overview cont.

• Further reforms proposed but voted down in Senate
• 1 July 2005 Federal Govt gained majority in
  both Houses set out IR reform agenda
• 27 March 2006 Work Choices reforms effective
• All States and Territories plus unions appealed
  to High Court arguing reforms were
  unconstitutional heard May 2006 no decision
  yet

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Theoretical underpinnings

• Ideological liberalism
• Basis of relationship status to contract to
  protection back to contract
• Perspectives on the employment relationship
  unitary cf pluralist cf Marxism cf systems
• Contemporary perspectives feminism post
  modernism Fordism and post-Fordism
• What is and what should be the role of law?

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Sources of Employment Law

• Common law
• Contract
• Formation
• Express and implied terms
• Invalidating factors
• termination
• Agency
• Negligence

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Sources legislation

• Legislation
• Impact of Constitution s.51
• International influences eg ILO
• Federal statutes eg
• Workplace Relations Act 1996
• anti-discrimination legislation
• Trade Practices Act 1974

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Legislation cont.

• Victorian statutes
• Referral of workplace powers by Victoria in 1996
• Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004
• Accident Compensation Act 1985
• Equal Opportunity Act 1995
• Fair Trading Act 1999

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Meaning of

• Awards
• Collective agreements
• Enterprise agreements
• Certified agreements
• Australian Workplace Agreements
• Registered workplace agreements
• In house workplace rules

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Types of employment

• Contract of employment
• Contract for services
• Precarious employment
• Casual
• Part time
• Outworkers
• Independent contractors

14
Changing nature of employment

• What has changed/is changing?
• So what?

15
Reforms and their Constitutional basis

• See tute work for week 2