Essay about Dunlop’s system theory with Fair Work Act 2009

The submissions of the Australian Federal Government that the Workplace Relations Act 1996, amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005 was constitutionally valid prevailed with a majority of 5:2 by the High Court of Australia.1 This High Court decision inaugurated a shift of legislative power from the States to the Commonwealth.2 Since officially coming into effect as of 27 March 2006, the Work Choices Act has been the most comprehensive reformation in Australia in nearly a century, constantly sparking matters of controversy. 3

These are all covered by law so that no one is taken advantage of and also so that both Parties are covered to a certain point and makes sure everyone is treated fairly i.e.

Australia has gone from a highly centralized wage determination system to a mainly decentralized one. There has been a move away from accords and awards to enterprise bargaining, through the 96 Workplace Relations Act. Recent policies include changes to unfair dismissal claims and the 2005 workplace reforms package.

Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) (2012), Towards More Productive and Equitable Workplaces: An Evaluation of the Fair Work Legislation

The implementation of the Fair Work Act 2009 which came into force on January 1st 2010, was to create a national workplace relations system for the purpose of setting wages and conditions of employment. This legislation is overlooked by the Fair Work Commission and ombudsman, whose role is to maintain a safety net of minimum wages and conditions and ensure compliance with the Fair Work Act. The creation of the Fair Work Act (2009) is to regulate business cooperation’s for the purpose of providing safety nets for minimum wages and entitlements, flexible working arrangements and ensure fairness at the workplace. Under the Fair Work Act 2009, ten National Employment Standards

An employment relationship describes the dynamic, interlocking economic, legal, social and psychological relations that exist between individuals and their work organizations. Palgrave Macmillan (2013), Glossary [online] Available at: < http://www.palgrave.com/business/brattonandgold/glossary/glossary.htm> [Accessed 17th September 2013]. Factors that impact on this relationship both have a detrimental effect to the running of a business. I will focus on two internal and two external. These being:

* System – the result of a strong search for a higher meaning at work by many of today’s employees. They want more than just a paycheck and job security from their jobs.

The role of the tribunal and court systems in enforcing employment law is to ensure that cases brought before them are dealt with in a fair and consistent manner. Delivering an outcome that is consistent with the facts put before them. They have to consider the evidence placed by both the employee and the employer. In most cases it is for the employer to prove that they handled the case appropriately taking account of their internal procedures and ensuring that they were not in breach of any relevant employment legislation related to the employee and their circumstances.

Belton, R. (2004). Employment discrimination law: cases and materials on equality in the workplace. Thomson/West

Now consider the factory as a system, and take into account interactions between the departments.

The varieties of capitalism approach, developed by Hall and Soskice in their influential work, ‘Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage’ emphasizes the notion that the manner in which firms sort out the coordination problems that they encounter, differs across political economies. They identify five broad realms in which firms must build relationships in order to solve the coordination issues which are vital to their core competencies. These five spheres include industrial relations, corporate governance, inter-firm relations, vocational training and education, and employees.

This essay will argue that the concept of ‘worker’ defined under section 230 of the Employment Rights Act (“ERA”) 1996 is board; however, due to the undefined scope of section 230(3) of ERA 1996, employment tribunals and the courts have adapted a rigid approach in their interpretation; that there is a ‘high degree of legal uncertainty’ as established in this area of law; that the law does not adequately deal with non-standard forms of ‘workers’; present proposals for reform by the UK Parliament on the interpretation and application of law at common; and finally provide a conclusion for the arguments put forth.

Dunlop states that the industrial relations system is seen to be 'comprised of certain actors, certain contexts and ideology which bind the industrial relations system together and a body of rules created to govern the actors at the workplace (Blyton Turnbull, 2004, P27). And

that contemporary society exists in a post-modern era where westernised societies enjoy the benefits of higher living standards, where the rights of employees are elicited within the Australian Constitution and the rights of humans are dictated within Geneva conventions. An era where employees are entitled to government pensions, allowances, superannuation, and employees accrue sick and annual leave (McDonald & Brownlee, 2001). Furthermore employees are able to seek union representation and are legally entitled to industrial action. McDonald and Brownlee (2001) assert that Fair Work Australia, established as an institution responsible for fixating minimum wage and resolving work related disputes, perpetuates the notion that Australia is in transition to become an egalitarian society with minimal class disparity.

Labour law in the Caribbean and Jamaica in particularly has traditionally been shaped by social, economic and political influences Goolsaran (2005). Over the past 100 years, its major challenge has been its response to social and political demands