Employee Relations and Rewards

On successful completion of this course a student will be able to:

1. Understand the theoretical framework for relations and reward decisions, including
economic, political, social, psychological and ethical considerations. The factors
external (nationally and internationally) and internal to the organisation which might
have a potential impact on employee relations and reward policies and practices.

2. Understand business context of employee relations and reward decisions and the
impact of organisational change on relationships within the organisation.

3. Recognise the divergent aims and objectives of the stakeholders in the organisation,
including non-HR managers, unions, employees, shareholders and customers and the
reasons for the divergences.

4. Understand the importance of ethics and cultural differences in designing policies and
practice. Manage employee expectations and influence other managers.

5. Draft policies and procedures dealing, for example, with health and safety, employee
disciplinary and grievances, redundancy, job grading, equal opportunities, harassment
and bullying, etc and ensure their effective implementation and management.

6. Participate in the preparation of a case at an Employment Tribunal on behalf of an employer.

1. The context of employee relations and reward.
2. Theoretical frameworks for the study of the employment relationship.
3. Management: objectives and styles of employee relations management in the contest of the overall business strategy.
4. Employee Voice
5. The State as third party: the roles of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) in providing conciliation, mediation and arbitration, the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC), the Certification Officer, the Health and Safety Commission, the Equal Human Rights Commission.
6. The outcomes of collective bargaining.
7. Employee involvement and participation.
8. Discipline and grievances.
9. The contribution of reward management to the effective management of people, the reward system and its components.
10. The nature, role and aims of reward within an organisation’s corporate and personnel and development strategies; the nature of reward philosophies and their influence on reward strategies and policies.
11. The importance of corporate culture. The formulation and design of reward strategies and policies. The contingency approach to pay systems v best practice.
12. Pay structures. Grading systems and the establishment of pay differentials and relativities. Job evaluation. Pay progression systems. Market pricing and methods of obtaining pay data. Job evaluation. Analytical and non-analytical systems. Competency based job evaluation.

Main teaching and learning activities:
The course consists of:
• A weekly interactive one hour lecture
• A weekly interactive one hour tutorial
The lectures will introduce students to the key concepts and issues. The lectures be interactive to enable students to understand the cognitive aspects of the learning outcomes, e.g. role plays (e.g. on disciplinary and grievance interviewing, negotiations) and exercises and debates

Methods of SUMMATIVE Assessment: Essay.
Outcome(s) assessed by summative assessment:
Weighting % 50%
Pass Mark 40
Word Length 2500
Outline Details:An essay on the topic of employment relations. Two essay questions provided and the student to pick one to answer.

Methods of SUMMATIVE Assessment: Exam.
Outcome(s) assessed by summative assessment:
Weighting % 50%
Pass Mark 40
Word Length 3000
Outline Details:A three hour exam to comprise of five questions on Reward and the student picks three to answer.

• AIMS

  • To gain knowledge, understanding and professional competence in the field of employee relations and reward management.
  • To gain understanding of the relationship between management and employees collectively, whether unionised or not, and individually - which is central to effective workplace harmony and performance.
  • To comprehend the importance of the legal framework in managing both employment relations and reward, to examine the strategic choices which employers confront and to examine recent moves from collective to more individualistic relationships.
  • To be able to plan a strategic direction for an organisation's employee relations and reward policies, procedures and practices in the light of the need to develop and maintain employee commitment and manage change so that it is widely accepted.