HRMT19021 - Principles of Employment Relations

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit discusses the changing nature of employment relations. In this unit, you will assess the role of state, employers, unions and employees in employment relations within the context of a changing labour market. You will analyse the legal, political and economic framework within which employment relations take place. Contemporary issues will be highlighted and discussed.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites There are no pre-requisites for the unit.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2025

Term 1 - 2026 Profile
Melbourne
Online
Sydney

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Literature Review or Systematic Review 50%
2. Case Study 50%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 66.67% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 10.71% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Unit Evaluations and student emails
Feedback
The assessment requires further clarification.
Recommendation
The Unit Coordinator will provide more detailed information on the assessment.
Action Taken
In response to previous feedback, all information regarding the unit assessments has been centralised in the Assessment tab, creating a one-stop "Assessment Hub". This comprehensive resource includes a document outlining assessment descriptions, requirements, templates, and marking rubrics. Additionally, a video explanation has been provided to enhance students' understanding of the assessment requirements.
Source: Unit Evaluations and student emails
Feedback
The assessment does not relate to the Unit as a whole
Recommendation
The Uni Coordinator will explain in greater detail how the assessment relates to the Unit as a whole.
Action Taken
In response to previous feedback, the Unit Coordinator revised the assessment tasks to ensure explicit alignment with the unit's focus on the principles of employment relations. For instance, in Term 1, 2025, students were required to prepare a report identifying key issues from the provided articles that are currently influencing employment relations in Australia, including topics such as the Right to Disconnect, gig worker reforms, and trends in union membership. The assessment further required students to critically analyse how the main actors are responding to these challenges.
Source: Unit Coordinator reflection
Feedback
The current textbook, published in 2018, provides a solid foundation in fundamental theories and concepts; however, its real-world examples and coverage of employment regulations are somewhat outdated.
Recommendation
To ensure the continued relevance of the unit, it is recommended to replace or supplement the current textbook with a more recent publication, providing students with access to up-to-date examples, contemporary theories, and current references in employment relations.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student evaluations
Feedback
Knowledge and skills
Recommendation
Opportunities for guest presenters or sessions will be explored, and current real-world case studies will be embedded in the learning materials.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Explain and analyse the role of the state, employers, unions and employees in employment relations.
  2. Assess the impact of changes in the labour market and in the legal, political and economic framework on employment relations.
  3. Identify and discuss contemporary issues in employment relations.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Literature Review or Systematic Review • • •
2 - Case Study • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Communication • • •
2 - Problem Solving • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • •
4 - Information Literacy • • •
6 - Information Technology Competence • • •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence • • •
8 - Ethical practice • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10