As stakeholders, employers and employees might have conflicting interests.

However a good working relationship is essential for business success.

Clearly defined roles, legally defined rights and responsibilities and a willingness to embrace change will help achieve this.

For a business to be successful, everyone must know what they and others should be doing.

This can be achieved through the clear use of both organisation charts and job descriptions.

Understanding is needed of roles across job levels in terms of:

• manager; • supervisor; • operative; • support staff.

Roles and responsibilities

What is the difference between a role and responsibility ?

5 minutes work with a partner to come up with the meaning of role and responsibility

5 minutes – what is the main role of: 1. Teacher2. Doctor

Job Roles The person’s position in the business or their

particular job dictates their role in the business For example: A teacher’s main role is the education of their

students A doctor’s is the looking after the health of their

patients

responsibilities The key responsibilities/tasks that a particular

worker has to carry out Teacher – teaching classes, marking homework,

pastoral care, covering for absent colleagues, parents evenings etc

Doctor – holding surgery, diagnosing illnesses, treating illnesses, home visits, on-call etc

Exercise

For each of the following workers detail their job role and list their responsibilities :

1. Plumber2. Dentist3. Builder4. Nurse5. Police officer6. Accountant

Types of employees All employees of a business can be

grouped into either:1. Manager2. Supervisor3. Employee/operative4. Support staff

exercise In pairs – 5minutes What is a manager ? What is a manager’s primary role ? What are a manager’s main

responsibilities ?

managers

Main roles: planning, organising, monitoring and evaluating, reporting

Responsibilities – take responsibility for an area within the dept/function they work e.g. training in HR

Job security – FT permanent contracts, high pay

Important decisions often made and can be complex

directors Elected by shareholders of the business Role is mainly strategic Can be a manager and a director i.e. a

managing director Can be voted out at AGM of a business

supervisor Provide a link between management and

staff Supervisors monitor rather than manage

workers & advise managers of any problems

Decision making is limited and restricted to day-to-day issues

Often FT, pay higher than operatives, lower than managers

Employees/operatives Employees are the junior members of staff Can be production-line staff, shop

assistants, call-centre operators, support staff etc

Tend to have less skills, qualifications and experience

Job security is poor – often PT temps, pay is low

Support staff Provide specialist skills eg IT, secretarial

staff Role – offer advice/assistance in specialist

area Decision making varies but tends to be

routine Job security – varies, can be FT Pay – varies, can be very high in some areas

such as IT

A typical job description could be analysed in terms of:

• key responsibilities; • tasks or activities; • job security; • decision-making and problem-solving; • skills, qualifications and personal qualities

required; • related pay and benefits.

The basis of the formal agreements are known as employment contracts which are agreed by employers and employees.

Employment contracts cover: • permanent and temporary, full and part-time

work; • hours of work, including shift work, flexitime,

overtime, breaks from work; • places of work, including offices, retail outlets,

tele-working, mobile and home-based working; • pay and benefits, including holidays.

Reasons for change may include: • to increase productivity; • to improve the quality of products; • to be more competitive than other

businesses; • to introduce new technology; • to introduce team-working and multi-skill

practices.

For the employee: More leisure time More than one job Working at home The reduction or elimination of commuting

time Increase in heating and lighting bills Footloose location

For the employer: Reduction in cost of premises Reduction in overheads associated with

premises Footloose location Increase in total number of employees

Employers expect employees to: • meet the terms of their contracts; • co-operate in meeting the objectives of

the business; • follow health and safety regulations.

Employees expect to be: • fairly paid according to their contract; • provided with a safe working environment; • provided with an annual holiday entitlement: • appropriately trained; • permitted to join trade unions or staff

associations; • allowed access to any confidential computer

records kept on them as employees.

Disagreements at work can occur over the treatment of individual employees or groups of employees.

Measures are in place to resolve such situations including:

business grievance policy and procedures;� negotiations with trade unions or other �

representative organisations; employment tribunals;� arbitration services (like the Advisory, Conciliation �

and Arbitration Service –ACAS - for England, Scotland and Wales); European Court of Justice�