Redlands Social science department

Employment Issues

Create your own cast of 4 workers

Redlands Commerce Year 10

Term 1

A portfolio of employment scenarios, detailing employment conditions, skills, challenges and issues

Employment Issues Project• This is a project based topic.

• You will be learning about employment issues and challenges as you progress through the 6 stages of this project.

• You will investigate how employment has changed over time and how it may continue to change in the future.

• Your will examine the conditions of employment for a range of jobs, the education and training needed and the impact of a range of possible challenges that may be faced.

• Throughout this project you will complete 6 phases and compile a portfolio to document the evolution of your cast members.

Phase 1: Your cast members You are required to create 4 cast members.

You will be writing a full profile for each of them to detail the following:

o Each cast member must be employed in a different format:

• Casual

• Self employed

• Full time permanent

• Part time permanent

o Each cast member must also work in a different industry sector (you can double up for one sector)

• Primary

• Secondary

• Tertiary

Read pages 114 – 123 of your text

Your Task: Write a minimum 250 word profile for each of your cast members

o Describe each person - gender, age, family, culture

o Their job – title, roles and responsibilities, location. This must be based on research using your text and relevant sites

o The industry sector they work in & the skills needed for this job. Again this must be based on research

o The hours they work and why

Date Due:

Phase 2: Education & training Read pages 124 – 127 as a foundation. You will need to use other sources as well.

This phase of the task requires you to investigate the education and training needed for each of your cast members

• What level of education do they have?

• What courses have they completed, at what institution, and what was covered by those courses? This must be research based.

• What is the next course they are each planning to do?

• Who has paid for the training/education so far?

Write a minimum 250 words to update the profile of each cast member.

Date Due:

Phase 3: Employment contracts Read pages 128 – 133 as a starting point

Investigate the types of employment contract that are relevant to each of your cast members

• Describe the general terms and conditions for each

• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this type of employment

Write a minimum 250 words to update the profile of each cast member.

Date Due:

Phase 4: Complications and Resolutions Sometimes things don’t go smoothly, change can be scary but it can also be a

catalyst to begin down a new path.

During this phase you will select from a range of challenges relevant to each industry sector and investigate how these will impact you each of your cast members.

Challenges could include:

• Unemployment/ redundancy – causes and implications

• Having a baby – legal implications, ethical implications

• Getting a promotion – is further training needed?

• Changing careers – is retraining needed?

• Bullying or harassment in the workplace – what legislation covers these situations?

• Workplace accidents and safety – what legislation covers these situations?

How can your challenge be resolved?

• What is the dispute resolution process?

Read pages 134 – 145

Write a minimum 250 words to update the profile of each cast member.

Date Due:

Phase 5: Taxation During this phase you will be researching the taxation rules and legislation and their

consequences as they apply to each of your cast members.

Use pages 146-147 as a basis for you research

For each cast member you need to determine the Taxation commitments:

• The type of tax they are paying – Income or Profits taxation/ GST

• The rate of tax – based on income levels

• The method of payment/collection – PAYG, Tax File Numbers

• The tax return/refund process

Write a minimum 250 words to update the profile of each cast member.

Date Due:

Phase 6: Superannuation During this phase you will be researching the superannuation legislation and the

consequences as they apply to each of your cast members.

For each cast member you need to determine the Superannuation commitments:

• The rate of superannuation saved – are they making any additional superannuation payments?

• How superannuation is calculated, when it can be used?

• Where each of your cast has chosen to save their superannuation and why.

Write a minimum 250 words to update the profile of each cast member.

Date Due:

Wrap Up and Reflection Wrap up – Explain (relate cause and effect, provide why &/or how)

◦ What were the main things you learnt in each of the phases?◦ What surprised you when researching each phase?◦ What scared you in each phase and why? ◦ Which of your cast had the hardest life and why?◦ How will your employment plans be affected by what you have learnt? Be

detailed and specific! Write 500 words (one typed page) to answer the questions above

Date Due:

Glossary

Apprenticeship training and education in a trade (e.g. plumbing, carpentry, floristry)Arbitration the process by which an independent body makes a final (and binding) decision on a dispute between two partiesAward a document that outlines an employee’s minimum pay and conditionsCadetship professional job training in a full-time job, with time allocated to attend university or TAFECollective wants goods and services that are for the use of the whole communityCommon law (employment) contract when employers and employees have the right to sue for compensation if either party does not fulfil their part of the contractConciliation similar to mediation in that a third person helps settle a dispute by trying to get both parties to reach a mutually acceptable solutionDiscrimination treating a person less favourably because of factors such as gender, ethnicity, religion or disabilityEmployee a person who works for a wage or salaryEmployer a person who hires employeesEmployment contract a legally binding, formal agreement between an employee and an employerEnterprise agreement - agreement about pay and conditions made at the enterprise/workplace levelEntitlements non-wage benefits such as long service leave or sick leaveGoods and Services Tax (GST) a broad-based tax of 10 per cent on the supply of most goods and services consumed in AustraliaGrievance procedures a number of predetermined steps that are followed to resolve a disputeLabour force all those people who have jobs — that is, are employed; plus all those people who are actively seeking work — that is, are unemployedLoading extra pay (often up to 20 per cent extra) on top of the normal full-time rate to compensate casual employees for lack of access to entitlementsMediation when a third party helps those involved in a dispute to reach a solution acceptable to both sidesNegotiation a method of resolving disputes where the parties involved discuss the issues in an attempt to reach a compromiseParticipation rate the proportion of people aged 15 or over employed or actively looking for workPro Rata proportion of normal full time benefits related to the hours workedPieceworkers people who are paid according to the number of items they makeQuaternary industry industry involved in the transfer and processing of information and knowledge Quinary industry industry involved in providing domestic servicesPrimary industry - industry involved in the growing or extracting of natural resourcesRedundancy when a particular job a person is doing is no longer required to be performed, sometimes due to technological changesSecondary industry - industry involved in turning raw materials into finished or semi-finished productsSuperannuation a way of saving so an employee has some money in retirementTaxes the part of our income taken by the government to pay for collective goods and servicesTertiary industry- industry involved in providing a service to othersUnemployment when people are trying to find work but have so far been unsuccessfulUnfair dismissal termination of employment that is considered to be harsh, unjust or unreasonableWork Life Balance achieving the right amount of time devoted to work and for personal life

ResourcesChapman S & Freak M, New Concepts in Commerce, John Wiley & Sons, 2012

http://www.aigroup.com.au/

http://www.industrialrelations.nsw.gov.au/

http://www.youngpeopleatwork.nsw.gov.au/

http://www.worksite.actu.org.au/

http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.acci.asn.au/

http://www.retail.org.au/

https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/ - Superannuation

www.ato.gov.au – Taxation

http://www.fwc.gov.au/ - Fair Work Commission