5DER Contemporary Developments in Employee Relations
This CIPD Level 5 unit focuses on contemporary employment relations, which helps you develop your employment relationships. Level 5 units are also known as intermediate programs, and they can be equivalent to an undergraduate degree. In this unit, students will learn the fundamental skills of making sound business decisions and good practices for international and national employee relations.
The unit focuses on instructing students to successfully manage employment relationships, whether in a multinational or indigenous organization. In addition, they will gain theoretical and strategic knowledge of issues relating to employee relations. Therefore, students who are enrolled in this unit will work in both local and global markets. Human resource practitioners use employee relations as an essential part of their people skills.
The unit’s primary objectives include:
- Understanding the nature and context of employment relations.
- Understanding employment law
- Understanding employee participation and involvement in the workplace
- To learn about the different methods of resolving conflict and disputes.
Human resource professionals should understand the crucial developments in the theory and practice of employment relations. Therefore, human resources practitioners will benefit from this unit. It builds on their knowledge and experience and allows them to develop the skills necessary to make sound judgements about existing and emerging models of employment relations. Additionally, students of this unit will learn about local and international laws about employment relations.
Unit Suitability
This unit is suitable for individuals who are interested in understanding human resource management in an organizational context. The course is also suitable for employees and employers responsible for implementing HR policies in an organization. The unit is also available to students who wish to pursue human resource management and development careers. Finally, this unit is open to all HR practitioners who wish to increase their knowledge and skills in employment relations. Individuals belonging to any of the four categories mentioned above can benefit significantly from the lessons.
Unit Content
In a notional 60-hour period, the unit is covered. However, the lessons described in this section (directed learning) will only be taught in 30 hours. The other 30 hours will be dedicated to personal studies and assessments. The unit objectives primarily determine the content of the unit. First, students will learn about the nature and context of employment relations. The topics of this lesson include indeterminacy in employment relations systems, power imbalance, casual and atypical employment forms, the nature of work in contemporary society, and institutions of labour market regulation.
In the second lesson, we will discuss several elements of the rules governing employment relations. In all lessons, theoretical studies will be used, but examples will be drawn from existing companies. Students will learn about the sources of law, including the UK and EU institutions, in a lesson covering regulations and legislations. Additionally, they will learn about the changes to individual and collective employment rights, the role of trade unions, and the written terms and conditions of employment relations. The last elements discussed in the second lesson are union recognition, functions, growth, and decline. With examples from other countries as well as Europe, we’ll cover employment relations from both perspectives.
Thirdly, the students will learn about contemporary employee involvement and participation issues. This lesson focuses on the competing concepts of employee involvement and employee participation. Additionally, students will be asked to demonstrate both union and non-union employee representation. Also discussed will be information and consultation regulations for employees, employee voice, and organization insight. The student will learn how to measure and value equity in an organization to achieve sustainable organizational performance by the end of the lesson.
Towards the end of the unit, the last lesson is based on the last objective. In this lesson, students will learn about conflict behaviours, and dispute resolution approaches. It will discuss a variety of styles of employee conflict and misbehaviour and analyze contemporary developments in industrial actions. The unit will detail both individual grievance handling and collective dispute resolution as elements of conflict resolution. Conflict resolution methods such as mediation, third-party conciliation, mediation, and arbitration will also be discussed. After completing this lesson, learners will have the necessary skills to manage a potential conflict situation and reach a consensus legally.
Learning Outcome
A final assessment will be given at the end of the unit to assess students’ understanding of all lessons presented. Students are expected to:
- Demonstrate a solid understanding of the nature and context of employment relations.
- Ensure that employment relations legislation is translated and applied
- Demonstrate understanding of employee engagement and participation developments in the contemporary workplace
- Distinguish between the various forms of conflict and dispute resolution.
Summary and Assessment
The unit is designed to enable students to examine and understand contemporary developments that directly impact the effective management of employment relations in organizations. This unit is beneficial for the student since it provides knowledge and skills to become experts in carrying out their duties and responsibilities. Learning this unit demonstrates a desire to develop your career and professional skills. The unit offers a comprehensive analysis of contemporary developments and employment relations of critical importance to enhance the performance and sustainability of organizations. Students who complete this unit are more confident in managing employment relationships, and therefore are more valuable to an organization.
Finally, students who complete the unit are required to submit a 3900-word assignment. In level 5 of CIPD, assignments are designed to test students’ analytical and critical thinking skills. In order to demonstrate a straightforward understanding of these concepts, answers should show examples that are relevant and implementable. This assignment requires students to utilize both theoretical and practical knowledge.
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