Penalty Rates across Australia-Free-Samples-Myassignmenthelp.com

Question: You will write about story one on penalty rates, identifying the problem, analyzing it in terms of the relevant theory and literature, and provide practical solutions. Answer: Introduction Penalty rates are a form of compensation which is provided to the employees when the employees work on either Sundays or a public holiday. These rates are provided in from of additional compensation for the purpose of ensuring that fair compensation is provided in relation to the additional work done by the employees by sacrificing their leisure and free time (Hill, Jones Schilling, 2014). However the governments in Australia have taken a decision to reduce the penalty rate to be provided to the employees. When the employee rates were double the time for an employee working on a Sunday or a private holiday. However these payments in relation to full time employees have been reduced to half and time and in relation to casual employees it has been reduced to half and time. The purpose of this report is to identify the problem as a consultant of an organization operating in the retail industry which has been created through the deduction in penalty rates in relation to various areas of human resource management in the organization. The report initially identifies the problem and then analyze it based on relevant theories and literatures. Subsequent to the analysis the report recommends appropriate solutions in relation to the problem. The Issue As stated by ABC News (2018), the initiative taken by the government with respect to the reduction in the penalty rates across Australia has not been very successful as there has been a failure on the part of the strategy towards the creation of additional jobs and working hours. This is the primary issue which has been identified as a consultant to the organization. This result has been obtained through a survey which has been conducted by Macquarie University and University of Wollongong upon 1351 workers. It has been conducted through the research that no additional working hour has resulted out of the cutting strategy. The decision of cutting the penalty rates was attempted to be justified by the government by stating that the strategy is set to enhance the extent of services offered by the employees along with increase in additional working hours. The research has to the contrary made a finding that the working hours of the employees in the retail sector on Sunday have been decr eased by up to 9% after the new decreased rates have been implemented. In addition there has also been a significant decrease in the percentage of employees who work on Sundays. This has mainly been due to the decision of the employees of not working on Sundays where a lower penalty rate is provided to them. This issue may have a considerable impact of a few areas of HRM which are discussed in the report in The Light Of Relevant Theories And Literature. Strategic Hrm The organization must have the knowledge that Strategic HRM refers to typical components of HR such as hiring, payroll and discipline. The process incorporates the working of the employees in a collaborative way so that a boost in relation to quality, mutual benefit and retention of the employees can be achieved (Barney, 2014). According to the behavioral perspective in relation to strategic HRM there has been in order to get the best out of the employees their behavior in relation to elements like Motivation, expectations, conflicts. When the employees have proper motivation, their expectations in relation to their employment are met and there is minimum conflict which arise out of the workplace they automatically tend to provide more effort towards the organization. It has also been argued by Wheelen et al. (2017) that the satisfaction of employees in relation to the workplace has a significant impact on productivity of the organization. This is because when the employees are satis fied they are able to concentrate on their role within the organization in a much better way. In the present situation where the employees have been imposed with penalty rates which are less than what they use to receive. The primary purpose of a holiday penalties is to provide motivation to the employees to do additional work in a time which has been provided to them for personal use. Therefore it can be evidently stated that as the penalty rates have been reduced the motivation which the employees have to work in the given situation has reduced and the employer are not able to meet the expectation of the employees giving rise to conflict and subsequently low turnout of work of holidays. This statement can further be provided support through the results of the research conducted by Macquarie University and University of Wollongong where the same situation has been depicted through the research. Employee Turnover And Retention It is the duty of the consultant to discuss the impact of penalty rates on employee turnover and retention. One of the most significant challenges which are faced by the HR managers is in relation to their role in the organization is that of employee retention. Retaining employees is of significant importance to the organization (Albers et al., 2017). This is because when the organization is not able to retain employees it has to bear an additional cost in relation to the process of recruitment. In addition where the retrenchment rate of the organization is high the potential employees believe that there is something not right with the management within the organization and therefore refrain from applying in such companies. Out of the two types of turnover (voluntary and involuntary turnover) the one which is a more significant threat to the organization is the voluntary turnover. This is the kind of turnover which is initiated by the employees themselves and takes place in a situati on where the organization wants the employees to be a part of it. There are various reasons why employee turnover takes place. These includes getting better opportunity, not able to maintain a proper work life balance, poor management, conflict within the workplace and payment and compensation system and an overall unhealthy working environment (Slack, 2015). There are a few theoretical perspectives which have been provided in relation to the element of retention and turnover. One of such perspectives is in relation to the theory of distributive fairness. The theory is in relation to the decision taken by people based of the made contribution and the outcome received through it. Employees in the same way also consider the amount of contribution which has been made by them and the amount if compensation which is received in relation to the contribution to determine the feasibility of working with the employer in future. In situation where the penalty rates have been decreased by the government it is evident that the voluntary turnover of the employee would increase (Barney Hesterly, 2015). This is because in addition to the lack of motivation in the employees it can be stated that the employees have will have the view that the amount of additional effort they are providing is much more than the compensation which is being provided to them . Sacrificing personal time to work for the organization would be considered as a significant contribution and the lower penalty rates would be considered as a less compensation against the contribution (Rothaermel, 2015). Motivation, Rewards And Compensation A consultant has the duty to inform the organization about the importance of motivation, rewards and compensation. According to the equity theory a person in order to analyze whether the situation he or she is in is fair or not compares the situation which are faced by others. Thus as per the principles of this theory the ratio of perceived outcome such as working conditions or penalty rates is compared by a person with perceived input such as effort to the same ratio as others. Whether equity is perceived or not determines the consequences of the actions of the individuals. Where the person is able to perceive equity there is no change and where the person is not able to perceive equity there is going to be a change within the behavior and attitude of the person (Morschett, Schramm-Klein Zentes, 2015). When it comes to payment of penalty rates, external equity is taken into consideration by the employees. This means that the employees will tend to compare the penalty rate which they use to receive or what others are receiving in some other industry to perceive equity. In the given situation where penalty rates are different for specific industry employees working in sectors having a low penalty rate will not be able to perceive equity and there will be an evident change in their behavior. In addition it has been argued by Frynas and Mellahi, (2015) that a payment structure which is based on jobs may not result in a behavior which is desired, specifically in an environment which is changing rapidly. Thus penalty rate based on the kind of industry and the type of employment a person is engaged in would also not be suitable to derive the desired behavior from the employees. Diversity And Work Life Balance The organization has to consider the importance of diversity and work life balance in relation to the management of employees. It has been argued by Morden (2016) that providing addition compensation the employees to work on those days which are reserved for their personal use is unethical in nature and also not very effective in the long run as it disturbs the work life balance of the employees. Thus this argument can be taken in favor of the decrease in penalty rates for working on holidays. In addition a holiday on Sunday is a culture in Australia which is only for the purpose of relaxing and indulging into personal work. Allocating work on a holiday to the employer would lead to the operating against such culture. However these practices are totally legal in Australia as they are done for the betterment of market and smooth functioning of trade. In this situation it can be provided that penalty rates have been decreased for the purpose of ensuring that a pooper work life balance is established. However it has also been provided that the sending on consumer products has considerably decreased from the time there has been a reduction in the rates. This evidently provides that the employees are not able to maintain proper life-style due to the less compensation received by them. The situation will therefore have an adverse impact on their work-life balance (Goetsch Davis, 2014). Recommendations As a consultant it would be suggested that a an equal penalty rate opportunity program has to be initiated for the purpose of addressing the issue in relation to the different penalty rates. This program can function in from of an Equal Employment Opportunity plan through which the employees would be able to perceive equality (Hitt, Ireland Hoskisson, 2015). The employers have to observe distributive as well as procedural fairness while dealing with those employees who seek to work on Sundays and public holidays. In relation to such fairness the employees may provide the employees some form of fringe benefits in situation where the penalty rates have been reduced. The motivation of the employees to work on holidays has to be enhanced by employers. A lack of motivation is a serious problem which has been indentified in relation to the reduction of penalty rates. Motivation can be enhanced by providing lesser work on holidays where there has been a reduction in penalty rates. The employers have to ensure that the work-life balance of the employees is maintained so that they can contribute fairly towards their role in the organization. Satisfied employees tend to provide more productivity. Work-life balance of the employees can be improved by given them flexible working hours. Conclusion Employment relationship is the core to the success of any organization. As a consultant to the organization it would be stated by me that the organization has to enhance employment relation which can be done through providing employee satisfaction. The organization has to incorporate strategic HRM in order to effectively manage its employees and increase productivity. The lower penalty rates have de motivated the employees to work effectively. Thus the organization needs to address the issue by provided adequate compensation and rewards to the employees as well as a healthy working environment which is inclusive in nature References Albers, S., Baum, H., Auerbach, S., Delfmann, W. (Eds.). (2017). Strategic Management in the Aviation Industry. Taylor Francis. Barney, J. B. (2014). Gaining and sustaining competitive advantage. Pearson higher ed. Barney, J. B., Hesterly, W. (2015). Strategic management and competitive advantage concepts and cases. Pearson. Frynas, J. G., Mellahi, K. (2015). Global strategic management. Oxford University Press, USA. 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