Course Title: Industrial Law B

Part A: Course Overview

Course ID: 002966

Course Title: Industrial Law B

Credit Points: 12


Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

JUST1068

City Campus

Postgraduate

615H Accounting & Law

Face-to-Face

 Sem 1 2006

Course Coordinator: Clare Miller

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 1388

Course Coordinator Email: clare.miller@rmit.edu.au


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

You will have successfully completed 002965 Industrial Law A and have a solid understanding of the contract of employment and both common law and legislative provisions governing the termination of employment, occupational health & safety, enterprise bargaining, equal opportunity and compensation for work place injuries. In addition you will have legal research and analytical skills, able to write in concise clear English, using technical terms when necessary.


Course Description

This course provides a good understanding of the Federal and Victorian industrial relations systems and leave provisions and of the principles underlying them.   At the conclusion of this course you will be able to give employer / client advice as to their respective duties and rights under the systems. In addition you will have refined your analytical and problem solving skills by applying industrial law principles to resolve factual problems and you will have strengthened existing skills through case analysis, statutory interpretation, legal research and legal writing and generally improved self directed learning techniques.


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

This course will provide you with increased knowledge and understanding of Federal and Victorian industrial relations laws as they apply to people at work and the knowledge to analyse and make a critical assessment of those laws.  In addition, the course provides an opportunity for you to refine your legal research ability through independent research, statutory interpretation and consideration of policy underpinning legal rules.


Note: this course is predominantly undertaken by students working in industrial relations or wishing to do so and seeking to further their IR qualifications and enhance their law related practical skills.


At the conclusion of this course you should be able to demonstrate a clear understanding of and make a critical assessment of:

The way in which Australia’s industrial relations laws are fundamentally shaped and influenced by the constitutional powers of the Commonwealth;
The history of Australia’s industrial relations institutions and of the organisation and functions of those institutions;
The operation and enforcement of awards and agreements; the overall shape and limitations, including the constitutional limitations of Australia’s termination of employment and redundancy laws;
The policy behind and operation of laws concerning industrial action and organisations particularly trade unions and the operation of leave laws.

In addition to strengthening your understanding of the Australian industrial relations systems, you will also develop your critical thinking, research and writing skills.


Overview of Learning Activities

  • The constitutional powers of the Commonwealth;
  • History of Institutions and the Workplace Relations Act and Awards;
  • Certified Agreements;
  • Australian Workplace Agreements;
  • Termination of Employment;
  • Redundancy;
  • Enforcement;
  • Industrial Action, Torts and Secondary Boycotts;
  • Organisations,
  • Leave.


Overview of Learning Resources

You will be advised of the prescribed text for this course and other reading materials upon enrolment.

Distributed Learning System (DLS)
This course is supported online using the Learning Hub of the DLS. The DLS gives access to important announcements, staff contact details, the teaching schedule, assessment timelines and a variety of important teaching and learning materials. The Learning Hub of the DLS can be found at http://www.rmit.edu.au/online


Overview of Assessment

Generally, assessment may consist of two research assignments.