Employee relations: plain text
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From: Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation
- Published on: 2 April 2025
- Last updated on: 14 May 2025
- Employee relations culture
- People policies
- Employment law and regulation
- Legal systems
- Dispute resolution
- Collective employment law
- Consultation and negotiation
- Voice and engagement
- Managers and ER
- Employee and worker relationships
- Pay negotiations
Ensuring the relationship between an organisation and its people is managed through transparent practices and relevant law
Employee relations culture
Level 1: At this level you’ll understand:
The culture and approach to employee relations in your organisation
Level 2: At this level you’ll understand:
How the employee relations culture impacts the way people work
Level 3: At this level you’ll understand:
How to develop and review your employee relations culture to be resolution-focused and improve service/organisation outcomes
Level 4: At this level you’ll understand:
How to drive a resolution focused employment culture that underpins the strategic plan, improves reputation, whilst mitigating risk
People policies
Level 1: At this level you’ll understand:
What people policies are in place in your organisation and how they support employee relations practices
Level 2: At this level you’ll understand:
How to apply and communicate your organisation's people policies in a wide range of situations to support effective case management and employee relations practice
Level 3: At this level you’ll understand:
How to apply, communicate and contribute to the development of people policies which improve the worker experience and employer brand, and mitigate risk
Level 4: At this level you’ll understand:
How to develop an employee relations strategy which positively impacts the business and the way people work
Employment law and regulation
Level 1: At this level you’ll understand:
Key employment law, codes of practice and Civil Service regulations (e.g. public service management act)
Level 2: At this level you’ll understand:
How to apply employment law, codes of practice and Civil Service regulation in a wide range of work situations
Level 3: At this level you’ll understand:
How to apply and interpret employment law and Civil Service regulations in a range of complex work situations and mitigate risk
Level 4: At this level you’ll understand:
How to manage the impact and risk to the organisation of employment law and regulation
Legal systems
Level 1: At this level you’ll understand:
The legal system which deals with employment disputes (e.g. WRC, employment / labour courts, arbitration)
Level 2: At this level you’ll understand:
The evidence needed to support employment legal cases and disputes
Level 3: At this level you’ll understand:
How the employment legal system works, and how to prepare for and manage cases / disputes (in conjunction with legal teams)
Level 4: At this level you’ll understand:
How to lead complex legal cases / disputes and manage organisation risks associated with legal action
Dispute resolution
Level 1: At this level you’ll understand:
What workplace conflict is and a range of dispute resolution techniques (e.g. mediation, conciliation, negotiation, bilateral engagement, departmental council)
Level 2: At this level you’ll understand:
How to apply different dispute resolution techniques to resolve workplace conflict (e.g. mediation, conciliation) and the importance of promoting early and informal resolution
Level 3: At this level you’ll understand:
How to manage high risk and complex disputes, when to promote early/informal resolution and when to use external support i.e. WRC and or legal routes
Level 4: At this level you’ll understand:
How to create a culture which promotes early and informal resolution and mitigates workplace conflict
Collective employment law
Level 1: At this level you’ll understand:
What collective employment law and collective bargaining is
Level 2: At this level you’ll understand:
Collective employment law, and how to work with formal representative bodies such as Staff/Trades Unions
Level 3: At this level you’ll understand:
Collective employment law and how to inform collective bargaining relationships
Level 4: At this level you’ll understand:
How to develop strategies and frameworks that support collective bargaining and collaborative relationships (and align with corporate approach to collective bargaining)
Consultation and negotiation
Level 1: At this level you’ll understand:
The importance of consultation and negotiation with individuals and groups
Level 2: At this level you’ll understand:
Different approaches and models of consultation and negotiation
Level 3: At this level you’ll understand:
How to drive effective working relationships through consultation and negotiation
Level 4: At this level you’ll understand:
How to establish frameworks and mechanisms to support a culture of effective consultation and negotiation
Voice and engagement
Level 1: At this level you’ll understand:
The different ways by which employees' voices can be heard (e.g. surveys, staff forums, employee networks, departmental council)
Level 2: At this level you’ll understand:
Why employee voice is important, and the role of employee groups in engaging workers (e.g. employee councils, staff forums)
Level 3: At this level you’ll understand:
How to use employee voice insights to positively impact the way people work
Level 4: At this level you’ll understand:
How to use employee voice insight to shape the organisation's culture
Managers and ER
Level 1: At this level you’ll understand:
The role of managers in employee relations
Level 2: At this level you’ll understand:
How managers can positively or negatively impact employee relations and how to advise and support them
Level 3: At this level you’ll understand:
How to evaluate, develop and improve managers capability and confidence to deal with employee relations issues
Level 4: At this level you’ll understand:
How to embed and sustain effective employee relations knowledge and skills at organisational level to drive a positive employee relations culture
Employee and worker relationships
Level 1: At this level you’ll understand:
The different types of employees / workers in your organisation (e.g. employed, apprentices, interns, fixed term, contractor, consultant)
Level 2: At this level you’ll understand:
The impact of different employee / worker relationships on the organisation
Level 3: At this level you’ll understand:
How to balance individual and organisation expectations regarding employee / worker relationships
Level 4: At this level you’ll understand:
How to maximise the individual and organisation benefits of different employee / worker relationships
Pay negotiations
Level 1: At this level you’ll understand:
What pay negotiation is
Level 2: At this level you’ll understand:
The approach your organisation takes to pay negotiations
Level 3: At this level you’ll understand:
How to engage with DPENDR to prepare for and contribute to pay negotiations in your organisation
Level 4: At this level you’ll understand:
How to contribute to / develop pay negotiation approaches and strategy to drive early agreement and manage organisation risk