5HR01 Employment Relationship Management - Task One

Case study

You are the HR manager for Makite Solutions, a small-medium sized logistics company which distributes products nationally. Makite provide high-performance logistics and supply chain management to customers. Starting by delivering in their local area, they have experienced explosive growth over the last 3 years, becoming one of the leading lights in their sector. Makite is a unionised workplace.

This growth, however, has caused problems for Makite Solutions. Employee relations have become difficult between Makite and their staff and conflict is starting to become commonplace. Employees have mentioned “differences in personality styles”, “lack of respect” and “lack of support”. There is currently industrial unrest within the organisation, with instances of go slow tactics and talks of strikes.

As the HR manager, you have been tasked to create a policy document of key legal aspects and their implications, for Makite’s intranet library. You will also generate an advisory briefing note to senior managers facing industrial unrest in the organisation.

Preparation for the Tasks:

• Refer to the indicative content in the unit to guide and support your
• Pay attention to how your evidence is presented, remember you are working in the People Practice Team for this
• Ensure that the evidence generated for this assessment remains your own work.

You will also benefit from:

• Reflecting on your own experiences of learning opportunities and training and continuing professional
• Reading the CIPD Insight, Fact Sheets and related online material on these
• You should relate academic concepts, theories, and professional practice to the assessment task(s), in a critical and informed way, and with reference to key texts, articles and other publications.

Don’t forget to:

• Complete the front cover sheet, sign with a “wet signature” and place at the front of your assessment.
• Use the bullet points below each task as headings and sub-headings so your marker can see where your answer begins.

Task One – Policy Document

You are required to produce a policy document containing advice on key legal aspects, employee voice and engagement and both their implications. This should be designed to sit on the company’s intranet and should be formal in style.

The policy document can be broken down into two sections:

Section 1

1. A review of emerging developments to inform approaches to employee voice and engagement (AC 1.1)
2. Differentiate between employee involvement and employee participation and how it builds relationships (AC 1.2)
3. Assess a range of employee voice tools and approaches to drive employee engagement. (AC 1.3)
4. Critically evaluate the interrelationships between employee voice and organisational performance. (AC 1.4)
5. Explain the concept of better working lives and how this can be designed. (AC 1.5)

Section 2

1. Explain the principles of legislation relating to unfair dismissal in respect of capability and misconduct issues. (AC 3.1)
2. Analyse key causes of employee grievances (AC 3.2)
3. Explain the skills required for effective grievance and discipline-handling procedures. (AC 3.3)
4. Advise on the importance of handling grievances effectively. (AC 3.4)