Remuneration management and enterprise bargaining

For some organisations, an enterprise agreement may be the preferred mechanism for setting remuneration for all or parts of the workforce. This could be for various reasons. Enterprise agreements can be used to provide other benefits to staff that either deliver productivity gains or deliver benefits that can be seen as part of a broader reward and benefits package for working at the organisation. Remuneration may be linked to a negotiated outcome that provides the agility for companies to respond to customer demands and unique market/competitor conditions. Productivity gains via enterprise bargaining might include incentive payments/allowances for employees gaining new skills, flexibilities in relation to hours, job rotation or use of leave. In addition, flexible working hours and access to leave are valuable benefits for many staff and can be seen as part of the employer of choice value proposition (why an employee would join and remain with the organisation). It is always important to enter all employee discussions with a consultative and open mind with the desire to achieve outcomes that meet the needs of the business and the employee. Unions play an integral role in industrial relations and there are many examples where this partnership can thrive and be a positive enabler. Employers should seek advice in relation to the workplace relations implications of a proposed remuneration strategy taking into account their history of bargaining, status of the relationship with their workforce and level of union involvement.