LAW 3517 - Law of Work | Course Outlines

LAW 3517 - Law of Work

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2020

This course examines the law governing work as it is evolving in the global era. It explores a range of regulatory mechanisms deployed in this area, including international norms as well as Australian statute and common law, and new forms of 'soft' regulation. Topics covered include: the law of work in the global era; the Australian regulatory system; the subject of the law of work, including the distinction between employees and independent contractors, and the nature of the 'firm'; the contract of employment, and common law rights and responsibilities at work; legislated safety net conditions and awards; security at work, including dismissal law; freedom of association; workplace bargaining, and resolving conflicts at work under the law.

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Course Details

Course Code	LAW 3517
Course	Law of Work
Coordinating Unit	Adelaide Law School
Term	Semester 1
Level	Undergraduate Law (LLB)
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 3 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Prerequisites	LAW 1501
Incompatible	LAW 3044
Assumed Knowledge	LAW 1503 or LAW 1510
Restrictions	Available to LLB and B.Criminology with B.Laws and BArts Advanced with B.Laws students only
Assessment	Typically to include a case note and a research essay.

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Professor Andrew Stewart

Course co-ordinator: Professor Andrew Stewart
Adelaide Law School
Room 2.24, Ligertwood Building
Phone: 8313 4445
Email:andrew.stewart@adelaide.edu.au

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Identify, critically analyse and apply the historical context in which the legal regulation of work in Australian was established and operates.
2. Identify the fundamental principles which underpin the modern law of work.
3. Become skilled in the analysis of case law in relation to work issues.
4. Become adept in interpreting complex and large statutory regulatory regimes in the Australian federal context as exemplified through their application to work relations.
5. Develop the skills to apply legal principles in hypothetical problems regarding work.
6. Develop and present convincing argument, both orally and in writing, in relation to the law of work.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	1-6
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	5,6
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	5,6
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	5,6
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	1-6

Learning Resources

Required Resources

PRESCRIBED TEXT BOOK
Andrew Stewart, Anthony Forsyth, Mark Irving, Richard Johnstone and Shae McCrystal, Creighton and Stewart's Labour Law (6th ed, Federation Press, 2016)

Recommended Resources

Other useful books of a general nature include:
Andrew Stewart, Stewart's Guide to Employment Law, 6th ed, Federation Press, 2018
Rosemary Owens, Joellen Riley and Jill Murray, The Law of Work, 2nd ed, OUP, 2011
Marilyn Pittard and Richard Naughton, Australian Labour and Employment Law, Lexis Nexis, 2015
Carolyn Sappideen, Paul O’Grady and Joellen Riley, Macken’s Law of Employment, 8th ed, Lawbook Co, 2016
Mark Irving, The Contract of Employment, Lexis Nexis, 2012
Anthony Forsysth and Andrew Stewart (eds), Fair Work: The New Workplace Laws and the Work Choices Legacy, Federation Press, 2009
John Howe,, Anna Chapman and Ingrid Landau (eds), The Evolving Project of Labour Law, Federation Press, 2017
Guy Davidov and Brian Langille (eds), The Idea of Labour Law, OUP, 2011
Matthew Finkin and Guy Mundlak (eds), Comparative Labor Law, Edward Elgar, 2015

Specialist journals and publications:
The Australian Journal of Labour Law is the leading Australian journal dealing with the law that is examined in this course. It is an excellent reference resource for students. While not specialist law journals, the Journal of Industrial Relations, the Economic and Labour Relations Review and Labour and Industry have many interesting articles about work-related issues in Australia.

Internet resources:
There are many websites carrying information about the law of work. The following are some of the more important and useful for students:

Fair Work Commission: www.fwc.gov.au
Fair Work Ombudsman: www.fairwork.gov.au
Australian Building and Construction Commission: www.abcc.gov.au
Registered Organisations Commission: www.roc.gov.au
Attorney-General's Department (Commonwealth): www.ag.gov.au/industrial-relations/Pages/default.aspx
Australian Human Rights Commission: www.humanrights.gov.au
Workplace Gender Equality Agency: www.wgea.gov.au
Safe Work Australia: www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au
Productivity Commission: www.pc.gov.au
South Australian Employment Tribunal: www.saet.sa.gov.au
Equal Opportunity Commission (SA): www.eoc.sa.gov.au
SafeWorkSA: www.safework.sa.gov.au
International Labour Organisation: www.ilo.org
Australian Council of Trade Unions: www.actu.asn.au
Australian Industry Group: www.aigroup.asn.au
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry: www.acci.asn.au
Business Council of Australia: www.bca.com.au

Online Learning

MyUni will be used to post announcements, post additional lecture materials (including slides and, where available, audio recordings of lectures (students are encouraged to attend lecture classes as the availability of recordings cannot always be relied upon). MyUni will also be used to announce assignment tasks. It will also contain electronic copies of the course profile, lecture and seminar guides, and course materials.

Students are expected to check MyUni regularly to keep up to date with these materials and additional learning resources throughout the course

Learning & Teaching Modes

There will be a two-hour lecture and a one-hour seminar each week.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

The course requires a combined weekly commitment of 3 hours attending classes or a total of 36 hours of formal class time across the semester. To actively and productively participate in classes, students will have to do reading and preparation. Students should expect to devote an average of 12 hours per week to their studies in the course.

Learning Activities Summary

Week 1	Australian Regulatory Framework
Week 2	Who is an Employee?
Week 3	Non-Standard Work
Week 4	Work Standards: Legislative Safety Net & Awards
Week 5	Enterprise Bargaining
Week 6	Industrial Action and Freedom of Association
Week 7	Employment Contract: Part 1
Week 8	Employment Contract: Part 2
Week 9	General Protections and Unfair Employment Practices
Week 10	Unfair Dismissal
Week 11	Dispute Resolution and Enforcement
Week 12	Challenges for the Future

Specific Course Requirements

None

Small Group Discovery Experience

None

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	% of final mark	Dates	Length	Task Type	Redeemable?	Learning Outcomes
Assignment	30%	8/4/20	2000 words	Individual	Yes	3-6
Research essay	70% or 100%	26/6/20	5000 words	Individual	No	1-4, 6

Assessment Related Requirements

The assignment is compulsory, because it covers material and learning outcomes that are not assessed in the research essay. Failure to complete this item of assessment will result in course failure.

Assessment Detail

Assignment - 30% redeemable
Students must prepare a letter of advice to a hypothetical client on a topic or problem relating to material covered in the first 4 classes. Answers must not exceed 2000 words in length. The assignment will be available on Friday 27 March 2020 from 2:00pm on the course website. The due date for answers will be Friday 3 April 2020, 2:00pm.

The assignment mark is redeemable, for those who get a mark of at least 50%. If a student gets at least that mark for the assignment, but does better on the final exam, only their research essay mark will count towards their overall result.Otherwise, the assignment counts for 30% of the overall mark.

Research Essay – 70% or 100%
Students must present a research essay on one of the topics that will be made available through the course website on Friday 29 May 2020. Answers must not exceed 5000 words in length. Students will be expected to show evidence of an independent capacity to research a legal issue, by reference to materials that go beyond those discussed in class or provided in course materials. The due date for answers will be Friday 26 June 2020, 2:00pm.

Submission

All assignments and essays in this course are to be submitted electronically through Turnitin. Students must retain a copy of their answers. All written work in the Law School is required to comply with the Australian Guide to Legal Citation.

Any requests for extensions must be made electronically according to Law School policy. Extensions will be granted only for unexpected illness, hardship or on compassionate grounds in accordance with University policy. Work commitments, travel, holidays or sporting engagements are not unexpected circumstances.

Penalties:
Penalties of 5% of the total mark for each day (or part thereof) will be deducted for late submission (including weekends and
public holidays). So an answer graded 63% will have 5% deducted if it is up to one day late, for a final mark of 58%, 10% if it is two days
late, etc.

Answers which exceed the allocated word length will be subject to a penalty of 5% of total marks available per 100 words or part thereof. So with a word limit of 4,000, an assignment graded 72% will have 5% deducted if it is 4001 words long, for a final grade of 67%, 10% if it is 4101 words long, etc. Details will be provided with each assessment task as to what the permitted word total includes.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Finality of Assessment Grades

Students are advised that Course Coordinators will not enter into negotiations of any kind with any student regarding changes to their grades. It is irrelevant, in any given circumstance, that only a minimal number of additional marks are required to inflate a student’s grade for any individual assessment item or course as a whole. Pursuant to the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policyand the Adelaide Law School Assessment Policies and Procedures, grades may only be varied through the appropriate channels for academic review (such as an official re-mark).

Moderation

In accordance with the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, course coordinators ‘ensure that appropriate marking guidelines and cross-marking moderation processes across markers are in place’ in each course. Procedures adopted by Adelaide Law School to ensure consistency of marking in courses with multiple markers include:

assurance of the qualifications of markers, and their knowledge of the content covered in each course;
detailed marking guidelines and assessment rubrics to assist in the marking of items of assessment;
sharing of example marked assessments at various grade bands across markers;
reviewing of selected marked assessments from each marker by the course coordinator;
comparison of the marks and their distribution across markers;
automatic double-marking of all interim assessment receiving a fail grade, and of final assessments where a student’s overall result is a fail grade;
the availability of re-marking of assessments in accordance with Adelaide Law School’s Assessment Policies and Procedures.

Approval of Results by Board of Examiners

Students are reminded that all assessment results are subject to approval (and possible moderation/change) by the Law School’s Board of Examiners. Assessment results at the University are not scaled. Under the Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, students are assessed ‘by reference to their performance against pre-determined criteria and standards … and not by ranking against the performance of the student cohort in the course’. However, under that same policy, the Board of Examiners (as the relevant Assessment Review Committee for courses at Adelaide Law School) is required to ‘ensure comparability of standards and consistency’ in assessment. On occasions, the Board of Examiners will form the view that some moderation is required to ensure the comparability of standards and consistency across courses and years, and accordingly provide fairness to all law students. All assessment results are therefore subject to approval (and possible change) until confirmed by the Board of Examiners and posted on Access Adelaide at the end of each semester.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available. Student feedback The course is constantly being updated and revised to reflect the evolution of the law, to respond to student feedback, and to engage with the latest teaching practices. Student feedback is collected each time the course is run, including through SELT reports. Previous SELT reports, and staff feedback on them, are posted on the course MyUni site for students to view and consider. Student feedback The course is constantly being updated and revised to reflect the evolution of the law, to respond to student feedback, and to engage with the latest teaching practices. Student feedback is collected each time the course is run, including through SELT reports. Previous SELT reports, and staff feedback on them, are posted on the course MyUni site for students to view and consider.
Student Support
The University Writing Centre provides academic learning and language development services and resources for local, international, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students enrolled at the University of Adelaide.

The centre offers practical advice and strategies for students to master reading, writing, note-taking, time management, oral presentation skills, referencing techniques and exam preparation for success at university through seminars, workshops and individual consultations.

Lex Salus Program
Lex Salus (law and wellbeing) is an initiative of the Adelaide Law School aimed at destigmatising mental health issues; promoting physical, mental and emotional wellness; building a strong community of staff and students; and celebrating diversity within the school. It also seeks to promote wellness within the legal profession, through the involvement of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia, the Honourable Chris Kourakis, as the official Patron of the program.

Students can participate in the Lex Salus program by attending barbecue lunches, pancake breakfasts, knitting and crochet circles, seminars, guest speakers, conferences and other activities. Our Facebook page, website and regular all-student emails promote upcoming events, and have tips and information on wellness.

Our Lex Salus YouTube channel also includes videos on topics like managing stress, and interviews with LGBTQ lawyers and their supporters which celebrate diversity and individuality. Students who commit to 10 hours of volunteering with Lex Salus in one year can have their service recognised on their academic transcript and through a thank you morning tea with the Chief Justice and law school staff.

Student Life Counselling Support
The University’s Student Life Counselling Support service provides free and confidential service to all enrolled students. We encourage you to contact the Student Life Counselling Support service on 8313 5663 to make an appointment to deal with any issues that may be affecting your study and life.
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Academic Honesty
Academic dishonesty is a serious act of academic misconduct. All students must be familiar with the University’s Academic Honesty Policy.

Academic dishonesty is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Academic dishonesty (which goes beyond plagiarism) can be a ground for a refusal by the Supreme Court of South Australia to admit a person to practice as a legal practitioner in South Australia.

Academic honesty is an essential aspect of ethical and honest behaviour, which is central to the practice of the law and an understanding of what it is to be a lawyer.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator