HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT & INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

TERMS DEFINED
Introduction to Human Resource Management
What is human resource management?
Most experts agree that there are five basic functions all managers perform: Planning,
organizing, staffing, leading controlling. In total these functions represents the management
process. Some of the specific activities involved in each function include:
Planning: Establishing goals, standards: developing rules and procedures: developing plans
and forecasting.
Organizing: Giving each subordinate a specific task: establishing departments: delegating
authority to subordinates: establishing standards of authority and communication:
coordinating the work of subordinates.
Staffing: Determining what type of people should be hired: recruiting prospective employees:
selecting employees: setting performance standards: compensating employees: evaluating
performance: counselling employees: training and developing employees.
Leading: Getting others to get the job done: maintaining morale: motivating subordinates.
Controlling: Setting standards such as sales quota, quality standards or production levels:
checking to see how actual performance compares with these standards: taking corrective
actions as needed.
Human Resource Management is the process of acquiring, training, appraising, and
compensating employees and of attending to their labor relation, health and safety and
fairness concern. These include:

Conducting job analysis (determining the nature of each employees job)

Planning labor needs and recruiting job candidates
Selecting job candidates
Orienting and training new employees
Managing wages and salaries(compensating employees)
Providing incentives and benefits
Appraising performance
Communicating(interviewing, counseling, disciplining)
Training and developing managers
Building employee commitment

Why is Human resource Management Important to all Managers?

For avoiding mistakes likes:-

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Hire the wrong person for job

Experience high turnover
Have your people not doing their best
Have your company taken to court because of disciplinary actions
Have your company sited under federal occupational safety laws for unsafe practices
Have some employees think their salaries are unfair and inequitable relative to others
in the organizations
Allow a lack of training to undermine your departments effectiveness
Commit any unfair labor practices

Job Analysis
Job analysis: The procedure for determining the duties and skill requirements of a job and the
kind of person who should be hired for it.
Job description: A list of a jobs duties, responsibilities, reporting relationships, working
conditions, and supervisory responsibilitiesone product of a job analysis.
Job specification: A list of a jobs human requirements, that is, the requisite education,
skills, personality, and so on - another product of a job analysis.
Organization chart: A chart that shows the organization wide distribution of work, with titles
of each position and interconnecting lines that show who reports to and communicates with
whom.
Process chart: A work flow chart that shows the flow of inputs to and outputs from a
particular job.
Diary/logs: Daily listings made by workers of every activity in which they engage along with
the time each activity takes.
Position analysis questionnaire (PAQ): A questionnaire used to collect quantifiable data
concerning the duties and responsibilities of various jobs.
Department of Labour job analysis procedure: Standardized method for rating, classifying,
and comparing virtually every kind of job based on data, people, and things.
Functional job analysis: A method for classifying jobs similar to the DOL method, but
additionally taking into account the extent to which instructions, reasoning, judgment, and
mathematical and verbal ability are necessary for performing job tasks.
Job enlargement: Assigning workers additional same-level activities, thus increasing the
number of activities they perform.
Job rotation: Systematically moving workers from one job to another.

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Human Resource Planning and Recruiting
Employment or personnel planning: - The process of deciding what positions the firm will
have to firm will, how to fill them.
Trend analysis: - Study of a firms past employment needs over a period of years to predict the
future needs.
Ratio analysis :- A forecasting technique for determining future staff needs by using ratios
between , for example, sales ,volume and number of employees needed.
Scatter plot: - A graphical methods used to help identify the relationship between two
variables.
Computerized forecast: - Determination of future staff needs by projecting sales, volume
production, and personnel required maintaining this volume of output, using software
packages.
Qualification inventories: - Manual or computerized records listing employers education ,
Career and development interests , languages , special skills , and so on , to be used in
selecting inside candidates for promotion.
Personnel replacement charts: - company records showing present performance and
promotability of inside candidates for the most important positions.
Position replacement card: - A card prepared for each position in a company to show possible
replacement candidates and their qualifications.
Employee recruiting: - Finding or/and attracting applicants for the employers open positions.
Recruiting yield pyramid: - The historical arithmetical relationship between recruiting leads
and invitees, invitees and interviews, interviews and offers made, and offer made and offer
accepted.
Job posting: - Publicizing an open job to employees and listing its attributes.
Succession planning: - The ongoing process of systematically identifying, assessing, and
developing organizational leadership to enhance performance.
Applicant tracking system: - online system that helps employers attracts, gather, screen,
compile, and manage applicant.
Alternative staffing:-The use of non-traditional recruitment sources.
On demand recruitment services (ODRS):- A services that provides short term specialized
recruiting to support specific projects without the expense of retaining traditional search
firms.

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Interviewing Candidates
Unstructured or Nondirective Interview: An unstructured conversational-style interview in
which the interviewer pursues points of interest as they come up in response to questions.
Structured or Directive Interview: An interview following a set sequence of questions.
Situational Interview: A series of job related questions that focus on how the candidate would
behave in a given situation.
Behavioral Interviews: A series of job related questions that focus on how the candidate
reacted to actual situations in the past.
Job related Interview: A series of job related questions that focus on relevant past job related
behaviors.
Stress Interview: An interview in which the applicant is made uncomfortable by a series of
often rude questions. This technique helps to identify hypersensitive applicants and those
with low or high stress tolerance.
Unstructured Sequential Interview: An interview in which each interviewer forms an
independent opinion after asking different questions.
Structured Sequential Interview: An interview in which the applicant is interviewed
sequentially by several persons and each rates the applicant on a standard form.
Panel Interview: An interview in which the group of interviewers questions the applicants.
Mass Interview: A panel interviews several candidates simultaneously.
Candidate-order error: An error of judgment on the part of the interviewer due to
interviewing one or more very good or very bad candidates just before the interview in
question.

Compensating Employees
Employee Compensation: All forms of pay or rewards going to employees and arising from
their employment
Direct Financial Payments: It refers to pay in the form of wages, salaries, incentives,
commissions and bonuses.
Indirect Financial Payments: It refers to pay in the form of financial benefits such as
insurance.
Companies Act of 1956: The Companies Act of 1956 sets the framework for remuneration of
top management of Indian companies.

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Davis-Bacon Act: A law that sets wage rates for labourers employed by contractors working
for the federal government.
Walsh-Healey Public Contract Act(1936): A law that requires minimum wage and working
conditions for employees working on any government contract amounting to more than
$10000.
Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act: This act makes it unlawful for employers to
discriminate against any individual with respect to hiring, compensation, terms, conditions, or
privileges of employment because of race, colour, religion, sex or national origin.
Fair Labor Standards Act (1938): This act provides for minimum wages, maximum hours,
overtime pay, and child labor protection. The law has been amended many times and covers
most employees.
Equal Pay Act (1963): An amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act designed to require
equal pay for women doing the same work as men.
Salary Compensation: It means longer-term employees salaries are lower than those of
workers entering the firm today, is a creature of inflation. Prices go up faster than the
companys salaries, and firms need a policy to handle it.
Equity Theory of Motivation: It postulates that people are strongly motivated to maintain a
balance between what they perceive as their inputs or contributions, and their rewards.
Salary Survey: A survey aimed at determining prevailing wage rates. A good salary provides
specific wage rates for specific jobs. Formal written questionnaire surveys are the most
comprehensive, but telephone surveys and newspapers ads are also sources of information.
Benchmark Job: A job that is used to anchor the employers pay scale and around which
other jobs are arranged in order of relative worth.
Job Evaluation: A systematic comparison done in order to determine the worth of one job
relative to another.
Compensable Factor: A fundamental, compensable element of a job, such as skills, effort,
responsibility, and working conditions.
Ranking Method: The simplest method of job evaluation that involves ranking each job
relative to all other jobs, usually based on overall difficulty.
Job classification (or grading) Method: A method for categorizing jobs into groups.
Classes: Grouping jobs based on a set of rules for each group or class, such as amount of
independent judgement, skill, physical effort, and so forth, required. Classes usually contain
similar jobs.

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Grades: A job classification system like the class system, although grades often contain
dissimilar jobs, such as secretaries, mechanics, and fire-fighters. Grade descriptions are
written based on compensable factors listed in classification systems.
Grade Definition: Written descriptions of the level of, say, responsibility and knowledge
required by jobs in each grade. Similar jobs can then be combined into grades or classes.
Point Method: The job evaluation method in which a number of compensable factors are
identified and then the degree to which each of these factors is present on the job is
determined.
Factor Comparison: A widely used method of ranking jobs according to a variety of skill and
difficulty factors, then adding up these rankings to arrive at an overall numerical rating for
each given job.
Pay Grade: A pay grade is comprised of jobs of approximately equal difficulty.
Wage Curve: It shows the relationship between the value of the job and the average wage
paid for this job.
Pay Ranges: A series of steps or levels within a pay grade usually based upon years of
service.
Competency-Based Pay: Where the company pays for the employees range, depth, and types
of skills and knowledge, rather than for the job title he or she holds.
Competencies: Demonstrable characteristics of a person, including knowledge, skills, and
behaviours, that enable performance.
Broad banding: Consolidating salary grades and ranges into just a few wide levels or bands
each of which contains a relatively wide range of jobs and salary levels.
Compensable worth: The concept by which women are usually paid less than men can claim
that men in comparable rather than in strictly equal jobs are paid more.

Training and Development

Employee Orientation:-A procedure for providing new employees with basic background
information about the organization or firm.
The Employee Handbook- In most companies, an employee handbook stating the policies
and rules of the organization is handed over to new employees. This helps them to become
familiar with the organizational dos and donts.
Training- the process of teaching new employees the basic skills they need to perform their
jobs.

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Performance management- it means taking an integrated, goal-oriented approach to
assigning, training, assessing and rewarding employees performance.
Task analysis- A detailed study of a job to identify the specific skills required.
Performance analysis- it is the process of verifying that there is a performance defeciency and
determining if the employer should correct such deficiency through training or some other
means(like transferring the employee).
On the job training- it means having a person learn a job by actually doing it. Every
employee, from mailroom clerk to CEO, gets on the job training when he or she joins a firm.
Eg:-coaching or understand method.
Apprenticeship training- A structured process by which people become skilled workers
through a combination of classroom instruction and on the job training.
Job instruction training (JIT) - Many jobs consist of a logical sequence of steps and are best
taught step-by-step. This step by step process is called job instruction training.
Lectures- it is a quick and simple way to present knowledge to large groups of trainees as
when the sales force needs to learn a new products features.
Programmed learning- A systematic method for teaching job skills involving presenting
questions or facts, allowing the person to respond, and giving the learner immediate feedback
on the accuracy of his or her answers.
Simulated training - training employees on special off-the-job equipment, as in airplane pilot
training, so training costs and hazards can be reduced.
Computer-based training - with computer-based training, the trainee uses interactive
computer-based and/or DVD systems to increase his or her knowledge or skills.
Electronic Performance Support Systems (EPSS)- Sets of computerized tools and displays
that automate training, documentation, and phone support, integrate this automation into
applications, and provide support thats faster, cheaper, and more effective than traditional
methods.
Job aid- it is a set of instructions, diagrams, or similar methods available at the job site to
guide the worker.
Tele training- With tele training, a trainer in a central location teaches groups of employees at
remote locations via television hook-ups.
Videoconferencing- it allows people in one location to communicate live via a combination
of audio and visual equipment with people in another city or country or with groups in
several cities.

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Virtual Classroom- A learning environment that uses special collaboration software to enable
multiple remote learners, using their PCs or Laptops, to participate in live audio and visual
discussions, communicate via written text, and learn via content such as PowerPoint slides.
Management development- it is any attempt to improve current or future managent
performance by imparting knowledge, changing attitudes, or increasing skills.
Succession Planning- A process through which senior-level openings are planned for and
eventually filled.
Job rotation- A management training technique that involves moving a trainee from
department to department to broaden his or her experience and identify strong and weak
points.
Action Learning- A training technique by which management trainees are allowed to work
full-time analyzing and solving problems in other departments.
Case-study method- A development method in which the manager is presented with a written
description of an organizational problem to diagnose and solve.
Management game - A development technique in which teams of managers compete by
making computerized decisions regarding realistic but simulated situations,
Role playing - A training technique in which trainees act out parts in a realistic management
situation.
Behaviour modelling- A training technique in which trainees are first shown good
management techniques in a film, are asked to play roles in a simulated situation, and are
then given feedback and praise by their supervisor.
In-house development center - A company-based method for exposing prospective managers
to realistic exercises to develop improved management skills.
Executive Coach - An outside consultant who questions the executives associates in order to
identify the executives strength and weakness.
Organizational Development - A special approach to organizational change in which
employees themselves formulate and implement the change thats required
Controlled Experimentation - Formal methods for testing the effectiveness of a training
programme, preferably with before-and-after tests and a control group.

Industrial Relations
Industrial relation: the relation between employers and employees in industry.
Industrial peace: A state in industrial relations in which both employer and employees
abstain from industrial action, such as strikes and lockouts.
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Industrial conflict: it is a term which refers to all expressions of dissatisfaction within the
employment relationship, especially those pertaining to the employment contract, and the
effort. The many different kinds of industrial conflict may be divided into two broad
classesinformal and formal.
Recognition of union: It is the employer and only the employer, who awards recognition to
one or more unions, or refuses such recognition. Recognition is provided to that union which
comprises of more than 50 per cent of the employees in that establishment as its members.
Recognition is different from registration. Recognition means the expressed recognition of a
registered trade union by an employer or by an employers association for the purposes of
collective bargaining.
Trade union: it is an organisation made up of members (a membership-based organisation)
and its membership must be made up mainly of workers. One of a trade union's main aims is
to protect and advance the interests of its members in the workplace.
Collective bargaining: it is negotiation of wages and other conditions of employment by an
organized body of employees.

Methods of Settling Industrial Disputes

Dispute: Disagreement followed by opposition against something.
Conflict: A state of disagreement or disharmony between persons or ideas.
Intervention: It is something that comes between two things or something that changes the
course of something.
Arbitration: The settling of disputes between two parties by an impartial third party, whose
decision the contending parties agree to accept.
Conciliation: It means bringing two opposing sides together to reach a compromise in an
attempt to avoid taking a case to trial.
Bipartite: Having two parts or an agreement between two parties.
Tripartite: Having three parts or an agreement between three parties.
Mediation: To resolve or settle differences by working with all the conflicting parties.
Adjudication: It is the legal process by which an arbiter or judge reviews evidence and
argumentation, including legal reasoning set forth by opposing parties or litigants to come to
a decision which determines rights and obligations between the parties involved.

Collective Bargaining
Collective bargaining: Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employees
and a group of employers aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries. The interests of
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the employees are commonly presented by representatives of a trade union to which the
employees belong.
Conducive: Making a certain situation or outcome likely or possible.
Autocracy: An autocracy is a system of government in which supreme power is concentrated
in neither the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject to neither external legal
restraints nor regularized mechanisms of popular control.
Emanate: Issue or spread out from (a source).
Collective agreement: The collective agreement regulates the terms and conditions of
employees in their workplace, their duties and the duties of the employer. It is usually the
result of a process of collective bargaining between an employer (or a number of employers)
and a trade union representing workers.
Confer: Have discussions; exchange opinions.
Overwhelming: Very great in amount.
Adjudication: Adjudication is the legal process by which an arbiter or judge reviews evidence
and argumentation, including legal reasoning set forth by opposing parties or litigants to
come to a decision which determines rights and obligations between the parties involved.
Strike: Strike action, also called labour strike, labour strike, on strike, grave, or simply strike,
is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes
place in response to employee grievances.
Lockout: The exclusion of employees by their employer from their place of work until certain
terms is agreed to.
Unionization: The process of organizing the employees of a company into a labour union
which will act as an intermediary between the employees and company management. In most
cases it requires a majority vote of the employees to authorize a union. If a union is
established the company is said to be unionized.

Trade Union Legislations

Trade Union: According to the Trade Union Act, 1926, the term trade union is defined as
any combination, whether temporary or permanent, formed primarily for the purpose of
regulating the relations between workmen and employers, or between workmen and workmen
or for imposing restrictive conditions on the conduct of any trade or business and includes
any federations of two or more Trade Unions.
Legislation: The process of making or enacting laws.
Amendment: A minor change or addition designed to improve a text, piece of legislation, etc.
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Trade Dispute: Any dispute between employers and workmen or between workmen and
workmen or between employers and employers which is connected with the employment or
non-employment, or the terms of employment or the conditions of labour, of any person.
Appropriate Government: For the trade unions whose objects are not confined to one state,
the appropriate government will be the Central Government, for others itll be the State
Government.
Workmen: Means all persons employed in trade or industry whether or not in the
employment of the employer with whom the trade dispute arises.
Registrar: a Registrar of Trade Unions appointed by the appropriate Government under
section 3, and includes any Additional or Deputy Registrar of Trade Unions, and in relation
to any Trade Union, the Registrar appointed for the State in which the head or registered
office, as the case may be, of the Trade Union is situated.
Appeal: Any person aggrieved by any refusal of the Registrar to register a Trade Union or by
the withdrawal or cancellation of a certificate of registration may appeal (put forth a request)
to the prescribed courts.
Criminal Conspiracy: Criminal conspiracy is defined as an agreement between two or more
people to commit a crime or to perpetrate an illegal act.
Civil Liabilities: Potential responsibility for payment of damages or other court-enforcement
in a lawsuit, as distinguished from criminal liability, which means open to punishment for a
crime.
Prosecution: The institution and conducting of legal proceedings against someone in respect
of a criminal charge.
Minor Members: Any person who has attained the age of fifteen years may be a member of a
registered Trade Union subject to any rules of the Trade Union to the contrary, and may,
subject as aforesaid, enjoy all the rights of a member and execute all instruments and give all
a quittances necessary to be executed or given under the rules.
Amalgamation of Trade Unions: Any two or more registered Trade Unions may become
amalgamated together as one Trade Union with or without dissolution or division of the funds
of such Trade Unions or either or any of them, provided that the votes of at least one-half of
the members of each or every such trade Union entitled to vote are recorded, and that at least
sixty per cent of the votes recorded are in favour of the proposal.
Dissolution: The action of formally ending or dismissing an assembly, partnership, or official
body.
Penalty: A punishment imposed for breaking a law, rule, or contract.
Regulations: Rules or directives made and maintained by an authority.
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Assessment: The action of assessing or evaluating someone or something.
Provision: The action of providing or supplying something for use.
Standing Committee: A permanent committee that meets regularly.
A Bill and an Act: Legislative proposals are brought before either house of the Parliament of
India in the form of a bill. A bill is the draft of a legislative proposal, which, when passed by
both houses of Parliament and assented to by the President, becomes an Act of Parliament.

The Factories Act

Factory: The Act defines a factory as any premises including the precincts thereof:(a)
Whereon ten or more workers are working or more working on any day of the preceding
twelve months ,and in any part of which, manufacturing process is being carried on with the
aid of power or is ordinarily so carried on; or (b) Whereon twenty or more workers are
working or were working on any day of the preceding 12 months and in any part of which a
manufacturing process is being carried on without the aid of power, or is ordinarily so carried
on.[sec 2 (m)].
Spittoons: In every factory sufficient spittoons have to be provided at convenient places and
maintained in a clean and hygienic condition. The state government may make rules
prescribing the type and the number of spittoons to be provided and their location in any
factory. No person is to spit within the premises of a factory, except in the spittoons and
whosoever spits in contravention to this provision, is punishable with a fine up to five
rupees.[Sec.20].
Crches: The act also requires the provision and maintenance of crche in every factory
where more than thirty women workers are ordinarily employed. Creches must have adequate
accommodation and are to be adequately lighted and ventilated and maintained in clean and
sanitary condition. Trained women are to be appointed to take care of children and infants in
the crches. The state government is also empowered to make rules pertaining to the location,
standards of construction, furniture and other equipments of rooms, additional facilities for
the care of children, distribution of free milk or refreshment and regular feeding of children.
[Sec.48].
Cognizance of Offences: Generally, cognizable offence means a police officer has the
authority to make an arrest without a warrant and to start an investigation with or without the
permission of a court. [Sec. 106A].

International Labour Organisation

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TERMS DEFINED
Term
Accident
Compensation

Definition
The Accident Compensation Corporation.

Affirmative Action

Also:
Positive
discrimination.
Carried out on behalf of women and disadvantaged groups and
members of such groups are placed in dominant positions.
A term used to describe voluntary and involuntary terminations,
deaths, and employee retirements that result in a
reduction to the employer's physical workforce.
The behaviour of the employee which is the subject of
measurement and appraisal in terms of whether or not the
behaviours
shown by an employee are those identified by job
analysis/competency profiling as those contributing to team and/or
organisational success.
A technique using quantitative or qualitative data to make
comparisons between different organisations or different sections of
the organisations
Section 69 to 72 of the Holidays Act 2003 provides a specific
number of paid days off following the death of an employees
spouse,
parent,
child grandparent or in-law so that the employee may attend funeral
proceedings, etc.
The Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004 establishes a clean
slate scheme to limit the effect of an individual's
convictions in most circumstances (subject to certain exceptions set
out in Section 19) if the individual satisfies the relevant eligibility
criteria.
A one-to-one process between a manager and subordinate, whereby
the former will train the latter. Also known as Mentoring.
The process by which [an] employer[s] will negotiate employment
contracts with [a] union[s].

Attrition

Behavioural
Competency

Benchmarking

Bereavement Leave

Clean Slate

Coaching
Collective
Bargaining
Common law

Decisions of the Courts also known as Precedent. Distinguished

from Legislation.

Competency-based
pay

Competency based pay is a compensation system that recognises

employees
for
the
depth,
breadth,
and types of skills they obtain and apply in their work. Also known
as skill based and knowledge based pay.
Compensation for injury to an employee arising out of and in the
course of employment that is paid to the worker or dependents
by an employer whose strict liability for such compensation is
established
by
statute.
Where established by statute, workers' compensation is generally
the exclusive remedy for injuries arising from employment,
with some exceptions. Workers' compensation statutes commonly

Compensation

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Competencies

include explicit exclusions for injury caused intentionally,

by willful misconduct, and by voluntary intoxication from alcohol
or illegal drugs.
An underlying characteristic of a person motive, trait, skill,
aspect of ones self-image or social role, or a body of knowledge.

Competitive
advantage

People are the source of competitive advantage. Other systems in

an organisation can be copied but not the people in the organisation.

Confidentiality
agreement

An agreement restricting an employee from disclosing confidential

or proprietary information.

Constructive
dismissal

1. Coercion by threats to act promises to refrain and includes a

resignation given as an alternative to be dismissed.
2. A breach of duty by the employer leading a worker to resign.
Employees who may be: casual labour, part-timers, freelancers,
subcontractors, independent professionals and consultants.
An agreement with an independent contractor.
An employment agreement.
The skills, knowledge and abilities which employees must possess
in order to successfully perform job functions which are essential to
business operations.
A small group of permanent workers, for example, strategists,
planners.
A method of avoiding the subjective judgements which are the
feature of most ranking and rating systems. It is the keeping,
by management, of a record of on-job incidents or behaviours
which may be examples of [in] effective behaviour and used as
background information for subsequent discussions and
performance appraisals.

Contingent workers
Contract for services
Contract of service
Core competencies

Core Labour Force

Critical incidents

Distance Learning

Disciplinary
procedure

Discrimination
Distributive
bargaining

The process of delivering educational or instructional programmes

to locations away from a classroom or site to another location by
varying technology such as video or audio-conferencing,
computers, web-based applications or other multimedia
communications.
A procedure carried out in the workplace in the event of an
employee committing some act contrary to terms of the
employment agreement. If the act is regarded as Gross Misconduct
this may lead to Summary Dismissal.
The favouring of one group of people to the detriment of others.
Related to the process of Negotiation. Known also as Competitive
bargaining

The parties are concerned with their respective shares of the

benefits available and compete and conflict with each
other until one side wins an increased share at the expense of the

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TERMS DEFINED
other.
Dual
Labour Organisations will operate with a small Core Labour Force and a
Markets
Peripheral Labour Force.
Employment Court
Ultimate court dealing with employment disputes.
Employee Relations A broad term used to refer to the general management and planning
of
activities
related
to
developing, maintaining, and improving employee relationships by
communicating
with
employees,
processing grievances/disputes, etc.
Organisational policies and practices designed to meet the diverse
Employee retention
needs
of
employees,
and
create
an
environment
that encourages employees to remain employed.
The process of enabling or authorising an individual to think,
Empowerment
behave, take action, and control work and decision-making in
autonomous ways.
Ergonomics
The measurement of physical characteristics of the human body and
the development of equipment to fit them, so that strain on the body
is reduced.
Fixed
Term An employee and an employer may agree that the employment of
Employment
the employee will end at the close of a specified date or
period or on
the
occurrence
of a specified event or at the conclusion of a specified project. See
Section 56 of the Employment Relations Act 2000.
Freedom
of The right to belong to a union. As protected by the Human Rights
association
Act 1993.
A complaint brought by one party to an employment contract
Grievance
against another party.
The social manner in which people interact with each other within a
Group dynamics
group.
An act committed by any personnel likely to lead to Summary
Gross misconduct
Dismissal.
Independent
A person who works for him/herself but has a contract for services
contractor
with another person/organisation.
The legal relationship between an employee and employer. Part 6 of
Individual
the Employment Relations Act 2000.
employment
agreement
Industrial relations
The study of theories and practices in the workplace relationship.
International Labour An organisation set up by the United Nations to establish, amongst
other matters, conventions on practices in the workplace.
Organisation
ISO 9000

Developed by the International Organisation for Standardisation

(ISO), it is a set of standards for quality management systems
that is accepted around the world. Organisations that conform to
these standards can receive ISO 9000 certification.
The standard intended for quality management system assessment
and registration is ISO 9001. The standards apply uniformly to
organisations of any size or description.

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HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT & INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

TERMS DEFINED

Labour
mobility

A geographical or occupational area in which factors of supply and

demand interact.
force The willingness of potential employees to travel or move to where
work is offered.

Labour
participation

force A rate at which the number of people in the labour force is divided
by the number of people of working age x 100.

Labour Market

Legislation

Law emanating from Parliament in the form of Acts.

Minimum wages

The lowest level of earnings of employees set by Government.

of Relating to Performance Management. Both employer and
employee have a mutual interest in achieving organisational
objectives.
The process of discussion with a view to mutual settlement usually
by the means of a conference.
Occupational health and safety the law relating to the health and
safety of personnel at work.

Mutuality
interests
Negotiation
OSH

Base pay is the fixed salary or wage which constitutes the rate for
the job. It may be the only money remuneration an employee
receives.

Pay

Peripheral
Force

Labour Employees less critical to organisational success and can be

expendable.

Personal grievance

A complaint brought by one party to an employment contract

against another party. See Part 9 of the Employment Relations Act
2000.

Probationary
Arrangements

Where the parties to an employment agreement agree as part of the

agreement that an employee will serve a period of probation or trial
after
the
commencement of the employment. See Section 66 Employment
Relations Act 2000.
The process or system of ensuring that a product or service should
do what the user needs or wants and has a right to expect.
There are five dimensions to quality, design, conformance,
availability, safety and field use.
Remuneration includes any payment made under a contract for
services.
Is a term used most commonly to describe a base pay which is set at
an annual rate and remains unchanged from one
pay period to the next, regardless of the number of hours an
employee may work.
The complete pay package awarded employees on an annual basis,
including all forms of money, benefits, services, and in-kind

Quality management

Remuneration
Salary

Total Remuneration

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HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT & INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

TERMS DEFINED
payments.
Unions
Wages

Groups of workers who have formed incorporated associations

relating to the type of work that they perform.
Wages is a term used most commonly to describe a base pay
which is calculated on a hourly, daily or weekly basis.
Depending on whether the employment is permanent, temporary or
casual, full time or part-time basis, or according to the
requirements
of the applicable employment agreement. The amount of wages will
vary (usually) according to the number of hours the employee
works.

Compiled by Dr. Bhumika Achhnani

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