LLB246 Workplace Law
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | LLB246 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite(s): | LLB107 and LLB202. LLB246 can be studied in the same teaching period as LLB202. |
| Antirequisite(s): | LWB308 |
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
|
| CSP student contribution | $2,040 |
| Pre-2021 CSP student contribution | $1,597 The pre-2021 commonwealth supported place (CSP) contribution amount only applies to students enrolled in a course prior to 2021. To learn more, visit our Understanding your fees page. |
| Domestic tuition unit fee | $3,024 |
| International unit fee | $4,044 |
Unit Outline: Semester 1 2024, Gardens Point, Internal
| Unit code: | LLB246 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | LLB107 and LLB202. LLB246 can be studied in the same teaching period as LLB202. |
| Anti-requisite: | LWB308 |
| Coordinator: | Amanda Kennedy | amanda.kennedy@qut.edu.au |
Overview
Workplace Law will introduce you to the fundamental principles of industrial relations, workplace relations, discrimination, and safety laws. You will learn the legal principles within the broader social, commercial, economic, and political context and so be able to understand relevance and significance of workplace laws in contemporary society and in practical business application.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Demonstrate coherent, extensive, theoretical and practical knowledge of workplace law in Australia (Course Learning Outcome 1.1)
- Analyse and critically evaluate an aspect of workplace law in its contemporary cultural, social, political, economic and/or theoretical environments, demonstratring creative responses to complex and dynamic problems (CLOs 1.5, 2.1)
- Articulate, develop and complete reasoned responses to problems, adopting suitable methodology and research design, applying relevant workplace law instruments and employing persuasive legal writing in different genres (CLOs 3.1, 3.2, 4.1).
Content
The unit will cover a range of topics crucial for an understanding of the role and function of workplace law in contemporary Australian society. This unit covers:
- The History and Evolution of Australian Workplace Law; International Standards and Australian Workplace Law
- The Federal System and the Queensland State System
- Work Relationships (Employees, Independent Contractors, Casual Employees, the Gig Economy)
- Sources of Employment Obligations (Employment Contracts, the National Employment Standards, Modern Awards and Enterprise Agreements)
- Workplace Health and Safety (including Psychosocial Safety, Bullying, Ill and Injured Employees)
- Discrimination and Equal Opportunity; Sexual Harassment
- Workplace Investigations (including Whistleblowing and Public Interest Disclosures)
- Termination of Employment and Remedies (including General Protections, Unfair Dismissal, Common Law Claims)
- Enterprise Bargaining (including Trade Unions and Right of Entry)
- Industrial Action (including Protected and Unprotected Industrial Action; Picketing, etc)
- Workplace Considerations in Commercial Transactions (including Transfer of Business)
- Workplace Compliance (including Regulators)
Learning Approaches
The learning and teaching in this unit is blended, comprising online content delivery for independent, flexible learning and interactive face-to-face workshops that facilitate an understanding of Australian workplace law, critical analysis of workplace law principles and institutions, and the practice of applying the law to fact scenarios, developing skills in legal problem solving, statutory interpretation and communication.
There will be face-to-face workshops scheduled during semester. There will also be a variety of online teaching and learning resources made available via the Canvas site.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Students are provided with feedback throughout semester to assist their learning. This feedback is provided through:
- workshop discussions
- individual written feedback
- generic feedback
- consultation
Feedback on the development of your understanding of Australian workplace law examined in this unit and the skills taught is provided through:
- exercises undertaken in workshops
- the individual written feedback on your written assignment and take home examination (internal and external students)
- the generic feedback on the assignment placed on the unit's Canvas site
- the generic feedback on the take home examination placed on the unit's Canvas site, and
- the option of private consultation with a member of the teaching team during student consultation.
You should reflect upon the feedback (both your individual and generic feedback as provided on Canvas) for the purpose of identifying:
- gaps in your knowledge and understanding of the legal principles
- inadequacies in your problem solving methodology
- strategies to improve your problem solving, oral and written communication skills in further assessment, and
- areas for improvement for future studies within the LLB
Assessment
Overview
In this unit, there are two types of assessment (detailed below). You will be graded on a scale of one to seven.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Essay
A critical and analytical research essay addressing a current issue in Workplace Law.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Relates to Learning Outcomes 1 and 2
Assessment: Take-home exam
A take-home exam, which will assess your knowledge and understanding of the topics covered in the unit. Acting as a junior workplace lawyer, you will prepare a memorandum of advice for a senior partner in a law firm on a series of problem scenarios. These complex, real world scenarios assess your ability to analyse fact situations, extract relevant legal issues and argue the application of the law to the facts to reach a conclusion. The exam may cover all topics of the unit.
Relates to Learning Outcomes 1 and 3
Academic Integrity
Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.
Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
Prescribed text:
Andrew Stewart, Stewart’s Guide to Employment Law, (2021, 7th Ed., Federation Press)
Online resources for this unit are available on the unit Canvas site.
Risk Assessment Statement
There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with this unit.
Unit Outline: Semester 1 2024, Online
| Unit code: | LLB246 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | LLB107 and LLB202. LLB246 can be studied in the same teaching period as LLB202. |
| Anti-requisite: | LWB308 |
Overview
Workplace Law will introduce you to the fundamental principles of industrial relations, workplace relations, discrimination, and safety laws. You will learn the legal principles within the broader social, commercial, economic, and political context and so be able to understand relevance and significance of workplace laws in contemporary society and in practical business application.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Demonstrate coherent, extensive, theoretical and practical knowledge of workplace law in Australia (Course Learning Outcome 1.1)
- Analyse and critically evaluate an aspect of workplace law in its contemporary cultural, social, political, economic and/or theoretical environments, demonstratring creative responses to complex and dynamic problems (CLOs 1.5, 2.1)
- Articulate, develop and complete reasoned responses to problems, adopting suitable methodology and research design, applying relevant workplace law instruments and employing persuasive legal writing in different genres (CLOs 3.1, 3.2, 4.1).
Content
The unit will cover a range of topics crucial for an understanding of the role and function of workplace law in contemporary Australian society. This unit covers:
- The History and Evolution of Australian Workplace Law; International Standards and Australian Workplace Law
- The Federal System and the Queensland State System
- Work Relationships (Employees, Independent Contractors, Casual Employees, the Gig Economy)
- Sources of Employment Obligations (Employment Contracts, the National Employment Standards, Modern Awards and Enterprise Agreements)
- Workplace Health and Safety (including Psychosocial Safety, Bullying, Ill and Injured Employees)
- Discrimination and Equal Opportunity; Sexual Harassment
- Workplace Investigations (including Whistleblowing and Public Interest Disclosures)
- Termination of Employment and Remedies (including General Protections, Unfair Dismissal, Common Law Claims)
- Enterprise Bargaining (including Trade Unions and Right of Entry)
- Industrial Action (including Protected and Unprotected Industrial Action; Picketing, etc)
- Workplace Considerations in Commercial Transactions (including Transfer of Business)
- Workplace Compliance (including Regulators)
Learning Approaches
The learning and teaching in this unit is blended, comprising online content delivery for independent, flexible learning and interactive face-to-face workshops that facilitate an understanding of Australian workplace law, critical analysis of workplace law principles and institutions, and the practice of applying the law to fact scenarios, developing skills in legal problem solving, statutory interpretation and communication.
There will be face-to-face workshops scheduled during semester. There will also be a variety of online teaching and learning resources made available via the Canvas site.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Students are provided with feedback throughout semester to assist their learning. This feedback is provided through:
- workshop discussions
- individual written feedback
- generic feedback
- consultation
Feedback on the development of your understanding of Australian workplace law examined in this unit and the skills taught is provided through:
- exercises undertaken in workshops
- the individual written feedback on your written assignment and take home examination (internal and external students)
- the generic feedback on the assignment placed on the unit's Canvas site
- the generic feedback on the take home examination placed on the unit's Canvas site, and
- the option of private consultation with a member of the teaching team during student consultation.
You should reflect upon the feedback (both your individual and generic feedback as provided on Canvas) for the purpose of identifying:
- gaps in your knowledge and understanding of the legal principles
- inadequacies in your problem solving methodology
- strategies to improve your problem solving, oral and written communication skills in further assessment, and
- areas for improvement for future studies within the LLB
Assessment
Overview
In this unit, there are two types of assessment (detailed below). You will be graded on a scale of one to seven.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Essay
A critical and analytical research essay addressing a current issue in Workplace Law.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Relates to Learning Outcomes 1 and 2
Assessment: Take-home exam
A take-home exam, which will assess your knowledge and understanding of the topics covered in the unit. Acting as a junior workplace lawyer, you will prepare a memorandum of advice for a senior partner in a law firm on a series of problem scenarios. These complex, real world scenarios assess your ability to analyse fact situations, extract relevant legal issues and argue the application of the law to the facts to reach a conclusion. The exam may cover all topics of the unit.
Relates to Learning Outcomes 1 and 3
Academic Integrity
Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.
Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
Prescribed text:
Andrew Stewart, Stewart’s Guide to Employment Law, (2021, 7th Ed., Federation Press)
Online resources for this unit are available on the unit Canvas site.
Risk Assessment Statement
There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with this unit.