Portable sick leave in the Victorian building industry : managing cumulative employee benefits in the absence of employment security

The trend away from full-time permanent employment raises questions about the relevance of traditional approaches to managing and compensating employees. Employment in the Australian building industry is characterised by short-term, project-based employment. Employers and unions in the industry have adopted alternative compensation models to accommodate the short-term nature of employment, most notably through portable benefit schemes. In 1997, the Victorian building industry extended the range of portable benefits to include sick leave. Empirical evidence suggests a relationship between employee absence behaviour and accrual entitlement models. Research reported here supports this link, and suggests that both employers and employees can benefit from an alternative, portable, approach to accrued entitlements. Employers can benefit because employees may be less likely to take an instrumental approach to their entitlements. Employees benefit because they are able to accrue entitlements for the period they remain in the building industry, irrespective of the extent to which they change jobs.

Routinely asking women about domestic violence in health settings

The stigma surrounding domestic violence means that many of those affected are reluctant or do not know how to get help. A systematic review of screening for domestic violence in healthcare settings concluded that although there was insufficient evidence to recommend screening programmes, health services should aim to identify and support women experiencing domestic violence.1 The review highlighted the importance of education and training of clinicians in promoting disclosure of abuse and appropriate responses.1 We argue that a strong case exists for routinely inquiring about partner abuse in many healthcare settings.

Net energy analysis of solar and conventional domestic hot water systems in Melbourne, Australia

It is commonly assumed that solar hot water systems save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Very rarely has the life-cycle energy requirements of solar hot water systems been analysed, including their embodied energy. The extent to which solar hot water systems save energy compared to conventional systems in Melbourne, Australia, is shown through a comparative net energy analysis. The solar systems provided a net energy saving compared to the conventional systems after 0.5 to 2 years, for electricity and gas systems respectively.

A set of patterns for the web-based interfaces of an employee services system

The provision of Human Resource (HR), especially payroll, is a core function in every organization. Previously, providers of HR/payroll have offered their services to their clients via conventional modes of communication, such as telephones, facsimile, and courier services. In recent years, with the advent of the Internet and the emergence of web-based electronic commerce, there has been a rise in the adoption of web-based technology and information
systems by service providers, thereby enabling them to interact with their clients through this medium. This development necessitates the use of web-based user interfaces as workspaces between the HR/payroll providers and their clients, and thus, raises certain concerns that determine the effectiveness of web-based workflow systems. These concerns, related to the use of web interfaces, form the basis of the patterns discussed in this paper

Employee development strategies in the B2C banking environment: two Australian case studies

The implementation of technology and, in particular, eCommerce technologies has had unforeseen consequences for the relationship between managers and employees. To be able to operate in an increasingly global and competitive environment, retail banks have had to develop new ways of dealing with their employees. Issues have arisen that have necessitated a rethink in the way employees interact with customers and this, in turn, has required changes to human resource strategies. The question we address in this paper is what are the employee capabilities and qualities retail banks must develop to satisfy both more sophisticated customers (who demand flexibility of interactions, responsiveness and convenience) as well as the organisation’s own needs (including expanded sales opportunities, cost containment or reduction and customer loyalty) when implementing eCommerce technologies. The paper discusses two case studies illustrating some of the issues with which banks, as service organisations, have had to deal. These two banks have taken rather different approaches in their use of technology to interact with their customers and this has implications for the way they manage their employees who deal with those customers.

Trade, openness and domestic conflict: an empirical investigation for latin America

This paper explores whether there is an empirical relationship between trade, openness and domestic conflict for Latin America based on the analytical framework of Garfinkel, Skaperdas and Syropoulos (2004). Using ordinal regressions and Markov switching models for seventeen countries, we identify the factors responsible for the initiation and sustenance of domestic conflict. Our overall results suggest that: (i) increased trade openness reduces domestic conflict intensities but (ii) over dependence on agricultural exports, along with poor socio-political performance, lead to sustenance of low intensity conflicts. We also analyze conflict duration using proportional hazard models and find that over-reliance on agricultural exports plays the main role in conflict sustenance after controlling for socio-political factors.

The impact of the adoption of IAS 19 employee benefits on annual financial statements: an examination of Australian and United Kingdom companies

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) have been adopted by a number of countries as a means of harmonising financial statements around the world. Proponents of IFRS suggest many benefits upon their adoption. This paper examines the effect of the adoption of IFRS on aspects of the company's financial statements, in particular, the adoption of the IFRS relating to post employment benefits and its effects on debt/equity ratios.

This study compared the reporting practices of a number of Australian and UK companies and found that for most companies there was a substantial increase in liabilities, a decrease in shareholders' equity and a corresponding increase in debt/equity ratios after the IFRS were adopted.

The employee share ownership plan: what value has it for Australia?

The Australian government is currently committed to the goal of increasing organisational participation in employee share ownership plans (ESOP) from 4% of all companies to 11% by 2009. The Nelson Report into ESOPs commissioned by the Honourable Brendan Nelson highlighted the lack of comprehensive information on the nature and extent of ESO plans in Australia. ” (Nelson 2000). This paper places the program in context by reviewing overseas experiences and considers the viewpoints of both employers and employees. The preliminary investigation concludes by highlighting the need for further thorough research before success for all types of businesses can be confidently predicted. ”

Tourism, trade and domestic welfare

Tourism has been regarded as a major source of economic growth and a source of foreign exchange. It has also been viewed as an activity that imposes costs on the host country. Such costs include increased pollution, congestion and despoliation of fragile environments, and intra-generational inequity aggravation. One aspect that has been ignored is the general equilibrium effects of tourism on other sectors in the economy. This paper presents a model that captures the interdependence between tourism and the rest of the economy, in particular agriculture and manufacturing. An important result obtained is that the tourist boom may 'immiserize' the residents.

An examination of the effect on debt/equity ratios with the adoption of IAS 19 : employee benefits

A number of countries have adopted the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as a means of harmonising financial statements. .This paper examines the effect of the adoption of IFRS, relating to post employment benefits and its effects on debt/equity ratios. The adoption of the IFRS resulted in most companies reporting a substantial increase in liabilities, a
decrease in shareholders’ equity and a corresponding increase
in debt/equity ratios.