Commerce Revision

Cost of Unemployment:
Poverty No regular income Cant afford looking for a job Strain relationships, welfare and education of children

Boredom Lots of time Not much money Can lead to vandalism and crime

Loss of self esteem If unemployed people can lose self-confidence Suicide rate is 10X higher than average

Loss of skills The longer they are unemployed the harder it is to get a job They dont get new skills or get to practice them With technology it is hard to catch up

Ridicule and Prejudice Others may view the unemployed differently The media say they are the ones to blame in their situation

Poor Health The emotional and financial pressures can have enormous negative impact on a persons physical and mental health

Isolation Feel they are not accepted in society May become depressed, ill, or hostile Withdraw from mainstream society This makes it even harder to get employed

Discrimination Being out of a job can go against a person going for a job The employer may unintentionally discriminate against a person and not get an interview

Types of Employment:
Casual Part-time Full-time Self-Employed Voluntary Unpaid

Fair Work Act - 2009 Award An employment contract that depicts the minimum terms and conditions of employment. Set pay, covers all employees. Fair Work Australia Administers enterprise bargaining Enforces rules regarding industrial action in workplace. Responsible for dispute solution.

Fair Work Ombudsman Provides advice, assistance and education to employees and employers. Takes court action regarding contravention of the Fair Work Act.

Modern Awards Were created to establish one set of minimum conditions for employers and employees across Australia who work in the same industries or occupations. They include minimum wages, types of employment, overtime and penalty rates of pay, leave entitlements, allowances and super.

National Minimum Wage provides a minimum wage to all employees. All workers are covered by this. Enterprise Agreement approve collective agreements which are between employees and firms. This could be better because it would suit the people to their specific needs. Single Enterprise Agreement Involved a group of employees and an employer. Multi Enterprise Agreement is an employer and an employee with different views. Greenfields Enterprise Agreement Involves a new enterprise that employers can establish agreements.

Minimum working conditions (safety net) Awards Enterprise agreements Common Law Contracts

Types of Unemployment:
Structural Unemployment occurs as result of structural changes in industry. Frictional Unemployment occurs when workers in process of changing jobs or having difficulty finding a new job. Cyclical Unemployment occurs as a result of slowing down of economic activity. Season Unemployment Fluctuates according to seasons.

Costs of Unemployment Poverty, boredom, loss of self-esteem, loss of skills, ridicule and prejudice, discrimination, poor health and isolation. They also suffer from many social and economical issues.

Employment Relations:
Legal Issues: Occupational health and safety: (2000) - Secure and promote healthy and safe welfare of workers - Protect workers against risks to health - Promote safe and healthy work environment - Risks to health are identified, assessed and eliminated or controlled - Higher standards of occupational health and safety. Workcover manages the states workplace safety, injury management and workers compensation schemes. Reduces social and economic cost of occupational injury and treatment of the injury.

Anti-Discrimination Act: (1977) This prohibits discrimination in the workplace for workers including sex, race, colour, ethnicity, religion, disability, age, carers responsibilities and marital status.

Privacy Federal Privacy Act is relevant in all workplaces. It states that information should be under strict confidence by the employer. All personal details should only be give to the employer with the consent of the employee.

Unions and Employer Groups:

A union is an organisation set up by employees to assist them in the workplace in order to increase their bargaining power in the workplace. Any employer in an industry should be able to belong to a union. Some unions are stronger than others, as they have more members. Significant benefits achieved by the union for their employees include: workers compensation, annual holidays, superannuation, medical, award system, parental leave, sick leave, penalty rates and over and weekend work wage. Trade Unions: Enterprise Bargaining Constant changes to the industrial relations system have made the workplace more productive and flexible. This system is more decentralised, meaning it encourages direct negotiations between employees and employers without involvement of the IRC (Industrial Relations Commission). This process of negotiation between workers is called enterprise bargaining. The Employment Contract All agreements between employer and employee must be bases on an employment contract. This contract must include the certain rights and responsibilities of both employer and employee. Todays Trade Unions Modern trade unions are mainly involved with negotiating better wages, working conditions and holidays etc. The trade union movement is based on the principle that there is strength in unity. (Groups of people have more bargaining power than one person). The ACTU The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) was formed in 1927. Its main aim is to present the unions case to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and to develop and regulate union policy at a national level.

Types of Unions Most unions are based on the industry the members work in.

Resolving Industrial Disputes:

Grievance Procedures Occur when an employee thinks they have treated unfairly. Involves a number of pre-determined steps that are followed to resolve a dispute. Negotiation A method of resolving disputes where the parties involved discuss the issues in an attempt to reach a compromise.

Mediation When a third party helps those involved in a dispute to reach a solution acceptable to both sides. Mediators do not act for either parties, and encourage the parties to examine all the issues. Conciliation/Arbitration Conciliation: Similar to mediation using third person, but IRC is involved, aiming to try get both parties to reach a mutually acceptable solution. Arbitration: If no solution is reached, and the disputes continue, IRC is then involved and they make a decision about the dispute, usually between an employer and employee which is legally binding.

Types of Taxes:
Direct Taxes Taken from your income. Indirect Taxes Are paid as part of the cost of most goods and services. - Income tax is collected on a PAYG basis. The amount of tax paid depends on your income in that financial year, the rate of tax increases as your income increases. - Gross income What someone earns before being taxed. - Net income Income received after being taxed. Indirect taxes include the goods and service tax (GST), excise duty and customs duty. The GST is a flat rate of 10% on all goods and services with the exception of essential foods. Excise duty is a tax on certain products such as beer, cigarettes, spirits and petrol. Customs duty is the tax on imported goods and services.

Process of Paying Taxes 1. When start job, fill in a tax declaration where issued TFN. 2. Employer deducts a percentage of tax from gross income, also stated on pay slip. 3. At end of each financial year, group certificate handed out, has all details such as personal information, employer name and details, total gross income, total tax paid and union fees paid. 4. Then fill in and complete tax return. Tax is used for goods and services that are provided for the whole community and available for everyone to use, these are provided by the government and include schools, hospitals, national parks, defence force, social welfare payments and police.

Superannuation:
Money saved for your retirement Deducted from your wage/salary and placed into a special type of investment account super fund. Superannuation companies then invest this money on your behalf to make

interest. Individuals can choose how their money is used and saved, either making money quickly, but risky, or dont make any money, but it being safe. The Superannuation Act 1992 makes paying super compulsory. Employers must place a minimum of 9% of your wage into a super fund, once you start earning more than $450 per month. This grows and you can decide to put more of your income into this account, then when you are of age, you can access all this money (retirement).

Political Involvement:
Australia is a democratic federal-state system of government with British monarch as its head. Everyone over 18 must vote for each of the following three levels of government: Federal Comm. Aust State NSW Local Sutho Migrants, who have citizenship in Australia, are entitled to vote as well.

Structure of Government - Constitution: Legislate powers: makes laws called statutes and then goes to the prime minister and cabinet, then to the senate and house of reps. Executive powers: administer the laws through the queen, governor general and ministers, and with government departments such as welfare and defence. Judicial powers: Interprets the law called common law which is through federal courts, and then
goes to other federal courts and state courts.

PM: Julia Gillard Deputy PM: Wayne Swan Treasurer: Wayne Swan Opposition Leader: Tony Abbott General Governor: Quentin Bryce NSW State Premier: Barry OFarrell State Opposition Leader: John Robinson NSW Governor: Marie Bashir

Labour Labour Labour Liberal

Liberal Labour