Human Resources Management
Question 1: Labor laws
Every country has a set of labor laws provided for in its constitution that protects the rights of employees. The law also establishes certain exceptions to the employee protections. For instance, there are certain circumstances under which an employer can dismiss an employee without notice and without paying their end of service gratuity. These circumstances under the Oman Labor Law are as follows, provided in article 40 of the OLL. The first circumstance is when the employer finds out that the employee has assumed an identity that is false, thus obtaining employment by way of fraud. In this case, the employer can dismiss the employee and not pay them and will not face any legal consequences for failing to pay as the employee used deception to get the job.
An employer under the Oman labor laws can dismiss an employee if the employee fails to turn up for work without justification that is reasonable for seven consecutive days or for more than ten days in a year that the employee holds the employment. In those seven days, the employer must have given the employee a notice that is written after failing to show up for work for five days in the first instance. This dismissal is justified by the fact that absenteeism can cause inconveniences and disrupt the flow of work and potentially cause a loss for the employer’s business. In this case, an employer would need to hire another employee to replace the one that failed to turn up without notice.
If the employee commits a breach of the obligations set out in the employment contract and fails to perform his responsibilities as stipulated, then the employer can dismiss him without pay or notice. When an employee commits a breach of trust or honor and gets convicted of a misdemeanor or crime that he commits while working is getting performed or at the place of work, the employer can dismiss him without pay or notice.
Another circumstance is when an employee fails to follow the instructions that have been provided in the workplace to ensure the safety of the other employees despite having been warned in writing, the employer can dismiss the employee since his negligent acts pose a danger to employee safety and could affect the company negatively if employees got injured. The negligent acts could also cause significant losses in the event where an accident like fore happens because of the employee’s negligence.
Question 2: Items in labor contracts
The various items that must be present in a labor contract include the names and addresses of both parties that are involved in the agreement so that they can be located when the need arises or in the event that they cannot be reached through the phone in the case of an urgent situation. Second, the contract must have a clear description of the job position that the employer will be occupying and the responsibilities and role that is expected of them. Third, a description of the business as a whole and what it entails to help the employee understand their employment scope and what the general business deals with on a daily basis. Fourth, the labor contract must have a set of clearly explained guidelines for termination of the contract to help the employee understand the circumstances that could lead to the termination of the employment agreement (Warner & Hefetz, 2020). Fifth, the labor contract must have clearly set out terms of employment that the employee must read and understand, and where they don’t, the employer will have to clarify to ensure that the employee is fully aware of how his duties are to be carried out and the operational terms.
The sixth item that should be in a labor contract is the compensation, pay, and benefits in which the employee will be made aware of the salary that he should expect and the specific dates within which to expect the payment. It also explains when the employee can be compensated and how they can gain more benefits—for example, an indication of overtime pay. Seventh, the labor contract must have the job duration or the contract duration, as well as the length of working hours that the employee is expected to provide their services (Freedland et al., 2016). Eighth, the labor contract must have the policies for privacy that entail the details of information about the business that the employee cannot disclose to outsiders and what they can. Ninth, the contract must have the category for the employee classification that indicates the level within which the employee is categorized as well as the protections that the employee is entitled to. Tenth, the labor contract must have the dates and signatures of when the agreement was made and signed to provide proof that both parties to the contract agreed to the terms of the labor contract.
Question 3: Trade Unions
Trade union concept
A trade union is a union for labor or an association of employee/workers in a specific industry, trade, or organization that gets created to secure improvements in the working conditions, benefits, pay, or social and political status of workers by collective bargaining in order to improve the worker’s economic conditions. A trade union acts as an intermediary or mediator between the company and the employees, and they help workers unite in making demands and have a stronger influence to achieve the desired change. An example of a trade union is the International Workers’ Association, whose aim is to establish unions that can fight for the political and economic interests of the workers and ensure that capitalism gets abolished by establishing administrative organs and economic communities that get run by the workers.
Responsibilities of trade unions
The various responsibilities of trade unions include engaging in negotiations on behalf of the employees, which includes negotiations for working conditions that are better and better pay (Taylor, 2018). Trade unions are also responsible for overseeing the development and growth of their members and ensure that the employers invest in the development of the workers. Trade unions are responsible for consulting and informing about the changes that are demanded by the workers—for instance, the redundancies. Trade unions are responsible for ensuring that the safety and health of the workers get protected, and the organizations within which they work provide the necessary protection as required by the law. Trade unions are generally about protecting the welfare and rights of the employees and ensuring that they are preserved and maintained at their places of work. Trade unions engage in negotiations with the employers about the issues that the employees are affected by while at work and also the issues that the trade union members are affected by.
Advantages and disadvantages of being a trade union member
The advantages of being a member of a trade union include the fact that it can successfully negotiate better working conditions and better pay for the employee, the trade union membership gives the employee a better chance of having their demands met by the employer in contrast to when one makes the demand as an individual as it gives the employer a greater influence in negotiating. Another advantage is that trade unions are able to give support and general advice to the members for them to achieve better employment outcomes. The disadvantages of being a member of a trade union include loss of freedom as one isn’t able to negotiate benefits and pay on their own. Also, union membership comes with costs in finances, as in many cases, there are fees charged for anyone interested in joining a particular trade union.
References
Freedland, M., Bogg, A., Cabrelli, D., Collins, H., Countouris, N., Davies, A. C. L., … & Prassl, J. (Eds.). (2016). The contract of employment. Oxford University Press.
Taylor, A. (2018). The trade unions and the Labour Party (Vol. 36). Routledge.
Warner, M. E., & Hefetz, A. (2020). Contracting dynamics and unionization: managing labor, contracts, and markets. Local Government Studies, 46(2), 228-252.