Diversity and Industrial Analysis

The object of the paper is: the award that is used to complete the front office roster; breaks between employees (including shift); days off (in and off) for all form of personnel; penalty rates days and percentages for all employees; minimum hours (per shift and per week) for all employee types; maximum hours (by shift and per week) for all type of employees. This paper aims to discuss the following: To begin with, the front office roster has been prepared using the Hospitality Industry General Award (HIGA) 2010. In this case, HIGA 2010 incorporates all terms and conditions regarding full-time and part-time employment, minimum wages and piecework rates, casual or part-time loadings, penalties including Saturday, Sunday, public holiday and evening penalties among others, and shift allowances.In the preparation of front office roster, it is important appreciate certain terms used including full-time employee, part-time employee, and casual employee. Generally, an employee is a person who works part-time or full-time depending on the specifications under the contract of employment. Full-time employees usually work on an average of 38 hours per week. Part-time employees on the other hand work for less than 38 hours per week. It is also important to note two key characteristics of part-time employees. First, they receive similar pay and conditions as those of full-time employees who do the same kind of work. This is usually based on a pro rata basis. Second, they reasonably have predictable hours of work. Employees can also be classified as casual. A casual employee is the one who does not meet the requirements of a part-time or full-time employee. In this case, the Hospitality Industry General Award (HIGA) 2010 award provides that casual employees must be paid a casual loading of 25%. This casual loading is paid as compensation for numerous items such as the annual leave, personal/carer’s leave, and notice of termination, redundancy benefits and the other entitlements of full-time or part-time employment.Also, on every time a casual employee is required to attend work they are entitled to a minimum payment for two hours’ work. Furthermore, a casual employee must be paid either weekly or fortnightly after the termination of each engagement. It is also important to note that there is a possibility of an employee to be converted from casual employment to part-time or full time employment. This is based on certain terms and conditions which are as follows. First, a casual employee who has been working for at least one year has a chance to have their contract of employment converted to full-time or part-time employment. Second, an employee who has worked at the rate of an average of 38 or more hours a week in the period of one year casual employment has a chance of converting to full-time employment. Lastly, an employee who has worked at the rate of an average of less than 38 hours a week in the period of one year casual employment has a chance to have their employment converted to part-time employment. However, it should be noted that whereas a casual employee has a chance to seek full-time or part-time employment, the employer may accept or refute such claims by giving specific reasons. The following factors are applicable in the determining the eligibility of a casual employee into part-time or full-time employment: the size and needs of the company; the nature of the work the employee has been doing; the qualifications, skills, and training of the employee; the trading patterns of the company; and the employee’s personal circumstances, including any family responsibilities.The front office roster uses two main employee breaks between shifts: rostered day off (RDO) and unpaid meal breaks (UMB). Rostered day off (RDO) refers to any continuous 24-hour period between the end of the last ordinary shift and the beginning of the next ordinary shift whereby the employee is rostered off duty. In this case, an employee does not need to work during the rostered day off period and during such periods an employee can either get paid or not paid depending on the award. For the Hospitality Industry General Award (HIGA) 2010, the rostered day offs (RDO) are unpaid for all the employees. As the front office manager, I have a rostered day off on Saturday and Sunday. My front office assistant manager, Mike, has rostered day off on Monday, Saturday and Sunday.Guest service agent, Stacey has rostered day off on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Night auditor, Roman, has rostered day off on Thursday and Friday. Guest service agent, Jake, has rostered day off on Monday and Sunday. Guest service agent, Alanna, has rostered day off on Monday and Tuesday. Finally, Guest service agent, Helen, has rostered day off on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday.Unpaid meal breaks refer to short periods during which an employee gets to rest so as to take a meal. This is usually a thirty minute or one hour break during which an employee takes tea or a meal. With regards to unpaid meal breaks (UMB), all full-time employees at COTAH International have one meal break of approximately one hour. However, it is imperative to note that depending on each worker’s shift, the timings for the break will vary. For individuals working on the 07:00 – 15:00, the meal break is between 12:00 and 1:00. For those on the shift 15:00 – 23:00, the meal break is between 19:00 and 20:00. Lastly, for those in the shift 23:00 – 04:00, there are no meal breaks since this is a part-time shift that only takes four hours maximum.There are two types of employees at COTAH International, part-time and full-time employees. There are also casual employees who are engaged by the company on a temporary basis. COTAH International has a total of seven employees. I am the Front Office Manager. Mike, is the Front Office Assistant Manager on a full-time salary. Stacey is the Guest Service Agent on a full-time salary. Roman, is a part-time employee who works as a Night Auditor. Jake, is a casual employee level 3 who works as a Guest Service Agent. Alanna, is a casual worker level 3 who works as a Guest Service Agent. Helen, is a casual worker level 2 who works as a Guest Service Agent. In this case, the days off for all the types of employees can either be consecutive or non-consecutive. It can be consecutive in the sense that an employee can take days off on two or more consecutive days. For instance, the front office assistant manager has requested for an annual leave on two consecutive days, 7th and 8th October.Stacey, the Guest Service Agent is usually off duty every Tuesday and Wednesday. Lastly, Roman, the Night Auditor prefers to be off-duty on Thursday and Friday nights. The days off taken by employees can also be non-consecutive. For instance, Helen, the Guest Service Agent prefers to be off-duty on Thursday and Sunday. The penalty rates days and percentages for all types of employees also differ. In this case, full time and part time employees working from Monday to Friday are paid 100% of the minimum wage rate. On Saturday and Sunday, full time and part time employees are paid 125% and 175% of the minimum wage rate respectively. On public holidays, full time and part time employees are paid 250% of the minimum wage rate. Casual employees working from Monday to Friday are paid 125% of the minimum wage rate, inclusive of 25% casual loading. On Saturday and Sunday, casual employees are paid 150% and 175% of the minimum wage rate respectively. Also, this wage rate is inclusive of 25% casual loading. On public holidays, casual employees get paid 275% of the minimum wage rate. This is also inclusive of the 25% casual loading. For public holidays, it is important to note a few items. First, all employees other than casual employees working on a public holiday will be paid for a minimum of four hours’ work. Second, employees who work on a prescribed holiday may perform such work at ordinary rates plus 50% additional loading rather than the penalty rate discussed earlier. This is possible on condition that equivalent paid time is added to the employee’s annual leave or one day instead of such public holiday will be allowed to the employee during the week in which such holiday falls. The other requirement is that such holiday may be allowed to the employee within 28 days of such holiday falling due.Lastly, an employee other than a casual employee working on Christmas Day when it falls on a weekend will be paid an additional loading of 50% of their ordinary time rate for the hours worked on that day and will also be entitled to the benefit of a substitute day. Other penalties include those entitled for work performed from Monday to Friday, 7.00 pm to midnight, whereby the penalty rate is 10% of the standard hourly rate per hour; and any worked performed from Monday to Friday, midnight to 7.00 am whereby the penalty rate is 15% of the standard hourly rate per hour. The minimum and maximum hours (per shift and per week) for all types of employees at COTAH International also differ. To begin with, the minimum number of hours of work of a full-time employee is an average of 28 per week. This includes a minimum of four hours per day. On the other hand, the maximum hours of work of a full-time employee are an average of 38 per week. This average of 38 hours per week is to be worked in one of the following ways: a 19 day month, of eight hours per shift; four days of eight hours per shift and one day of six hours per shift; four days of nine and a half hours per shift; five days of seven hours and 36 minutes per shift; 152 hours each four week period with a minimum of eight days off each four week period; 160 hours each four week period with a minimum of eight days off each four week period plus a rostered day off.It is imperative to note that the arrangement for shifts must meet the average number of hours per week. The following are other conditions. First, a minimum of six hours and a maximum of 11 and a half hours per shift. In this case, the daily minimum and maximum hours are exclusive of meal break intervals. Second, an employee cannot be rostered to work for more than 10 hours per shift on more than three consecutive days without a break of at least 48 hours immediately following. Lastly, no more than eight days of more than 10 hours may be worked in a four weekperiod.There are also provisions for make-up time whereby an employee makes an arrangement to take some time off during their ordinary hours of work and make up that time later. An organization may introduce make-up time subject to the following conditions. First, an organization that intends to introduce make-up time will consult with its employees and their representatives. Second, after an agreement is reached to introduce make-up time, an employee may decide to work make-up time. Lastly, make-up time arrangements must comply with the conditions for penalty rates. There can also be spread hours where work is spread over hours not exceeding 12 hours per day.With regards to occupancy, the front office roster ensures that at least in each single day, there is a minimum number of workers in the front office for all the shifts. There are three main shifts at COTAH International: AM: 07:00 – 15:00, PM: 15:00 – 23:00 and NA: 23:00 – 04:00. The roster for all employees other than casuals provides for a minimum 10-hour break between the finish of ordinary hours on one day and the commencement of ordinary hours on the following day. In case there is a changeover of rosters, then eight hours will be substituted for 10 hours.There are also certain requirements with regards to breaks for employees so as to ensure full occupancy of the roster. First, if an employee, including a casual employee, is required to work for five or more hours in a day they must be given an unpaid meal break of no less than 30 minutes. The break must be given no earlier than one hour after starting work and no later than five and a half hours after starting work.Second, if the unpaid meal break is rostered to be taken after five hours of starting work, the employee must be given an additional 20-minute paid meal break. In this case, an employee can take additional meal break no earlier than two hours after starting work and no later than five hours after starting work.Third, if an employee is not given the unpaid meal break at the time their employment contract specifies them to be given, then they must be paid the extra hourly or part thereof payment at the rate of 50% of the ordinary hourly rate from the time the meal break was to commence until either the meal break is given or the shift ends.Fourth, if an employee is required to work more than five hours after they are given the unpaid meal break, they must be given an additional 20-minute paid break. Fifth, if a full-time or part-time employee is required to work more than 10 ordinary hours in the day, they will be given two additional 20 minute paid breaks. In rostering for these breaks, the organization makes all reasonable efforts to ensure an even mix of work time and breaks. Lastly, if an employee is required to work more than two hours’ overtime after completion of the employee’s rostered hours, they must be given an additional 20-minute paid break. It is worth noting that the occupancy of all employees per week ensures that front office activities run smoothly throughout the week and for all the shifts without any shortage. With regards to budget, the projected weekly revenue at COTAH International is $106,704.00. The actual wage cost is $5,652.49. This is 5.30% of the projected weekly revenue. In this case, the front office roster is within the budget since the actual wage cost is below the threshold wage budget of 6.00% of Projected Weekly Revenue. Diversity AnalysisThe front office roster has been prepared taking into consideration the diversity of workers including culture, religion, age, gender and family obligations. For example, Jake, the Guest Service Agent (Casual Level 3) is a strict Catholic and religiously attends mass on Sunday and cannot work for any part of the day. Alanna, Guest Service Agent (Casual Level 2) prefers to work no more than three (3) shifts a week and is unable to work the sometimes so that she can take her elderly mother to her regular specialist appointment.Other workers including, Helen, the Guest Service Agent is a student and can only work on Friday’s and Saturday’s. Stacey, Guest Service Agent (Full Time Level 4) prefers the afternoon shifts and cannot work before 14:00. Her regular pattern of work is, she does not work on Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s. Roman, the Night Auditor (Part Time Level 4) prefers to have Thursday and Friday nights off and is required to work a minimum of 25 hours per week. However, despite the flexibility of workers’ schedule at COTAH International, it is important to note that not all workers may be allowed to take leave days at certain days of the week. For example, Sunday is an ordinary working day and this means not all employees can be off-duty on this day. Its only employees who have reasonable claims that are allowed to be off-duty on Sunday. For instance, the case of Jake who is a strict Catholic and therefore cannot work on Sunday. Roster EffectivenessTo ensure effectiveness the roster has been prepared in such a way that employees are provided with flexibility of working hours to ensure they attend the pressing matters but at the same time get some time undertake their front office duties. Front office opening hours are Monday to Sunday 07:00 to 04:00. In this case, when high occupancies are expected, at least three staff are scheduled to work. However, only one staff per shift is normally required on slower days. This means that for Mondays and Sundays, the slowest days of the week, only one staff is required. However, on the remaining days of the week which are quite busier, at least three staff are required. This ensures that there no gaps in service delivery and hence effectiveness of the front office roster. ReferencesGuillet, Basak Denizci, and Anna S. Mattila. "A Descriptive Examination Of Corporate Governance In The Hospitality Industry". International Journal of Hospitality Management 29, no. 4 (2010): 677-684.Smilow, Rick, and Anne E McBride. Culinary Careers. New York: Clarkson Potter, 2010.Thorpe, M, and J. C Hodge. Brickwork Level 2. Burlington: Elsevier, 2010.