Prepare for work in the community Sector

Careers in the CSI Recap Week 5 13/8/2013

• The CSI is a dynamic, flexible workplace where individuals can give back to their local communities while achieving their personal career goals.

• Employment prospects in the CSI are above average.

• Demographic changes predict increasing demand for CS.

• It’s expected maternal health, childcare & aged care services will continue to rise.

• Fastest growing occupations: personal care & nursing assistants, nurse managers, childcare workers, welfare & community workers.

Industrial Relations

• ‘Industrial relations’ refers to laws dealing with the arrangements that are made between workers and employers.

• These laws are developed by Federal & State Governments

• Other key players:

–Employers: focus on goods, services & profits

–Unions: focus on fair conditions for workers

• The laws cover different aspects of work including:

• Setting conditions about workers rights, such as pay rates, leave entitlements and dismissal rules.

• Guidelines and rules in relation to Workplace Health and Safety (WH&S) issues.

• Handling workplace disputes or infringements of the Industrial Relations Law

The Fair Work System

• Fair work system started on the 1st July 2009.

• It’s Australia’s new national (Federal) workplace relations system.

• The Fair Work Act 2009 covers a majority of workplaces in Australia

Key elements of the fair work system

• A legislated safety net of 10 National Employment Standards that apply to all employees within the federal system

– Includes: maximum weekly hours, requests for flexible working arrangements, parental leave and related entitlements, annual leave, personal/carer's leave and compassionate leave, community service leave, long service leave, public holidays, notice of termination and redundancy pay.

• New modern awards

• Enterprise bargaining arrangements

• Protection against discrimination and unfair dismissal

Unfair dismissal

• Students to refer to Fair Work Sheet (Small Business Fair Dismissal Code)

• In what instances is immediate dismissal permissible? ACTIVITY 3

• In a process that may lead to dismissal, what must an employer ensure happens?

• In discussions where dismissal is possible, who should an employee take to the meeting?

Unions

• Unions can help employees in many ways:

– Training about industrials issues

– Preserving & improving wages & conditions

– Better health & safety at work

– Job security

–Workers compensation help

– Protection from discrimination

– Lobbying governments on workers’ behalf

Week 6 20/8/2013

Key Philosophies in the CSIWhat do these terms mean? Discussion.

• Empowerment

• Social justice

• Inclusion

• Case management

• Early intervention/early identification

• Holisitic and client centred approach

• Non-discrimination

Key Philosophies in the CSI• Key philosophies that underline the

Community Service Industry include the following

• Empowerment: Working with someone in a way that upholds their rights, respects the choices they make and helps them achieve independence and a reasonable quality of life

• Social Justice: creating a society that is fair and equitable. This ensures that all services are accessible and that everyone is treated equally and fairly and is able to participate in decision making

• Inclusion: upholding everyone’s right to participate in their community and all that it has to offer

• Case management: an approach to service delivery which emphasises working with people in a way that respects them as individuals and ensures that their particular needs are met.

• Early Intervention or early identification: ensuring that problems and issues are picked up early so that further risk of harm is prevented or that the consequences of the problem/issue are minimised

• Holistic and client centred approach: looking at the whole person and their environment and working with them as individuals and on what they want

• Non-discrimination: treating people fairly no matter who they are

ACTIVITY 1

Working individually, students are to remember when they had a real life situation happen to them (generally or in the workplace) where AT LEAST ONE of the philosophies listed on slide 9 was relevant to them.

Discuss.

Essential Values in the CSIWhat do these terms mean? Discussion.

• Respect

• Acceptance

• Non-judgemental attitudes

• Confidentiality

• Self-determination

• Individualisation

Essential values in CSI

Values that underpin practice in the community service industry include:

• Respect for the individual and their situation

• Acceptance of people regardless of behaviour or situation

• Non-judgemental attitudes – not judging them in relation to who they are or what they have done

Essential values in CSI

Values (cont):

• Confidentiality – keeping what the individual tells you private (where appropriate, not telling anyone else).

Essential values in CSI

• Self-determination – encouraging people to make their own decisions (not telling them what to do)

• Individualisation – focusing on what the individual wants & their situation, not just what is easy for you

Values (cont):

ACTIVITY 2

Working individually, go back to the situation you unpacked and explored in Activity 1.

Ask your self the following questions -

What values were involved?

How were these included in the situation – was it another person/was it myself that the values related to?

Discuss as a class.

ACTIVITY 3

Working in pairs, use ONE of the examples provided on the handout – Case Scenarios/Role Play to model the philosophies and values we have discussed in this session.