Employment Relations (776N1)

15 credits, Level 7 (Masters)

Spring teaching

The core aim of this module is to study different facets of the employment relationship from a social, political, economic, legal and psychological point of view. This module will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the world of work and debates on employment relations’ theories and policies, incorporating a critical, international and comparative perspective. It will enable you to understand, analyse and evaluate competing theories associated with employment relations’ strategies and their outcomes on organisational climate, employees and management.

The module provides opportunities for you to critically apply the activities, knowledge and skills required for employment relations practices in a variety of public, private and non-profit organisational contexts, and will enable you to review and critically evaluate the roles and functions of different stakeholders in employment relations and the structures and processes required to understand the nature of the employment relationship.

You will also be able to assess the impact of contextual changes on workplace practices and institutions and gain insights into the creation and implementation of effective employment relations’ processes and policies. The module requires you to reflect critically on theory and evidence from an ethical and professional standpoint and provides opportunities for applied learning and continuous professional development.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 33 hours of contact time and about 117 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2022/23. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.