Planning For Bargaining – Avoid The Pitfalls, Reap The Benefits

Article by Sonia Millen, Michael Serong and Rohan Doyle

The effects of a bad bargain can resonate for longer than the life of the agreement. Saying and doing nothing is not a strategy.

It is not an easy task, but planning and preparing for your next bargaining round well in advance will help you achieve a successful bargaining outcome.

Deciding when and how to bargain is an important and often difficult business decision. A number of factors need to be taken into account including changes to industrial relations legislation proposed by the Fair Work Bill 2008 (Cth) as well as employee perception to reduce the "us" and "them" mentality.

As a general rule, planning should commence at least six months before you expect to begin bargaining and in some cases this may need to be at least twelve months before the expiry dates of existing agreements.