This course is not a crash course in employment law. You won't learn in eight weeks two semesters of undergraduate employment law.

Instead, it attempts to develop and assess the skills taught in Skills for Practice in an employment law context.

The course gives you a series of multi-player online role plays in which you advise your client then negotiate with fellow students and then document the outcome of your negotiations and advise your client on its impact.

The initial role plays are practice exercises where you gain marks for participating and receive precedent examples. In the final role play each individual element - writing and advice skills, negotiation technique, and legal drafting skills - is assessed.

• Demonstrate a general understanding of the structure and impact of the government's new workplace relations reforms
• Assess the merits and legality of various options for workplace flexibility
• Advise clients of their workplace rights in a way that is logical and clear
• Negotiate employment rights consistent with client's instructions and represent the client effectively in workplace negotiations
• Communicate effectively and professionally with fellow practitioners
• Draft basic employment documents and contracts and explain these to clients
• Reflect on their performance and skills and identify areas of strength and weaknesses that require further improvement.

The assessment for this course will involve a series of multi-player online role plays in which you advise your client then negotiate with fellow students and then document the outcome of your negotiations and advise your client on its impact.

The two initial role plays are practice exercises where you gain marks for participating and receive precedent examples. In the final role play each individual element - writing and advice skills, negotiation technique, and legal drafting skills - is assessed.

The workload is constant, but not taxing, involving an average of five hours each week. To help you plan your time, the course materials contain a timetable that includes estimates of the time each task should take. The budgeted workload in the course allows significant ‘fat' given the University's allotted time for a unit of this size is 40 hours for the whole unit.

In addition, at four points in the course there will be teleconferences. These are "question and answer" sessions. Their sole purpose is to formalise the process of asking the Course Convenor questions. The sessions will be recorded and made available on WATTLE for those students who cannot get to the lecture/teleconference. However, if there are no participants then there will be no lecture/teleconference and no recording.

Becoming a Practitioner

Students need regular access to internet and email to successfully complete this course.

The key learning technology in this course is the multi-player online simulation software (previews available at http://www.machiavellisworkshop.com/) . This software models a legal matter. The software pairs you against another student, assigns you a client, and gives you an anonymous environment in which to negotiate against the other side on your client's behalf. You will receive your account details to your student email address.

When Offered and Delivery Mode:  Summer Session and Winter Session, 2008.

 Classification in Graduate Studies Select:  Specialist.