CONFIDENTIAL
ReturnToWorkSA
Terms of reference - Consultative Group
March 2009
Author: People & Culture
Contents
Role and Purpose of the Consultative Group ........................................................................................................ 3
Responsibilities ...................................................................................................................................................... 4
Leadership and chairing .................................................................................................................................... 4
Responsibilities of representatives ................................................................................................................... 4
Corporate support ............................................................................................................................................. 4
Group Standards .................................................................................................................................................... 5
Code of conduct ................................................................................................................................................. 5
Diversity.............................................................................................................................................................. 5
Representation................................................................................................................................................... 5
Communication ..................................................................................................................................................... 6
Communicating group activities ....................................................................................................................... 6
Visitors to Consultative Group meetings ........................................................................................................... 6
Consultative process.......................................................................................................................................... 6
Dissemination ........................................................................................................................................................ 6
Dissemination .................................................................................................................................................... 6
Group Functioning ................................................................................................................................................. 8
Meeting organisation ......................................................................................................................................... 8
Minutes ............................................................................................................................................................... 8
Decision Making ................................................................................................................................................. 8
Conflict Resolution ............................................................................................................................................. 8
Voting ................................................................................................................................................................. 9
Proxy................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Last updated: 7 July 2015
File name: Terms of reference March 2009
1. Role and purpose of the Consultative Group
In order for ReturnToWorkSA to achieve its vision and strategic direction,
ReturnToWorkSA recognises the need to include the input of employees. To this end the
Consultative Group (CG) will provide employees with the opportunity to contribute to an
inclusive and continuous process for the development of ReturnToWorkSA decisions,
being governed by the current enterprise agreement, award and policies.
The CG’s overall aims are to:
 foster good communication between ReturnToWorkSA and employees
 represent the views of employees
 contribute views related to enterprise agreements.
To fulfil these aims the CG is involved in three types of processes:
1.
2.
3.
Inform
Consult
Collaborate.
In the spirit of consultation the CG will in the case of (2) and (3) make recommendations
based on the input of employees and industrial associations.
In case of (1) ReturnToWorkSA will communicate the reasons for the decision to enable
the CG to provide a rationale for decisions to their constituents.
Consultative Group Terms of Reference
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2. Responsibilities
Leadership and chairing
The CG agrees that the chair is not the only leader of the CG and leadership will emerge
differently in relation to different issues and projects. Leadership is seen as important
and when sub-groups are used they should have an appointed leader who will guide the
CG and report outcomes.
As well as the shared leadership role the responsibilities of the chair are to:
 keep to time
 ensure integrity of agenda
 clarify conclusions reached for entry into the minutes
 manage conflict
 ensure respect for diverse views
 ensure the CG maintains a focus on outcomes.
Responsibilities of representatives
In addition to the code of conduct, the CG recognises a number of individual
responsibilities which fall to each member:
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Attend meetings or send an apology
Appropriately brief their proxy
Be accessible
Prepare appropriately
Follow an agreed communication process
 to group
 to employees
Encourage Business Group employees to contribute and participate
Balance the time between group and normal work
Always represent employee views, not their own
Always accurately provide feedback on Consultative Group discussions.
Corporate support
ReturnToWorkSA will support the CG by:
 a commitment to allow and encourage contribution and participation
 providing reasonable and sufficient time in work hours to discuss and attend to
matters relevant to their duties as representatives to achieve objectives.
Consultative Group Terms of Reference
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3. Group standards
Code of conduct
The following items have been agreed as the behavioural standards of the CG:
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Focus on the issue not the person
Focus on outcomes of the meeting not the process when reporting
Be punctual
Actively contribute
Respect the individual
Explore and clarify others views
Stick to the agenda (plan).
At the six monthly timeout the CG will discuss its performance against these criteria. Not
withstanding this, any non adherence to these standards should be dealt with at the time
or as soon as is practical.
Diversity
The CG recognises that ReturnToWorkSA employees may have different needs at different
times. The CG will take these diverse views into consideration when seeking conclusions.
Representation
While the CG needs to consider the number of people who express the same opinion,
individual employee members concern(s) should be given equal opportunity of
importance for discussion.
Consultative Group Terms of Reference
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4. Communication
Communicating group activities
The Consultative Group recognises that in conducting its business debate may become
vigorous.
In order to maintain the integrity of the CG it is agreed that communication will focus on
content, decisions, views and recommendations.
Visitors to Consultative Group meetings
In line with using an open process, visitors (internal and external) may be invited to
attend meetings as observers or to provide specialist expertise.
Consultative process
The CG has a responsibility to seek input from employees, to communicate the outcomes
of the meetings and to report the final decisions of ReturnToWorkSA and reasons for
same. In order to do this the CG will be involved in a number of activities before and after
the meetings.
The CG recognises the need to provide a consistent message and also to be flexible
enough to respond to the special needs of each area.
To this end the information collection and dissemination will have two elements. The
first of which is common across ReturnToWorkSA. The second of which is appropriate to
his/her area. At all times the integrity of the information will be paramount.
The CG acknowledges the collection of ideas, information etc. may occur through the
following media (but is not limited to):


Nexus
emails
Each representative will also solicit input in ways agreed for his/her area. This may
include:
 involvement in meetings
 surveys
 email
 individual contact.
Dissemination
Consultative Group Terms of Reference
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Information is available on LiveLink including:
 Terms of Reference
 names and contact details of group members
 meeting agenda and minutes
 sub-committee reports
 the Enterprise Agreement
 the Award.
Updates and new folders will be added to LiveLink when required. An email message
advising of updates will be sent to representatives.
Each group member will also disseminate information in ways agreed for his/her area.
This may include:
 report at meetings
 hard copy of electronic information
 informal contact.
Consultative Group Terms of Reference
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5. Group functioning
Meeting organisation
In order to support the smooth running of the CG:
 meetings should be scheduled monthly (or as needed to respond to specific situations)
 programmed meetings should be scheduled at least six months in advance
 the agenda should be distributed five working days prior to the meeting
 meetings should usually last between one and three hours, depending upon priorities
 the agenda should give a balance to reporting and participative elements of the
meeting
 the minutes should be distributed within seven working days of the day of the meeting
(whenever possible).
Minutes
Minutes will contain a record of:
 issues (with sufficient detail to allow issues to be tracked)
 outcomes
 actions
 responsibilities
 timeframes.
Decision making
While recognising that the CG is not a decision making forum, the Enterprise Agreement
places an onus on ReturnToWorkSA to take into account the views of employees.
The CG is committed to reaching conclusions and developing recommendations that
provide ReturnToWorkSA with quality input to decisions.
Conflict resolution
The CG recognises that conflict will arise from time to time and that can be healthy and
lead to better outcomes. The CG also recognises that the way in which conflict is
addressed is a major factor in ensuring that conflict makes a positive contribution. The CG
agrees to maintain respect for the individuals and manage through the following steps:
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Determine criteria for a successful resolution
Identify issues
Consider all parties’ views
Identify common ground
Consultative Group Terms of Reference
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 Debate areas of disagreement
 Negotiate levels of agreement
 Finalise resolution.
Voting
Where conclusions within the CG require a vote, each member of the CG will have equal
voting rights.
Proxy
The CG members will each have a proxy determined by a consultative/democratic
process in each area.
If in the event that a group member cannot attend a meeting, the proxy will have the
same responsibilities, function and rights as the CG member.
The proxy will present the views/position of employees in consultation with the elected
representative.
Consultative Group Terms of Reference
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