| Unit name | Employment Law |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWD30113 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Novitz |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
Foundations of Business Law or Law of Contract. EUI |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit seeks to develop an understanding of the world of work and its legal regulation. Topics to be covered in this unit include: the contract of employment; wages; working time; regulation of dismissals; worker participation; collective bargaining; industrial action; anti-discrimination law. A variety of theoretical perspectives (economic, sociological and rights-based) will be used to underpin the material studied.
By the end of this unit, students should be able to identify key tests for identification of an 'employee' at common law and a 'worker' under statute. They should also have gained a critical perspective on the legal definition of an employment relationship and have considered the extent to which it can be set within a conventional contractual model. They are expected to explore the ways in which collective bargaining and other forms of worker participation can affect the creation and implementation of norms in the workplace. In addition, the students investigate critically statutory interventions in this field, alongside EU and international law attempts at regulation, considering how to resolve conflicts between different legal sources. They will be able to display this knowledge by answering essay-style and problem questions.
20 one hour lectures and 8 one hour tutorials.
One three-hour closed book examination in May/June, in which students answer 3 questions (at least one essay and at least one problem) from a choice of 7 or 8 questions.
The most recent editions of:
Malcolm Sargeant and David Lewis, Employment Law, Fifth Edition (Longman, 2010) or Simon Deakin and Gillian Morris, Labour Law, Fifth Edition (Hart Publishing, 2009).
And
Blackstone’s Statutes on Employment Law or Butterworths Employment Law Handbook
