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Employment Law

- August 22 -

Times change. In the feudal era if one of your work-force was injured or killed working for you it was no big problem – there were always plenty more peasants to take their place. Even if they were a skilled worker, they would have an apprentice waiting to take over when they were ‘retired’. This attitude continued into the industrial revolution, but this is when things began to change.

The industrial revolution began in Britain. With it, everything about the way that people lived and worked was to change. Whereas the population had previously lived and worked in a rural setting for the most part, the industrial revolution brought about the move of the majority of the population to towns and cities.

Coal was what drove forward the wheels of industry. Getting coal was, and still is, hard, dirty, dangerous work. The subterranean mazes from which it must be extracted the very vision of damnation. Along with the new mills and factories work was changing, it was becoming louder, darker and more hazardous.

Some began to agitate for legislation on working conditions. This was driven by the newly formed trade union movement, who sought to represent the interests of the work force. The first laws about employing workers began to be passed.

The first restrictions were modest. The use of child labour was restricted. It was not forbidden, but for certain occupations such as mining there were limits placed on working hours. The changes continued and the foundation of employment law was formed.

At the heart of employment law is the principle that there is a duty of care between an employer and their workforce. The volume of statute has increased exponentially over the years, and that is just UK law – with membership o the EU and the inflation in its powers, employment law has continued to get more complicated.

Perhaps the most obvious example of Europe driving employment law is the European Working Time Directive. This limits the number hours that anyone can work – with a few exceptions. There are even occasions where the controversial human right act can come into play.

Today employment law covers a lot of areas. It has plenty to say about the hiring process for instance. Some applicants must be guaranteed an interview, and discriminatory hiring practice can result in legal trouble. Getting rid of workers is bound up in even more legislation, whether it is redundancy, retirement, or dismissal.

Employment law is a complicated and ever changing subject. It is not just statute, but also the judgments that have been made on how to interpret these laws that must be considered. There are employment law training courses that are designed to bring HR people up to speed with the latest developments.

Sometimes it may be a burden. Overall though the existence of employment law should be regarded as a good thing and any proposals to do away with parts of it should  be considered very soberly before being taken up.