Key Facts: Employment Law

Chris Turner

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781444170030
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Diritto
• Subtopic: Teoria e pratica del diritto

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1

The Historical Background to Employment Law

1.1 The Development of Employment Protections

1.1.1 The History and Background to Employment Law

1. Regulating employment goes back as far as Statute of Labourers 1399 and Statute of Artificers and Apprentices 1652.

2. So while employment is based on a contractual relationship it has always been subject to statutory intervention.

3. Modern employment law begins with the so-called ‘master and servant laws’ of the nineteenth century and always an unequal relationship (Latter v Braddell (1881)).

1.1.2 The Scope of Employment Law

1. Divides into three neat areas:

(i) industrial safety law;

(ii) employment law;

(iii) industrial relations law.

2. Industrial safety law developed through nineteenth century statutes, common law duty, the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and EU intervention.

3. Employment law is based on contract law.

4. Industrial relations have always been led by politics, and subject to violent change and great controversy.

1.1.3 Development of Employment Rights and Protections

1. Early twentieth century saw other measures to curb exploitation e.g. Wages Councils.

2. In the 1950s, conditions were generally settled by free collective bargaining – ‘collective laissez faire’ Otto Kahn-Freund.

3. Move towards a basic ‘floor of rights’ emerged in the 1960s:

Contracts of Employment Act 1963;

Redundancy Payments Act 1965;

Trade Disputes Act 1965 reversed (Rookes v Barnard (1964)).

4. Donovan Commission 1968 suggested pay bargaining at local level to improve productivity and resolve differences quickly.

5. Labour followed this with White Paper ‘In place of strife’.

6. Industrial Relations Act 1971 tried to create framework for industrial relations, failed but introduced unfair dismissal.

7. Labour 1974–1979 introduced consolidation package with:

Employment Protection Act 1975, Employment Protection Consolidation Act 1978 – on employment rights;

Sex Discrimination Act 1975, Race Relations Act 1976.

8. EU has also been major source of increased employee rights:

though effect much reduced by hostility of Conservative governments ‘socialism entering by back door’;

certain law forced on government during period often in infringement proceedings in European Court of Justice e.g. Equal Pay Directive 75/117 in Equal Pay (Amendment) Regulations 1983; Acquired Rights Directive 77/187 in Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 (both directives have been updated into new directives);

and EU case law had similar effect (Marshall v Southampton and SW Havant A H A (1986)).

1.1.4 Reductions of Employee Rights

1. Legislation of 1980s-1990s restricted rights and protections:

right to return after pregnancy: Employment Act 1980;

unfair dismissal qualifying period increased;

deposits required for Employment Tribunals by Employment Act 1989;

rights to particulars of disciplinary procedures for small firms (less than 20 employees) in Employment Act 1989;

Wages Councils abolished in Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993;

criminal sanctions for unauthorised deductions from pay, abolished in the Wages Act 1986;

restrictions on heavy work and night work in factories for women removed in the Employment Act 1989;

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