Employment Law

LAWS30272 Employment Law 20 Semester 2 Undergraduate Level 3 Ricardo Matias Buendia Esteban Unit coordinator School of Social Sciences 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Last part of a Bachelors ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 10.0 This course examines the crucial and fast-moving field of employment law. Employment law has become particularly topical in our time, as rapid technological change was followed by the recent times of concurrent economic and social crises we have all been experiencing. The COVID-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis has brought to fore questions of effective employment protection and has further challenged established institutions and practices. Students will be encouraged not only to understand the relevant legal rules and reform initiatives, but also to analyse the wider significance of these rules in reflecting and in shaping society and the economy. A central theme of the course is the question of what is or should be the main purpose of employment law: to protect workers by correcting inequalities of bargaining power? To support flexibility and competitiveness in the labour market? To support the overall competitiveness of the economy? To protect the dignity of workers? Their fundamental rights? Keeping these fundamental questions in the back of our minds helps inform our approach on the substantive topics we will cover.  This course examines the crucial and fast-moving field of employment law. Employment law has become particularly topical in our time, as rapid technological change was followed by the recent times of concurrent economic and social crises we have all been experiencing. The COVID-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis have brought to fore questions of effective employment protection and has further challenged established institutions and practices. Students will be encouraged not only to understand the relevant legal rules and reform initiatives but also to analyse the wider significance of these rules in reflecting and in shaping society and the economy. A central theme of the course is the question of what is or should be the main purpose of employment law: to protect workers by correcting inequalities of bargaining power? To support flexibility and competitiveness in the labour market? To support the overall competitiveness of the economy? To protect the dignity of workers? Their fundamental rights? Keeping these fundamental questions in the back of our minds helps inform our approach on the substantive topics we will cover.  The course unit aims to critically analyse and evaluate the competing ideologies and the effect of political, social and economic policies on the legal principles underpinning individual and collective employment law and employment-related equality law; to identify and critique the nature and scope of problems or disputes faced by employing enterprises and employees/workers that may be the subject of legal resolution or otherwise; to evaluate the effectiveness of the law in regulating industrial relations, individual employment relationships, human rights and equality in the workplace to develop an ability to apply this knowledge to hypothetical problems; to develop an awareness of areas of potential legal reform; to develop a continuing interest in the study, research or practice of employment law.   After completion of this course unit, the student should be able to: Understand the fundamental theoretical premises of employment law Identify key issues and legal provisions in employment law. Recognise and understand relevant case law. Critically evaluate the effectiveness of employment law in the UK. Understand employment rights and responsibilities of both employers and employees. The student will also develop essential research skills, time management and research organisational skills.  Develop knowledge and understanding of the key components of the employment law landscape of the UK Develop a good understanding of the social, political and economic forces behind the development of employment law and how this has impacted on existing lawsDevelop knowledge of basic employment law principles and remedies such as employment status, contractual terms, equality law, business restructuring and redundancy law, minimum wage and hours of work law, family friendly practices, as well as a good understanding of industrial relations law  Critical thinking – capacity to abstract, analyse and make critical judgement of existing lawsProblem solving – ability to solve problems in an efficient and effective manner, drawing on problem solving strategies as relevant, particularly within the context of  identifying and resolving relevant legal problems scenarios within employment lawSynthesis and analysis of data and information through applying laws to various factual scenarios and analysis of remedies.  Using library, electronic and online resources to identify relevant legal principlesPlanning and executing safely independent research through critical reflections on legal solutions  Using reporting skills to distil complex concepts into simple solutions within a problem-based format   Ability to schedule tasks in order of importance Capacity to both to make written contributions using appropriate language for a target audience   Analytical skills Students should be able to demonstrate knowledge of Employment Law. Beyond substantive knowledge, the study of Employment Law will serve as a vehicle to develop and demonstrate a range of student outcomes. Students will develop critical analytical and evaluative skills to synthesise information, develop lines of argument and make informed judgments. Written communication The course will support students in developing their written communication skills in order to communicate their arguments and judgements. Combined, these factors support students in developing the following general and widely applicable skills: intellectual independence, identify gaps in their knowledge and acquire new knowledge, and engage in critical analysis and evaluation. Syllabus (indicative curriculum content): These course will cover the following areas of employment law: a) Introduction to Employment Law: b)Theories, Fundamental Justifications, and Historical Development of UK Employment Law; c)Employment Status; d) The Contract of Employment; e)Employment Rights: Equality and Non-Discrimination; f) Further Statutory Employment Rights; g)Termination of Employment; h) Business Restructuring (Redundancy – Collective Redundancies); i) Industrial Action. The module runs for 11 weeks and will be taught through dual-teaching methods. Lectures will be a mix of online and in-person lectures. The in-person lectures will make up the majority of the delivered lectures but one hour per week will be reserved for an online lecture. This lecture gives us the freedom to use this hour for online teaching or for guest lectures relevant to the course. The lectures are complemented by online materials (eg. Lecture notes and reading guidance) and forms of online student engagement. Additionally, there will be 5, 1hr workshops for each student as part of the course, spread over fortnightly sessions. Students are invited and given an opportunity to engage with the material, make interventions and raise questions in the lectures themselves, but also through online tools on Canvas and emails. Powerpoint slides, notes, recordings and all other lecture material will be made available on Blackboard as the module progresses. The fortnightly seminars  provide students with the opportunity for interaction with each other and with lecturers and tutors through student-led group work and learning by discussion. Seminars are an important opportunity also for student feedback and preparation 1 Written exam 100% Written exam 100%Formative assessment with individual feedback provided on submitted answers. Written or oral feedback will be given on exam answers and one to one feedback sessions will be made available. N                                                                      Textbooks  BASIC   There is a wide range of employment law student textbooks available.  We recommend the following textbook for this module:   David Cabrelli, Employment Law in Context, 4nd ed (OUP 2020) (up-to-date analysis of labour law, with useful fictional case studies, extracts from primary case and statutory material and insightful discussion of conceptual issues). We have ensured this will be available in e-book form to you all. Alternative textbooks that students may wish to consider include the following:    Simon Deakin & Gillian S Morris, Labour Law, 6th ed (Hart 2012) (more detailed exposition, with substantial discussion of the policy issues and historical context but not recenty updated)    Hugh Collins, Keith Ewing and Aileen McColgan, Labour Law (Law in Context), 2nd ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2019) (similar to the above, though now recently updated)    Astra Emir,  Selwyn's Law of Employment, 20th ed. (OUP 2018) (useful analysis of case-law developments but lacks in-depth presentation of normative/conceptual issues in employment law and as such it is best to avoid over-reliance on this) Cases and Materials    Ewan McGaughey, A Casebook on Labour Law (2018 Bloomsbury) (Comprehensive, up to date and largely following the structure of our module)   Richard Painter & Ann Holmes, Cases and Materials on Employment Law 10th ed. (OUP 2015)  Industrial Cases Reports (example citation: [1978] ICR 590)   Industrial Relations Law Reports (example citation: [1983] IRLR 369). Full text of the IRLR, including the full text of court judgments and the ‘editorial’ comment, is available on LexisNexis (http://www.lexisnexis.com/uk/legal/) Journals, websites and additional resources  It must be emphasised that the reading list in the outline is not exhaustive. There is much more to Employment Law than this, and you will undoubtedly benefit from undertaking some further reading, study or research of your own if you are interested. Credit will be given for assessment purposes in respect of the proper use of independent research and study, so please feel free, for example, to follow up in the Library some of the case references, periodical articles or other material referred to in the outline, in class, or in the relevant sections of the core textbooks, and the other recommended supplementary, alternative or specialised titles that may be available on Blackboard. In engaging in independent research, though, do keep the above point in mind, as to the selectiveness and care that your research work should entail.   Thereafter you could engage in your own research, with particular reference to the following:  Journals:     Industrial Law Journal (ILJ) – available on Westlaw (this is the primary specialist journal in labour law).   International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations (it focuses on single-country, including the UK, and comparative analyses of individual and collective labour law topics, as well as recent developments in European labour law)   Comparative Labor Law and Policy Journal (again, the focus here is on comparative labour law but also includes articles on UK issues)  Updating aids   Sweet & Maxwell's Encyclopedia of Employment Law & nbs Lectures 35 Seminars 5 0 165 Annotated statute books permitted in examination.InformationRestricted to: LLB (Law); LLB (Law with Criminology); LLB (Law with Politics) and .LLB Law with International StudyThis course is available to incoming study abroad students providing they have some knowledge of the law.Pre-requisites: Compulsory year 1 Law school courses TimetableSee Law School timetable