The UCL Private Law Group are pleased to announce a one-day conference on Private Law Perspectives on the Contract of Employment, Friday 7th June 2024, from 09:30 to 5pm, at University College London.
This conference will develop a dialogue between private lawyers and labour lawyers on theoretical and practical issues as they relate to the employment contract (broadly conceived). For historical reasons, this has been an underdeveloped dialogue in English law. The ‘autonomy’ of labour law as a discipline was based upon its rejection of the common law (and English judges), which was regarded by workers and trade unions as an instrument of class oppression.
In recent times, it is less clear that this strong ‘autonomy’ thesis has supported the worker-protective goals of labour law. Private law has become more receptive to approaches that support worker protection, with further exploration of relational contracts and norms of good faith in contract law. In leading appellate cases in labour law, private law doctrines have been central to the litigation: USDAW v Tesco Stores Ltd (on appeal to the UKSC, contract interpretation, implied terms, availability of injunctive relief and adequacy of damages), Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (t/a Nexus) v National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (availability of rectification for collective agreements), Cox v Secretary of State for the Home Department (contractual effect of check-off arrangements). This represents a timely moment to recognise the value of scholarship with a strong private law dimension, and the workshop will provide an opportunity to develop this … (more)
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