Category Archives: Employment and Labour Law
Louise Merrett, ‘International Employment Cases Post-Brexit: Choice of Law, Territorial Scope, Jurisdiction and Enforcement’
ABSTRACT The globalisation of employment relationships means that the international aspects of employment law are important in an ever growing number of cases. In particular, international employment cases may raise issues relating to international jurisdiction, choice of law and territorial scope. Before the UK left the EU, directly effective EU Regulations regulating jurisdiction and choice […]
Daniel Harris, ‘The Rival Rationales of Vicarious Liability’
ABSTRACT Vicarious liability means holding one person responsible for the misdeeds of another just as if the wrongdoer and the defendant were the same person. There are two competing rationales for the idea. The agency rationale is based on the idea that agents act as extensions of their principals’ legal personality. According to the agency […]
‘Failure to Mitigate Leads to Reduced Dismissal Damages’
“In Moore v Instow Enterprises Ltd, (2021 BCSC 930) (‘Moore‘), a British Columbian employee was entitled to less notice than the standard amount of one month per year of service mainly due to his failure to mitigate his losses. By refusing to make a reasonable attempt to find alternative similar employment, the employee failed to […]
Philippa Collins, ‘Finding Fault in the Law of Unfair Dismissal: The Insubstantiality of Reasons for Dismissal’
ABSTRACT The question of whether an Employment Tribunal should accept the employer’s reason for a dismissal has received little attention in studies of the law of unfair dismissal. This shortage of analysis continues even though this stage holds the potential to decide the outcome of the case. The current approach to the interpretation of the […]
Zoe Adams, ‘One Step Forwards For Employment Status, Still Some Way To Go: The Supreme Court’s Decision In Uber v Aslam Under Scrutiny’
“In what was perhaps the most anticipated employment law decision of the past decade, the Supreme Court in Uber v Aslam [2021] UKSC 5 has confirmed that the claimant drivers for ride-hailing firm Uber are workers for the purposes of the Employment Rights Act (1999) (ERA), the Working Time Regulations (1998) (WTR), and the National […]
‘CJEU on Article 8 Rome I’
“The Court of Justice delivered yesterday (15 July 2021) its decision in joined Cases C‑152/20 and C‑218/20 (DG, EH v SC Gruber Logistics SRL (C‑152/20), and Sindicatul Lucrătorilor din Transporturi, DT v SC Samidani Trans SRL (C‑218/20)), which is about the law applicable to employment contracts …” (more) [Emmanuel Guinchard, European Civil Justice, 16 July] […]
Prescott and Starr, ‘Subjective Beliefs about Contract Enforceability’
ABSTRACT This paper assesses the content, role, and adaptability of subjective beliefs about contract enforceability in the context of postemployment covenants not to compete (‘noncompetes’). We show that employees of all stripes tend to believe that their noncompetes are enforceable, even when they are not. We provide evidence in support of both supply- and demand-side […]
Matthew Lister, ‘That’s None of Your Business! On the Limits of Employer Control of Employee Behavior Outside of Working Hours’
ABSTRACT Employers seeking to control employee behavior outside of working hours is nothing new. However, recent developments have extended efforts to control employee behavior into new areas, with new significance. Employers seek to control legal behavior by employees outside of working hours, to have significant influence over employee’s health-related behavior, and to monitor and control […]
Douglas Brodie, ‘Canadian Jurisprudence and the Employment Contract’
ABSTRACT The jurisprudence of the Canadian Supreme Court has been at the forefront of a judicial conversion to a more progressive view of the employment relationship, which is attuned to key realities such as inequality of bargaining power. The Court’s influence can be seen in the decisions of courts in other jurisdictions such as the […]
Natalie Sheard, ‘Employment Discrimination by Algorithm: Can Anyone be Held Accountable?’
ABSTRACT The use by employers of algorithmic systems to automate or assist with recruitment decisions (Algorithmic Hiring Systems (‘AHSs’)) is on the rise internationally and in Australia. High levels of unemployment and reduced job vacancies provide conditions for these systems to proliferate, particularly in retail and other low wage positions. While promising to remove subjectivity […]