The Employment Contract And The Changed World Of Work

The world of work has undergone major changes in the last two decades. This book examines these changes in their international context. It is argued that collective bargaining should no longer be viewed as the most important means of regulating the employment relationship. In the changed world of work such an approach is becoming less relevant. Instead, other means of protecting legitimate worker interests are explored. These include: an adaptation and extension of the general principles of the law of contract; a constitutional right to fair labour practices; and the pursuit of good corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. The conclusion is that these alternative means of addressing legitimate worker interests can play a valuable role in filling the vacuum left by the worldwide decline of trade unions.

Headlines frequently appear that purport to highlight the differences among workers of different generations and explain how employers can manage the wants and needs of each generation. But is each new generation really that different from previous ones? Are there fundamental differences among generations that impact how they act and interact in the workplace? Or are the perceived differences among generations simply an indicator of age-related differences between older and younger workers or a reflection of all people adapting to a changing workplace? Are Generational Categories Meaningful Distinctions for Workforce Management? reviews the state and rigor of the empirical work related to generations and assesses whether generational categories are meaningful in tackling workforce management problems. This report makes recommendations for directions for future research and improvements to employment practices.

During the middle third of the 20th century, workers in most industrialized countries secured a substantial measure of job security, whether through legislation, contract or social practice. This “standard employment contract,” as it was known, became the foundation of an impressive array of rights and entitlements, including social insurance and pensions, protection against unsociable working conditions, and the right to bargain collectively. Recent changes in technology and the global economy, however, have dramatically eroded this traditional form of employment. Employers now value flexibility over stability, and increasingly hire employees for short-term or temporary work. Many countries have also repealed labor laws, relaxed employee protections, and reduced state-provided benefits. As the old system of worker protection declines, how can labor regulation be improved to protect workers? In Rethinking Workplace Regulation, nineteen leading scholars from ten countries and half a dozen disciplines present a sweeping tour of the latest policy experiments across the world that attempt to balance worker security and the new flexible employment paradigm. Edited by noted socio-legal scholars Katherine V.W. Stone and Harry Arthurs, Rethinking Workplace Regulation presents case studies on new forms of dispute resolution, job training programs, social insurance and collective representation that could serve as policy models in the contemporary industrialized world. The volume leads with an intriguing set of essays on legal attempts to update the employment contract. For example, Bruno Caruso reports on efforts in the European Union to “constitutionalize” employment and other contracts to better preserve protective principles for workers and to extend their legal impact. The volume then turns to the field of labor relations, where promising regulatory strategies have emerged. Sociologist Jelle Visser offers a fresh assessment of the Dutch version of the ‘flexicurity’ model, which attempts to balance the rise in nonstandard employment with improved social protection by indexing the minimum wage and strengthening rights of access to health insurance, pensions, and training. Sociologist Ida Regalia provides an engaging account of experimental local and regional “pacts” in Italy and France that allow several employers to share temporary workers, thereby providing workers job security within the group rather than with an individual firm. The volume also illustrates the power of governments to influence labor market institutions. Legal scholars John Howe and Michael Rawling discuss Australia's innovative legislation on supply chains that holds companies at the top of the supply chain responsible for employment law violations of their subcontractors. Contributors also analyze ways in which more general social policy is being renegotiated in light of the changing nature of work. Kendra Strauss, a geographer, offers a wide-ranging comparative analysis of pension systems and calls for a new model that offers “flexible pensions for flexible workers.” With its ambitious scope and broad inquiry, Rethinking Workplace Regulation illustrates the diverse innovations countries have developed to confront the policy challenges created by the changing nature of work. The experiments evaluated in this volume will provide inspiration and instruction for policymakers and advocates seeking to improve worker’s lives in this latest era of global capitalism.

Employment Contracts for The New World of Work deals with the employment contract in South Africa and the importance of this document as the foundation of the commercial relationship between the employee and the employer. It describes the nature and relevance of the contract of employment, the essential components and conclusion of the contract, the legislative framework and aspects related to breaches of the contract, as well as repudiation and the termination of the contract. The authors discuss employment issues as they relate to the 'new normal', including topics such as Remote and Hybrid Working, and the effect this has had on managerial control and authority. Employment Contracts for The New World of Work provides practical assistance and information to the entrepreneur, business owner, front-line manager, trade union representative and official, who is, no matter how experienced, always in need of a quick reference guide and source of knowledge. Content includes: - Identifying the Parties to The Contract - The Legislative Framework - The Contract of Employment: Formation, Contents and Format - Termination of Employment - Pushing the Frontiers of Traditional Employment - Working from Home (WFH) And Hybrid Working - Repudiation Breaches of Contract and Remedial Rights - Disputes and Dispute Processes Including a free Toolkit with Sample Contracts, Guidelines, Policies, Procedures and Statutory Regulations.

The Employment Contract in Transforming Labour Relations provides a world-wide analysis of the changing role of the contract of employment in modern societies. The central question in this book is whether the contract of employment still serves its traditional purpose in a period marked by the so-called `globalisation of the economy' with the concomitant calls for flexibility in and deregulation of the labour markets in capitalist countries. Highly regarded authors from a number of European countries, as well as Japan, Australia and the United States, have contributed to this exciting comparative exercise which provides vital reading for anyone interested in the restructuring which labour relations must undergo to meet the demands of a newly emerging (post) industrial society.

It cannot be denied that in recent decades, for many if not most people, work has become unstable and insecure, with serious risk and few benefits for workers. As this reality spills over into political and social life, it is crucial to interrogate the transformations affecting employment relations, shape research agendas, and influence the policies of national and international institutions. This single volume brings together thirty-nine scholars (both academics and experienced industrial relations actors) in the fields of employment relations and labour law in a forthright discussion of new approaches, theories, and methods aimed at ameliorating the world of work. Focusing on why and how work is changing, how collective actors deal with it, and the future of work from different disciplinary angles and at an international level, the contributors describe and analyse such issues and topics as the following: new forms of social protection and representation; differences in the power relations of workers and political dynamics; balancing protection of workers’ dignity and promotion of productivity; intersection of information technology and workplace regulation; how the gig economy undermines legal protections; role of professional and trade associations; workplace conflict management; lay judges in labour courts; undeclared work in the informal sector of the labour market; work incapacity and disability; (in)coherence of the work-related case law of the European Court of Justice; and business restructurings. Derived from a major conference held in Leuven in September 2018, the book offers an in-depth understanding of the changing world of work, its main transformations, and the challenges posed to classical employment relations theories and methods as well as to labour law. With its wide range of insights, analysis, and reflection, this unique contribution to the study of industrial relations offers an authoritative reference guide to scholars, policymakers, trade unions and business associations, human resources professionals, and practitioners who need to deal with the future of work challenges.

This volume is the first collection of original research brought together under the name of new forms of employment. The contributions written specifically for this project – an intruduction, conclusion, and chapters – propose to critically investigate the current state of this burgeoning and relevant research field and map out future directions. The diverse selection of research oriented on new forms of employment across the World included in this volume provides readers with a variety of topics, disciplinary angles, critical approaches and practices, methods and interpretations, emphases and voices, which, when taken together, illustrate the diversity and complexity of this dynamic and stimulating field, as well as the hightened attention to labour and employment law issues and proliferation of labour and employment law-oriented scholars. The Content · Changing patterns of work: implications for employment relationship · New forms of employment in a digital age · The protection of workers in new forms of employment · New forms of employment and challenges for the protection of collective labour rights of employees ​ The Editors Jerzy Wratny a full professor of labour law, associated with the Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland. Agata Ludera-Ruszel a Ph.D. in labour law, an assistant professor in Department of Labour Law and Social Policy at the Institute of Law of the University of Rzeszow, Poland.