The aim of this book is to explore labour law's conceptual and normative narrative. If labour law is informed by the wider political and economic landscape within which it operates, then given the declining prevalence of the post-war model of full employment within a formal welfare state regime, what shape does or should labour law assume in response to the transformation of the political economy in countries of the global North? Correspondingly, what is the proper role to be played by labour law and labour relations institutions in the development process within industrialising countries of the global South, where informal employment has long been, and remains, the predominant form? Drawing on the expertise of leading labour law scholars, this collection addresses those questions by examining the growth and continued prevalence of informality. Offering research that is both empirically grounded and doctrinally astute, the book explores the changing character of labour law in the global North and South.

"The aim of this book is to explore labour law's conceptual and normative narrative. If labour law is informed by the wider political and economic landscape within which it operates, what shape does or should labour law assume in response to the transformation of the political economy in countries of the global North, with the declining prevalence of the postwar model of full employment within a formal welfare state regime. Correspondingly, what is the proper role to be played by labour law and labour relations institutions in the development process within industrialising countries of the global South? Drawing on the expertise of leading labour law scholars, this collection addresses those questions by examining the growth of informalisation. It offers research that is both empirically-grounded and doctrinally astute, exploring the changing face of labour law in the global North and South."--

At the core of all societies and economies are human beings deploying their energies and talents in productive activities - that is, at work. The law governing human productive activity is a large part of what determines outcomes in terms of social justice, material wellbeing, and the sustainability of both. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that work is heavily regulated. This Handbook examines the 'law of work', a term that includes legislation setting employment standards, collective labour law, workplace discrimination law, the law regulating the contract of employment, and international labour law. It covers the regulation of relations between employer and employee, as well as labour unions, but also discussions on the contested boundaries and efforts to expand the scope of some laws regulating work beyond the traditional boundaries. Written by a team of experts in the field of labour law, the Handbook offers a comprehensive review and analysis, both theoretical and critical. It includes 60 chapters, divided into four parts. Part A establishes the fundamentals, including the historical development of the law of work, why it is needed, the conceptual building blocks, and the unsettled boundaries. Part B considers the core concerns of the law of work, including the contract of employment doctrines, main protections in employment legislation, the regulation of collective relations, discrimination, and human rights. Part C looks at the international and transnational dimension of the law of work. The final Part examines overarching themes, including discussion of recent developments such as gig work, online work, artificial intelligence at work, sustainable development, amongst others.

Labour Law Utopias: Post-Growth & Post-Productive Work Approaches engages with new socioeconomic ideas that look beyond the current growth-driven competitive market economy. Building on analysis of economic growth, as well as the limits of the logic of human productivity and competitivity for workers and the environment, it explores alternative approaches and what those will mean for work in general, and labour law in particular. The concept of 'post-growth' is used to rethink the purpose of the economy by looking beyond merely increasing wealth, consumption, and production, considering what this means for the position of work in society as well as the individual worker. The post-productive work approach is used to question the centrality of economically productive work and its regulation in labour laws. The chapters in this book take a progressive approach and discuss whether and how labour law can contribute to the emancipation of work from the constraints of growth and productivity by revisiting the value, organization, and impact of work. With these utopian ideas for labour law, the contributions in this book present inspirational 'dots on the horizon' that could guide the direction of changes in labour law as it navigates issues such as the implementation of digital and green solutions, the energy crisis, migration, rising inequality, and precariousness. This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read on Oxford Academic and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations.

This collection brings together perspectives from industrial relations, political economy, political theory, labour history, sociology, gender studies and regulatory theory to build a more inclusive theory of labour law. That is, a theory of labour law that is more inclusive of non-traditional workers (including those in atypical work, or from non-traditional backgrounds); more inclusive of a variety of collective approaches to work regulation that foster solidarity between workers; and more inclusive of interdisciplinary and complex explanations of labour law and its regulatory spaces. The individual chapters speak to this theme of inclusivity in different ways and offer different suggestions for how it might be achieved. They break down the barriers between legal research and other fields, to promote fruitful and integrative conversations across disciplines. In the spirit of inclusivity and intergenerational dialogue, the book blends contributions from early career and emerging scholars with those from leading scholars in the field, featuring critical commentary from senior labour law figures alongside theoretically and empirically informed work.

This Handbook provides an accessible overview of the different methods, approaches and theories which can be used to enrich labour law research. Drawing on cutting-edge research projects, leading scholars present insights and reflections on the past, present and future of labour law scholarship.

Forty years ago Amartya Sen introduced to the world a novel approach to the idea of equality: the notion of 'basic capability' as 'a morally relevant dimension' and the claim that we should focus upon equality of basic capabilities ('a person being able to do certain basic things'). These ideas, as developed by Sen and Martha C. Nussbaum, have launched an academic armada now proceeding under the flag of the 'capability approach' (CA). While that flag has ventured far and wide and engaged many areas of inquiry, this volume of essays is the first to explore how CA might shed light upon labour law. The capabilities approach can illuminate our understanding of labour law across three dimensions. Part I looks at the nature of the basic relationship between CA and labour law-do they share common ground or disagree about what is important? Can the CA provide a normative 'foundation' for labour law? Part II goes further by examining the relationship of the CA and other well-established perspectives on labour law, including economics, history, critical theory, restorative justice, and human rights. Part III examines the possible relevance of the CA to a range of specific labour law issues, such as freedom of association, age discrimination in the workplace, trade, employment policy, and sweatshop goods.

Offers a novel take on the purpose of labour law and connects constitutional ideals with the objective of labour law.

In this book, leading international thinkers take up the demanding challenge to rethink our understanding of social justice at work and our means for achieving it – at a time when global forces are tearing the familiar fabric of our working lives and the laws regulating them. When fabric is torn we can see deeply into it, understand its structural weaknesses, and imagine alterations in the name of resilience and sustainability. Seizing that opportunity, the authoritative commentators examine the lessons revealed by the pandemic and other global shocks for our ideas about justice at work, and how to advance that cause in the world as we now find it. The chapters deliver critical re-assessments of our goals, explore our new challenges, and creatively re-imagine trajectories for progress on two global fronts - via international institutions and by a myriad of other transnational techniques. These forward-looking essays are in honour of Francis Maupain, whose international career and scholarly writing are inspiring models for those who, in a changing world, seize opportunities for creativity in the pursuit of global justice at work.

This volume offers insights into the consequences of a growing reliance on the principle of solidarity to 'inscribe' social policies.