Introduction

• Author: Geoffrey England
• Pages: 1-15

1

CHA PTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Employment law is concerned with r ules that govern the relations be-

tween employers and employees: Who creates the rule s that govern

the job? How are such rules administered and enforced? And what is

the content of the rules? Clea rly, thi s def‌inition is extremely broad.

A worker’s terms and conditions of employment a re determined by a

combination of processes:

           

terms of the employment contract;

 

express or implied term s of the employment contract;

          

through the implied terms of t he employment contract;

        -

ployment contract, such as “reasonable” notice of termination and

“just cause” for summary dismissal; and

           

include

– substa ntive terms and conditions of employment (e.g., minimum

wages, maximum hours of work, and minimum leaves of absence

for designated purposes, such as childbirth or bere avement);

– safegu ards against arbitrary abuse by the employer of its m an-

agerial prerogatives (e.g., banning discrimination in hiring, pro-

motion, and f‌iring on proscr ibed ground s such as sex, race, and

disability, and requiring discharge to be for just cause);