ABSTRACT

This chapter considers how the law acts as to frame employment relations (ER), and analyses the interaction between the law and other regulatory aspects of the employment relationship. It focuses not on specific laws or legal provisions, but on issues and challenges confronting the legal regulation of employment that appear, albeit to varying extents, in all jurisdictions. The chapter looks at the role and purpose of the law in ER, tracing changing conceptions of these over time. It considers the key sources from which legal regulation of ER derives, and the scope and coverage of labour laws. The chapter also looks at how the law is enforced in the employment sphere. Finally, it reflects on some current and future challenges for the legal regulation of employment relationships.