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Semester 2

Managing Employment Law (BUST10028)

Subject

Business Studies

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

3

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Visiting students must have completed at least 4 Business/Management courses at grade B or above. This MUST INCLUDE at least one Law course at intermediate level. This course cannot be taken alongside LAWS10073 Labour Law. We will only consider University/College level courses.

Course Summary

The role of the law within the employment relationship has become increasingly prominent in recent years, and the development of labour legislation has proceeded apace. The complexities of the legal issues arising from employment are considerable. It has become increasingly important that all organisational stakeholders such as managers, employees and trade unions, are familiar with the complex range of legal rights and obligations that surround the employment relationship. Understanding the management of employment law is of considerable academic and practical relevance to students of management and organisation studies.

Course Description

While we start from the assumption that recourse to the institutions of the law is a last resort for organisational actors, an understanding of the parameters and principles emanating from those institutions is crucial to successful organisational functioning. This course will encourage students to think critically about the way in which the law both constrains and facilitates relationships between parties within work organisations, and its relationship to effective organisational functioning. The course covers the following areas: the institutions of employment law; the contract of employment; implied rights and duties in the employment relationship; equality law; contractual variation, contractual breach and unfair dismissal. Thus, the course will cover both the role of the common law in employer-employee relations, the existing (and expanding) statutory framework; the way in which relative standards of behaviour (for example, reasonableness or fairness) are interpreted and acted upon by tribunals and participants in organisations; critiques of law and practice in this area; how employers, employees and their representatives have positioned themselves in relation to existing and proposed developments in employment law; and the role of the law in contributing positively to the management of purposeful organisations. Outline Content - The framework of employment law: sources, institutions and context - The contract of employment: terms and conditions of employment, employment status and continuity of employment - Workplace disputes and termination of employment by dismissal - Redundancy & TUPE - Pay & working time - Privacy and confidentiality in the workplace - Discrimination 1: protected characteristics and prohibited conduct - Discrimination 2: discrimination in the employment context - Parental rights and work/life balance - Collective rights: trade unions & information and consultation Student Learning Experience The course comprises a mixture of formal lectures and group discussions. The lecture programme will provide an overview of key issues, supported by a range of suggested readings. Group discussions will focus upon understanding of the legal framework and its implications for organisational stakeholders, and on applying the legal framework to the problems confronting managers and employees in organisations. Depending on student numbers, students may be given individual responsibility for analysing a particular case or issue, or applying their minds to hypothetical problems. Students will be expected to participate in class discussions. Questions for discussion will be distributed one week before each lecture and students may be asked to prepare a response to discuss at the lecture. The course project will allow students to apply a wider range of existing material to a more narrowly defined topic in an organisational context in order to encourage the development of stronger evaluative, rather than descriptive, skills.

Assessment Information

Written Exam 70%, Coursework 30%, Practical Exam 0%

view the timetable and further details for this course