GOVT 2072
EMPLOYMENT LAW
Dr. Priya Marajh
Disclaimer
• The information provided in this presentation does not, and is not
intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information presented
is for general informational purposes only. If you require legal advice
with respect to any particular legal matter, you should contact your
attorney to obtain such advice.
• Employment and labour law, in the Commonwealth Caribbean, as in
any other jurisdiction, constitutes a major part of its jurisprudence.
• The importance of this area of law should not be underestimated
since it is an accepted fact that upwards of 40% of an individual’s
adult life is spent in some type of employment relationship.
• It is unsurprising that a specific legal framework is required to
regulate and administer various aspects of the employment
relationship.
• The terminology employment law and labour law have been used
interchangeably.
• Different jurisdictions treat it differently.
• In the US, the term labour law typically refers to the legal regulation
of collective bargaining and the term employment law refers to work-
related legal regulation regarding individual employees.
• The rationale for this dichotomy could be the idea that the philosophy
pf labour law is inextricably linked to the collective representation of
workers for the purpose of addressing the perceived disparate
imbalances of power between themselves and the controllers of
capital.
• As such it placed greater emphasis on regulating the relationship
between unions and employers, with references to the individual
relationship being for the most part, relegated to the law of contract.
Why should we care about employment and
labour law?
Why should we care about employment and
labour law?
Value of employees to a business
• “Our company is built on people – those who work for us, and those
we do business with.” – Harvey S. Firestone
• A company’s employees are its greatest asset and your people are
your product.” – Sir Richard Branson
• “Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will
take care of the clients.” – Sir Richard Branson.
Employment and Labour Laws set minimum
standards for treatment of employees:
For example -
• Pay
• Financial Security
• Rest
• Physical Safety
• Job security
Knowledge of Employment and Labour Law
• 1. Awareness of minimum standards acceptable in managing people.
2. Ensures compliance with law which mitigates against risk and
supports competitive advantage.
3. You gain cross-disciplined knowledge.
Who is a worker?
• INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT
• Industrial Relations Act (“IRA”) establishes the Industrial Court which
(among other things) hears “trade disputes”.
• “Trade Disputes” exist in relation to “Workers”
• The definition of “Worker” in the IRA is very broad but notably
excludes several categories of employees.
• Examples of excluded persons are domestic workers, apprentices and
members of the Defence Force, Police Service, Fire Service, Prison
Service, Teaching Service.
• Persons “(i) responsible for the formulation of policy in any
undertaking or business or the effective control of the whole or any
department of any undertaking or business; or (ii) has an effective
voice in the formulation of policy in any undertaking or business” are
excluded from the definition of Worker.