Want to know about Employment Law?! Look no further than our guide provided by All About Law

Put Simply…

Employment law covers all matters related to the workplace – whether you work in a small firm or are a cog in a big corporate wheel. Beginning with hiring, it moves through a complete cycle which can end in cessation of employment, voluntary or forced.

Thanks to the ever-changing global scenario, it is a given that Employment Law is always dynamic, jurisdiction-specific and is extensive in its scope and application. One can broadly classify the practice of employment law into two main areas – Non-contentious and Contentious.

Digging in deeper, the non-contentious section can be further sectioned into legislation; rules & regulations; policies & processes to be followed; and governing or regulatory authorities. Contentious employment law, on the other hand will cover breach in compliance with established principles, disputes on a variety of issues such as discrimination, remuneration, career growth, employer negligence & culpability and employee liability, misdemeanour, etc.

Further classification can be done in terms of whether the employment relates to private service, or to public sector work; employer/employee relations, conflicts; and individual versus group/class related matters.

What is involved in Employment Law?

What do you have to do if you want to be an employment lawyer? The obvious first step will be to identify the area in which you want to specialize, look for firms and opportunities where this requirement can be fulfilled. Like the two sides of a coin, employment law is concerned on the one hand with an employee & his rights and obligations; on the other is the employer or work provider, either an individual or a group of people or a large organisation/company; employers’ rights, duties and obligations. Into this equation come matters of legislation, statutory authorities, regulations of conduct and the actual processes through which the law is administered and followed.

A typical work cycle will comprise of hiring resources – advertising of job openings, the recruitment process, new joining formalities, remuneration, promotions/movements of employees, benefits & perks provided, organization restructuring, voluntary exits and litigation amongst many other things. While non-contentious work will be in providing advice, drafting, transactional tasks, and dispute resolution through arbitration and negotiations. Contentious work will cover dismissals, breach of contracts, harassment, redundancy/lay-off, discrimination on grounds of age, sex, religion, disability, age, etc.

Solicitors who represent individuals or a group of employees (a union) where the issue is common to the group; will work on collecting information & research; preparing documentation such as contracts, claims, pleadings, etc; providing advice to clients and conduct negotiations & settlements on behalf of clients.

Lawyers representing employers, on the other hand, will provide advice to companies/institutions on defence against claims, negotiation with employees and/or their unions; HR policies covering all aspects of employment; contractual content on remuneration, early & normal retirements, exits, non-compete clauses, workplace do’s and don’ts, etc.

What is needed for Employment Law?

To practice employment law, a solicitor needs to be agile and adaptable to operate in a constantly changing area, have a clear thought-process, good reasoning, communication and be up to date with the legal & commercial process. You must also have a genuine interest in subject matters on hand. Since this segment involves dealing with the good, the bad and ugly aspects of human nature, it is advantageous to be friendly, empathetic and balanced while handling issues concerning the workplace.

Being a solicitor will allow you to participate fully on the case from start to completion, including advocacy. It is important to remember that the final outcome will depend on the quality and approach you as a solicitor will provide, therefore it is vital that you have a good grounding in interpersonal relationships and have excellent legal research skills.

Current Climate for Employment Law?

New legislation or amendments/supplements to existing laws are a common phenomenon when it comes to employment law. Recent developments include: Introduction of regulations dealing with age discrimination (Employment Equality (Age) Regulations, 2006); employers will need to review their existing policies are in compliance and revise where necessary.

For example, job descriptions where number of years or qualification criteria can be interpreted to show bias/favour towards one set of employees.

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