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A contract of employment is a category of contract used in labour law to attribute right and responsibilities between parties to a bargain. A contract is an exchange of promises between two or more parties to do or refrain from doing an act which is enforceable in a court of law Labour law (also known as employment or labor law is the body of Laws administrative rulings and precedents which address the legal rights of and restrictions On the one end stands an "employee" who is "employed" by an "employer". It has arisen out of the old master-servant law, used before the 20th century. Put generally, the contract of employment denotes a relationship of economic dependence and social subordination. In the words of the influential labour lawyer Sir Otto Kahn-Freund,

"the relation between an employer and an isolated employee or worker is typically a relation between a bearer of power and one who is not a bearer of power. Sir Otto Kahn-Freund ( 17 November 1900, Frankfurt am Main - 16 August 1979, Oxford) was professor of comparative law In its inception it is an act of submission, in its operation it is a condition of subordination, however much the submission and the subordination may be concealed by the indispensable figment of the legal mind known as the 'contract of employment'. The main object of labour law has been, and I venture to say will always be a countervailing force to counteract the inequality of bargaining power which is inherent and must be inherent in the employment relationship. "[1]

Contents

Terminology

A contract of employment is usually defined to mean the same as a "contract of service". [2] A contract of service has historically been distinguished from a "contract for services", the expression altered to imply the dividing line between a person who is "employed" and someone who is "self employed". The purpose of the dividing line is to attribute rights to some kinds of people who work from others. This could be the right to a minimum wage, holiday pay, sick leave, fair dismissal, a written statement of the contract, the right to organise in a union, and so on. The assumption is that genuinely self employed people should be able to look after their own affairs, and therefore work they do for others should not carry with it an obligation to look after these rights.

In Roman law the equivalent dichotomy was that between locatio conductio operarum and locatio conductio operis (lit. Roman law is the legal system of Ancient Rome. As used in the West the term commonly refers to legal developments prior to the Roman/Byzantine state's adopting hire of services and of service). [3]

The terminology is complicated by the use of many other sorts of contracts involving one person doing work for another. Instead of being considered and "employee", the individual could be considered a "worker" (which could mean less employment legislation protection) or as having an "employment relationship" (which could mean protection somewhere in between) or a "professional" or a "dependent entrepreneur", and so on. Different countries will take more or less sophisticated, or complicated approaches to the question.

Terms and conditions of employment

The focus of most employment contracts is wages for work. A wage is a compensation workers receive in exchange for their labor. Essential terms might be notice periods in the event of dismissal, holiday pay rights, the place of work and pension schemes. Many jurisdictions require these factors to be set out in a written contract. [4] In terms of pay, the employee may be compensated through wages, a salary, or by commission. A wage is a compensation workers receive in exchange for their labor. A salary is a form of periodic payment from an Employer to an Employee, which may be specified in an Employment contract. The payment of commission as Remuneration for services rendered or products sold is a common way to reward sales people. In addition to monetary compensation, the employment contract often specifies a fringe benefit package, including a retirement plan, employee stock options, holiday entitlement, required hours of work, and (especially in the US) health insurance benefits. Employee benefits and (especially in British English) benefits in kind (also called fringe benefits, perquisites, perqs or A retirement plan is an arrangement to provide people with an income or Pension, during Retirement, when they are no longer earning a steady income from employment An employee stock option is a Call option on the common stock of a company issued as a form of non-cash compensation. Lists of holidays The words holiday or vacation have related meanings in different English-speaking countries and continents but will usually refer to one of The term health insurance is generally used to describe a form of Insurance that pays for medical expenses

Normally, such contracts provide for termination of employment, by either party, and include associated matters such as notice period, compensation arrangements and, sometimes, garden leave. In the United Kingdom, Garden leave (or gardening leave) describes the practice of instructing an employee who is leaving an employer (following a resignation or

Some employers use non-disclosure and non-compete clauses to protect their trade secrets from being dispersed when employees leave. A non-disclosure agreement (NDA also known as a confidentiality agreement, confidential disclosure agreement (CDA proprietary information agreement A non-compete clause or covenant not to compete ( CNC) is a term used in Contract law under which one party (usually an employee agrees to not pursue A trade secret is a Formula, practice, Process, Design, instrument, Pattern, or compilation of Information which Depending on where you live, the laws regarding enforceability of these clauses vary widely.

UK law holds that employment contracts have implied terms (assumed, unspoken, essential terms ), as well as explicit terms (typically those in writing). Legal precedent provides for example that there is an implied contractual term of trust and confidence, meaning each party to the contract is expected to behave in a manner allowing the other to maintain trust and confidence in the other.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Labour and the Law, Hamlyn Lectures, 1972, 7
  2. ^ in the UK, s. Labour law (also known as employment or labor law is the body of Laws administrative rulings and precedents which address the legal rights of and restrictions A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming Collective bargaining is the process whereby workers organize together to meet converse and compromise upon the work environment with their employers Equal pay for women is an issue involving pay Inequality between men and women The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 ( FLSA, ch 676, June 25, 1938,) also called the Wages and Hours Bill, is United States federal Origins The bill was introduced by President John F Kennedy in his civil rights speech of June 11 1963, in which he asked for legislation "giving The contrat première embauche ( CPE) translated first employment contract, was a new form of employment contract pushed in spring 2006 in France Contrat nouvelle embauche (abbreviated to CNE, New Employment Contract aka New Recruitment Contract or sometimes New-job contract in English A job description is a list of the general tasks or functions and Responsibilities of a position United Kingdom Agency worker law refers to the Law which regulates people's work through Employment agencies in the United Kingdom. 230 Employment Rights Act 1996
  3. ^ see, Sir John MacDonell, Classification of Forms and Contracts of Labour (1904) Journal of the Society of Comparative Legislation, New Series, Vol. The Employment Right Act (ERA was passed originally by the Conservative government in 1996 5, No. 2, pp. 253-261, at 255-256
  4. ^ In the European Union, see Directive 91/533

References

Dictionary

employment contract

-noun

  1. (law) A category of contract used in labor law to attribute right and responsibilities between parties to a bargain.
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