Employees and Trade Unions

Author(s):  
Christopher Mallon ◽  
Shai Y. Waisman ◽  
Ray C. Schrock

At first blush, the UK and US case law and statutory regimes that are applicable in insolvency to employees and the unions that represent them appear to be quite different. However, a more thorough review reveals that the goal in both jurisdictions is the same: to reduce the harsh impact of insolvency on those who are usually the least at fault for the subject company’s predicament’its employees. Indeed, among other similarities, both systems provide for priority in right of payment for a portion of the compensation due employees, have stringent notice requirements in the event of termination or rejection of collective bargaining agreements, and require information sharing and good faith negotiations. The underlying objective of each system is to level the playing field and to incentivize the employer and the employees to reach a consensual solution to avoid the risks and burdens mandated by each regime. Whether the legislators, administrators, and jurists in either jurisdiction have gone too far or not far enough in developing tools for one side or the other will depend on the reader’s perspective.

Author(s):  
Robert Merkin ◽  
Séverine Saintier

The Casebook series provides a comprehensive selection of case law that addresses all aspects of the subject encountered on undergraduate courses. The courts will enforce an agreement only if it is sufficiently certain in its terms. A contract will not come into existence if certain types of mistakes ‘negative consent’ and so prevent agreement. In relation to certainty, the chapter focuses on vagueness and incompleteness, including agreements to agree and whether there can ever be a duty to negotiate in good faith. It also examines the position where there is no contract due to uncertainty, but there has been performance. This chapter also examines agreement mistakes which prevent formation of an agreement. These mistakes are mutual mistakes (where the parties are at cross purposes) and unilateral mistakes (where one party is mistaken and the other knows or ought to know this, e.g. unilateral mistake as to identity). Finally, the chapter looks at document mistakes and specifically rectification of a written document to reflect accurately what the parties in fact agreed, and the plea of non est factum (‘this is not my deed’).


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-196
Author(s):  
Peter Ackers

Hugh Clegg’s riposte to the 1977 Bullock Report on Industrial Democracy was one of seven papers published from a conference on the subject in April that year. His contribution has to be seen against his long-standing views (expressed, for example, in 1951 and 1960) on industrial democracy which he saw in practical terms as free trade unions conducting collective bargaining. On the Donovan Commission (1965-68), he supported the majority opposition to recommending even voluntary schemes for worker directors. In 1977 he regarded worker directors as irrelevant to the urgent, practical task of reforming British industrial relations. For Clegg, continental versions of industrial democracy worked where there was already a successful prior industrial relations system, developed through workplace and industry institutional practices over decades. One new, top-level initiative could not create that.


Author(s):  
Alesya V. Demkina ◽  

The article deals with the relatively new rules of Art. 434.1 the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on the conduct of negotiations. Taking into account the current wording of the said rule and the experience of foreign legislation on pre-contractual liability, the article argues for different theories justifying the nature of pre-contractual legal relations and liability and gives different positions of the authors on this issue. Proceeding from the doctrinal concept of obligation and characteristics of pre-contractual relations themselves the conclusion is made that these relations, firstly, are regulated by law and, secondly, they are not simply a legal relation but an obligation. It is based on certain actions of the negotiating partners that give rise to such an obliga-tion. As such, any action that is sufficiently certain (in some cases it may be required by law) and expresses the intention of the person to regard himself as negotiating with the addressee, who will in return perform the same sufficiently certain action, can be regarded as such. The specified characteristics of an action allow us to conclude that, from the point of view of classification of legal facts, this action is an act (because it is performed with a certain in-tention evident to other participants of civil turnover) and, moreover, it is also a transaction. Special rules of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation stipulate that the actions performed to enter into negotiations (for example, if the conclusion of a contract is binding on one party) or the actions of both partners entail legal consequences - the obligation to negotiate in good faith. The analysis of these legal relationships identifies three stages in their development, charac-terises them and attempts to answer more precisely the question of who can be a participant in the negotiation process depending on the stage of the negotiation process. The subject matter of an obligation arising during pre-contractual contacts will be actions aimed at negotiating and concluding a contract. The content of the obligation arising in the course of pre-contractual contacts, based on Art. 434.1 of the Civil Code will be the obligation to negotiate in good faith (paragraph 2 of the above rule). Assuming that the legislator provides an indicative list of actions that should fall within the scope of bad faith conduct, an indicative list of the "standard" of good faith conduct at the negotiation stage is given. This includes the obligation to provide full and truthful information to a party, including the reporting of circumstances that, due to the nature of the contract, must be brought to the attention of the other party (e.g. in a sale, all encumbrances on the subject of the contract must be reported). In addition, persons are obliged to negotiate only if they intend to conclude a contract, not to terminate negotiations suddenly and unjustifiably, and to take into account the rights and legitimate interests of the other party to the negotiation. The obligation under this obligation may also include a requirement not to disclose infor-mation obtained during the negotiation of the contract.


Author(s):  
David Etherington

The chapter argues that Denmark offers important lessons for developing a critique of austerity and neoliberalism in the UK. The Danish model of coordinated collective bargaining, social redistribution and key role for trade unions in welfare policy are important features of an inclusive labour market. Investment in childcare is a crucial element in the way welfare supports access to employment. Denmark has forged progressive active labour market policies such as job rotation where the trade unions play a key role in assisting unemployed into employment which offers training and in work support.


Author(s):  
Robert Merkin ◽  
Séverine Saintier

The Casebook series provides a comprehensive selection of case law that addresses all aspects of the subject encountered on undergraduate courses. A contract may be deemed illegal or void on grounds of public policy. This chapter examines the illegality of contracts under English law, contracts prohibited by statute (express prohibition), and contracts that are illegal in their performance. It considers contracts that are void on grounds of public policy, focusing on contracts in restraint of trade, covenants between employer and employee, exclusive dealing agreements, exclusive service agreements, and severance of the objectionable parts of covenants. The chapter also discusses the recovery of money or property transferred under an illegal contract, along with the UK Law Commission’s proposed reform of the law governing illegal contracts and the supreme court decision of Patel v Mirza over controversy concerning the nature of illegality, the basis for intervention in illegal contracts and the ability to recover under an illegal contract.


Author(s):  
Robert Merkin ◽  
Séverine Saintier

The Casebook series provides a comprehensive selection of case law that addresses all aspects of the subject encountered on undergraduate courses. A contract may include a statement that is a mere puff, a representation, or a contractual term. In the case of a representation, the maker asserts the truth of certain facts and thus induces the contract. In case of an actionable misrepresentation (an unambiguous false statement of fact which induces the other party to enter into the contract), the contract may be rendered voidable, that is, liable to be set aside or rescinded. In some instances, the injured party may claim for damages designed to restore him to his original position. This chapter examines the identification of actionable misrepresentation, duties of disclosure, types of misrepresentations, rescission as a remedy, damages for misrepresentation, including the damages available in section 2 of the Misrepresentation Act 1967, and the effect of contributory negligence in any damages award. Finally, the chapter examines exclusion of liability for non-fraudulent misrepresentation and the effect of ‘non-reliance’ clauses in contracts. In the consumer context, it also notes the criminal offences in certain instances of misrepresentation under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) and the extension to include civil remedies for misleading actions.


Author(s):  
Florian Faust

This chapter discusses the relationship between comparative law and economic analysis of law. After providing an overview of the characteristics of the economic analysis of law, it explains how one of the two disciplines can operate as an ancillary discipline to the other; this has been termed ‘Comparative Law and Economics’. The next section describes how comparative law and economic analysis of law can be brought together by making one discipline the subject matter of the other. It suggests that the role of economic analysis of law may be greater in case law systems than in codified systems and that this role may vary according to the subject of legislation. The section concludes with considerations on the role comparative law plays and should play in different contexts. Finally, it is argued that comparative law and economics should not be considered a discipline on its own.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 501-524
Author(s):  
Siti Suraya Abd Razak ◽  
Nik Ahmad Kamal Nik Mahmod

The trade union recognition process is a pre-requisite to the collective bargaining action of a trade union. The recognition is important to ascertain the competency of a trade union and the acceptance by the workers to represent them in the collective bargaining action with the employer. However, the ambiguities in the existing legislations on the trade union recognition process in Malaysia and the anti-union practices of the employer are currently depriving the workers of their rights to negotiate for better working conditions. The primary focus of the present work is to identify the weaknesses of the recognition legal framework and the anti-union practices of employers in the recognition process of trade unions. Secondly, is to critically analyse the good faith bargaining practice in other countries and its significance to the recognition process in Malaysia. To explore the anti-union tactics perpetrated by employers, semi-structured interviews have been conducted to analyse the trade unions’ experience in their recognition claims. This research employed a qualitative approach as the instrument to study the good faith bargaining practices in the Australian and New Zealand labour law framework. The findings reveal that the good faith bargaining practices in Australia and New Zealand have improved the odds for trade unions to represent the workers in negotiating collective agreements. The study finally concludes that in order to reform the recognition process of trade unions in Malaysia, the good faith bargaining practice should be implemented in the nation’s industrial relations law framework.


Author(s):  
Ilario Alvino

- The Author reviews the new French Law n. 2008-789, which introduces new considerable elements concerning the representativity of trade unions, the conditions of a regular collective bargaining, the establishment of specific structures of workers' representatives at the work place. On the one hand, the Author takes into consideration the differences between the Italian legal system and the French one, on the other hand, the reform process that brought into the introduction of new rules.Key words: France; Trade Union; Representativity; Collective bargaining; Freedom of association; Social dialogue.Parole chiave: Francia; sindacato; rappresentativitŕ; contratto collettivo; libertŕ sindacale; dialogo sociale.


2021 ◽  
pp. 565-596
Author(s):  
Robert Merkin ◽  
Séverine Saintier

Poole’s Casebook on Contract Law provides a comprehensive selection of case law that addresses all aspects of the subject encountered on undergraduate courses. A contract may be deemed illegal or void on grounds of public policy. This chapter examines the illegality of contracts under English law, contracts prohibited by statute (express prohibition), and contracts that are illegal in their performance. It considers contracts that are void on grounds of public policy, focusing on contracts in restraint of trade, covenants between employer and employee, exclusive dealing agreements, exclusive service agreements, and severance of the objectionable parts of covenants. The chapter also discusses the recovery of money or property transferred under an illegal contract, along with the UK Law Commission’s proposed reform of the law governing illegal contracts and the Supreme Court decision of Patel v Mirza over controversy concerning the nature of illegality, the basis for intervention in illegal contracts, and the ability to recover under an illegal contract.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document