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Employment Law - LAWS2028
Law Books

 
Faculty: Faculty of Law
 
 
School:  Faculty of Law
 
 
Course Outline: See below
 
 
Campus: Kensington Campus
 
 
Career: Undergraduate
 
 
Units of Credit: 8
 
 
EFTSL: 0.16667 (more info)
 
 
Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 4
 
 
Enrolment Requirements:
 
 
Prerequisite: LAWS1001, LAWS1011; or LAWS1610; Corequisite: LAWS2311 or LAWS1010.
 
 
Fee Band: 3 (more info)
 
 
Further Information: See Class Timetable
 
 

Description

Employment law is and will be relevant to all students throughout their lives, as well as being particularly topical presently. Although the current political situation causes uncertainty in this arena, this makes the course more interesting as we have the opportunity to look at government policies, anticipate intended changes, and evaluate the directions in which employment law is likely to move. The course deals with the context of employment law (including international and historical background); with common law contracts of employment (which is the basis of all employment relationships); and with government regulation of employment.
While the ‘new’ laws in this area will be covered, to a great degree these are about changing philosophies and changing systems, so it will not matter if the specifics of the new system are not yet in place. Further, it is worth remembering that changes in this area have been occurring for many years now, so the fact that there is a change of government won’t make the course any less useful. The course will look a little at transitional arrangements, but really the main thing is to understand the overall picture, and some of the rules within that, rather than to understand specific rules which can and do change frequently.

Recommended Prior Knowledge

None

Course Objectives

The course aims to:
  • Familiarise students with the laws governing the employment of individuals
  • Assist students to understand the context within which these laws operate
  • Encourage students to relate this law to their own experiences
  • Challenge students to view these laws from a critical perspective
  • Stimulate students to communicate intelligently and articulately on the topic of employment law
  • Facilitate students to develop the ability to research employment law topics
On conclusion of this course students should be able to:
  • Distinguish employment contracts from other contracts for the performance of work
  • Apply their knowledge and understanding of employment law to solve relevant problems
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the context within which these laws operate
  • View these laws from a critical perspective
  • Relate what they have studied in this course to their own experiences, and to the world around them
  • Communicate intelligently and articulately on the topic of employment law
  • Conduct research on employment law topics

Assessment

It will be determined in consultation with students in the first week of semester.

Course Texts

Prescribed
Owens and Riley, The Law of Work (Oxford University Press, 2007)

Recommended
Reading materials regarding the course will be available on the Employment Law WebCT Vista site.

Resources

Refer to Course Outline provided by lecturer.

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© The University of New South Wales (CRICOS Provider No.: 00098G), 2004-2011. The information contained in this Handbook is indicative only. While every effort is made to keep this information up-to-date, the University reserves the right to discontinue or vary arrangements, programs and courses at any time without notice and at its discretion. While the University will try to avoid or minimise any inconvenience, changes may also be made to programs, courses and staff after enrolment. The University may also set limits on the number of students in a course.