The degree is awarded on the basis of nine final examinations at the end of the three-year course (or four years in the case of Law with Law Studies in Europe). Phase II of the Final Honour School includes the first and second term of the final year; the Final Examinations are taken in the third term of the final year.

Issues in labour law affect most people during their working lives. What rights does a worker have if he or she is dismissed? Is there a right to strike? What can the law do about discrimination? This is a rapidly changing field, particularly in the past decade, which has witnessed a transformation in labour law. Most major industrial disputes are now fought out in the courts rather than on the shop-floor, in stark contrast with the traditional view that strikes are best resolved by the parties themselves. Of growing importance is the impact of EU law on British labour law, particularly in the field of discrimination. Labour law will be of considerable interest to anyone who is concerned with the interaction between law, politics and society. All British governments in recent decades have regarded policies on labour law as central to their political programmes.

Labour Law is also useful in practice. Many young barristers acquire invaluable experience by appearing before employment tribunals; and most solicitors’ firms, whether in the City or elsewhere, require specialists in employment law. It remains truer than ever that “the law governing labour relations is one of the centrally important branches of the law - the legal basis on which the very large majority of people earn their living. No-one should be qualified as a lawyer - professionally or academically - who has not mastered its principles.” (Kahn-Freund).

The course covers the law concerning individual employment law (including discrimination law), as well as trade unions, industrial action and collective bargaining. The student is not expected to acquire a detailed knowledge of the whole of this relatively large and complex field, but to pick out the central themes, and integrate them into a wider social and theoretical context.

A one-year sample of courses from our BA programmes, aimed only at students visiting from our partner universities.

Issues in labour law affect most people during their working lives. What rights does a worker have if he or she is dismissed? Is there a right to strike? What can the law do about discrimination? This is a rapidly changing field, particularly in the past decade, which has witnessed a transformation in labour law. Most major industrial disputes are now fought out in the courts rather than on the shop-floor, in stark contrast with the traditional view that strikes are best resolved by the parties themselves. Of growing importance is the impact of EU law on British labour law, particularly in the field of discrimination. Labour law will be of considerable interest to anyone who is concerned with the interaction between law, politics and society. All British governments in recent decades have regarded policies on labour law as central to their political programmes.

Labour Law is also useful in practice. Many young barristers acquire invaluable experience by appearing before employment tribunals; and most solicitors’ firms, whether in the City or elsewhere, require specialists in employment law. It remains truer than ever that “the law governing labour relations is one of the centrally important branches of the law - the legal basis on which the very large majority of people earn their living. No-one should be qualified as a lawyer - professionally or academically - who has not mastered its principles.” (Kahn-Freund).

The course covers the law concerning individual employment law (including discrimination law), as well as trade unions, industrial action and collective bargaining. The student is not expected to acquire a detailed knowledge of the whole of this relatively large and complex field, but to pick out the central themes, and integrate them into a wider social and theoretical context.

This course has the aim of providing a general understanding of international labour or employment law. For this purpose, the course compares and contrasts international labour standards with those of the EU, particularly by examining the interaction between the international labour standards which have been developed and maintained by the International Labour Organisation and those of the EU's laws and policies. Recent decades have witnessed a series of transformations of the aims of the European Union. The founding assumption in the Treaty of Rome that economic integration would naturally bring about social development has been abandoned. The Treaty of Amsterdam included a proper legal basis for EU employment law and strengthened and expanded EU equality law. The Treaty of Lisbon elevated the status of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, with its extensive social and labour rights content. Yet, the social dimension of the EU remains contested, and arguably subordinated, to policies designed to maximize the competitiveness and flexibility of the European labour market, in particular in order to create employment under the European Employment Strategy. Meanwhile, significant evolutions have also occurred in the policies and strategies of the ILO itself; and all these evolutions now have to respond to a growing sense of economic and social crisis which is both European and global. This course aims to develop a critical perspective whereby students can assess these developments against the background of international labour rights and labour standards, including those of the International Labour Organisation and the Council of Europe (both ECHR and European Social Charter and Revised European Social Charter). It will begin with an examination of the development of the roles of the ILO and the EU in employment law from a historical, theoretical and institutional perspective, and proceed to focus on particular rights and issues, most notably, the right to collective bargaining and action and strike; the right to participate in enterprise governance; the right to job security and ‘fair and just working conditions’; and the right to equality in employment across various grounds, in particular sex, race, age, disability, sexual orientation and religion. These rights will be studied in depth to illustrate the complex interplay between the EU and international norms, and between various forms and sources of protection.

This course has the aim of providing a general understanding of international labour or employment law. For this purpose, the course compares and contrasts international labour standards with those of the EU, particularly by examining the interaction between the international labour standards which have been developed and maintained by the International Labour Organisation and those of the EU's laws and policies. Recent decades have witnessed a series of transformations of the aims of the European Union. The founding assumption in the Treaty of Rome that economic integration would naturally bring about social development has been abandoned. The Treaty of Amsterdam included a proper legal basis for EU employment law and strengthened and expanded EU equality law. The Treaty of Lisbon elevated the status of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, with its extensive social and labour rights content. Yet, the social dimension of the EU remains contested, and arguably subordinated, to policies designed to maximize the competitiveness and flexibility of the European labour market, in particular in order to create employment under the European Employment Strategy. Meanwhile, significant evolutions have also occurred in the policies and strategies of the ILO itself; and all these evolutions now have to respond to a growing sense of economic and social crisis which is both European and global. This course aims to develop a critical perspective whereby students can assess these developments against the background of international labour rights and labour standards, including those of the International Labour Organisation and the Council of Europe (both ECHR and European Social Charter and Revised European Social Charter). It will begin with an examination of the development of the roles of the ILO and the EU in employment law from a historical, theoretical and institutional perspective, and proceed to focus on particular rights and issues, most notably, the right to collective bargaining and action and strike; the right to participate in enterprise governance; the right to job security and ‘fair and just working conditions’; and the right to equality in employment across various grounds, in particular sex, race, age, disability, sexual orientation and religion. These rights will be studied in depth to illustrate the complex interplay between the EU and international norms, and between various forms and sources of protection.