Anne Davies

Professor of Law and Public Policy

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St. Cross Building,
St. Cross Road
Oxford OX1 3UL

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Biography

Anne Davies is Professor of Law and Public Policy and a Fellow of Brasenose College. She studied at Oxford, completing the BA (winning the Gibbs and Martin Wronker Prizes) and the D.Phil. She was a Prize Fellow at All Souls College from 1995 to 2001, and the Garrick Fellow and Tutor in Law at Brasenose College from 2001 to 2015. From 2015-2020 she was Dean of the Oxford Law Faculty. 

Professor Davies is the author of five books and numerous articles in the fields of public law and labour law. In public law, she has a particular interest in government contracts. Her D.Phil. thesis examined the phenomenon of contractualisation in the UK National Health Service from a public law perspective. She developed this research into a book entitled Accountability: A Public Law Analysis of Government by Contract which was published by Oxford University Press in 2001. Her book The Public Law of Government Contracts, a wider examination of public procurement and public/private partnership contracts from a public law perspective, was published by OUP in 2008. She continues to write about government contracts and public service delivery more generally, and chairs the Procurement of Government Outcomes network for the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford. 

In labour law, Professor Davies is the author of three texts: Perspectives on Labour Law, published by Cambridge University Press in the Law in Context series in 2004, with a second edition in 2009, EU Labour Law, published by Elgar in 2012, and Employment Law, published by Pearson in 2015. Her interests in the labour law field are wide-ranging, encompassing international, European and domestic law. Some of her current research projects focus on working time and casual work, and stress at work. 

Professor Davies gives lectures in Labour Law and Administrative Law for undergraduates and co-teaches the BCL/M.Jur. course in Human Rights at Work. She is pleased to consider applications from prospective research students in any of her areas of interest. 

Professor Davies is an independent member of the Council of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), and a member of the Advisory Panel to the Welsh Language Commissioner.   

Publications

Recent additions

  • A C L Davies, 'Stress at Work: Individuals or Structures? ' (2021) Industrial Law Journal (forthcoming)
    Stress is a significant practical problem in modern workplaces. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), more than half of all working days lost to ill health each year are attributed to stress, depression or anxiety. This article offers an overview of the occupational psychology literature on workplace stress, focusing on the job demands–resources or JD-R model, developed by Demerouti et al., and highlighting two important points: first, that stress at work is not just about excessive job ‘demands’ but also about inadequate ‘resources’ to cope with those demands; second, that stress-related ill-health is not just a matter of vulnerability on the part of the individual worker, but is also about the way in which the workplace is organised. The article then draws on these insights to offer a critique of the way in which health and safety law and tort law approach workplace stress, arguing that both bodies of law are overly focused on treating stress as a matter of individual vulnerability. It concludes by drawing out some broader implications of the occupational psychology literature for areas of employment law less obviously related to workplace stress, and for casual or platform working.
  • A C L Davies, 'The “Contracting State” and the Public/Private Divide' in J Varuhas and S Wilson Stark (eds), The Frontiers of Public Law (Hart 2020)
  • A C L Davies, 'Licensing of Employing Entities and Criminalization' in A Bogg, J Collins, M Freedland, J Herring (ed), Criminality at Work (OUP 2020)

All publications

Journal Article (28)

A C L Davies, 'Stress at Work: Individuals or Structures? ' (2021) Industrial Law Journal (forthcoming)
Stress is a significant practical problem in modern workplaces. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), more than half of all working days lost to ill health each year are attributed to stress, depression or anxiety. This article offers an overview of the occupational psychology literature on workplace stress, focusing on the job demands–resources or JD-R model, developed by Demerouti et al., and highlighting two important points: first, that stress at work is not just about excessive job ‘demands’ but also about inadequate ‘resources’ to cope with those demands; second, that stress-related ill-health is not just a matter of vulnerability on the part of the individual worker, but is also about the way in which the workplace is organised. The article then draws on these insights to offer a critique of the way in which health and safety law and tort law approach workplace stress, arguing that both bodies of law are overly focused on treating stress as a matter of individual vulnerability. It concludes by drawing out some broader implications of the occupational psychology literature for areas of employment law less obviously related to workplace stress, and for casual or platform working.
A C L Davies, 'Getting more than you bargained for? Rethinking the meaning of 'work' in employment law' (2017) 46 Industrial Law Journal 477
There are many different situations in which the law requires a determination of whether an individual can be said to be ‘working’: to determine his or her status as an ‘employee’ or ‘worker’, to decide his or her entitlement to contractual pay, to assess his or her entitlement to the National Minimum Wage and to distinguish working time from ‘rest periods’ for the purposes of working time legislation. Where the individual is engaged in core work tasks at the workplace, it is straightforward to say that he or she is ‘working’. However, it will be argued in this article that there is a significant problem of ‘availability’: where workers are not actively engaged in core work tasks at the workplace, but are not fully at liberty either. This might be because they are waiting to be offered work or ‘on call’ in case of emergencies, for example. This ‘available’ time is often not recognised by the law as ‘work’, with the result that the workers in question may miss out on pay, employment rights and proper rest breaks. The article maps the problem of ‘availability’, arguing that it strikes at the heart of how labour lawyers think about employment relationships, and suggests an alternative analysis.
ISBN: 0305-9332
A C L Davies, 'The Immigration Act 2016' (2016) 45 Industrial Law Journal 431
A C L Davies, 'This Time, it’s for Real: the Health And Social Care Act 2012' (2013) 76 Modern Law Review 564
This article examines the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and associated reforms to the National Health Service in England. It focuses on the Act’s policy of making the NHS market more ‘real’, by both encouraging and compelling NHS bodies to act as ‘market players’. The article considers whether the reforms are compatible with the constitutional requirements of accountability for the provision of a public service such as the NHS. I argue that the reforms threaten accountability for three reasons: they make the Secretary of State for Health’s relationship with the NHS more complex, they create opaque networks of non-statutory bodies which may influence NHS decision-making, and (especially in relation to competition) they ‘juridify’ policy choices as matters of law. Taken together, these arguments suggest that there is force in the claim that the reforms will contribute to ‘creeping’ – and thus unaccountable - privatisation of the NHS.
ISBN: 0026-7961
A C L Davies, 'Identifying ‘Exploitative Compromises’: The Role Of Labour Law In Resolving Disputes Between Workers' (2012) Current Legal Problems 269
In recent years, labour law has been going through a period of deep introspection. Some commentators have gone so far as to pronounce the subject dead. One reason for the crisis is the realisation that labour law has the potential to exacerbate divisions between different groups in the workforce: between the employed and the unemployed, between those with stable jobs and those with ‘atypical’ jobs, between local workers and migrant workers, and so on. The ‘interests of labour’ are not, in reality, a unified set of interests to be pitted against those of capital. Whilst other writers are beginning to explore this set of issues at the policy level, the aim of this essay is to consider how the law addresses conflicts between workers on particular occasions and in particular workplaces, and to begin the task of mapping out this relatively neglected dimension of the subject on a more practical level.
ISBN: 0070-1998
A C L Davies, 'Recent Developments in Labour Law in the United Kingdom' (2012) Europaische Zeitschrift für Arbeitsrecht
A C L Davies, 'The Implementation of the Directive on Temporary Agency Work in the UK: A Missed Opportunity' (2010) 1 European Labour Law Journal 303
An analysis of the UK's implementation of the Temporary Agency Work Directive.
ISBN: 2013-9525
A C L Davies, 'Trade Union Recognition and Collective Bargaining in English Law' (2010) Europäische Zeitschrift für Arbeitsrecht 37
Text of a lecture delivered at the Siebtes Göttinger Forum zum Arbeitsrecht, Georg-August- Universität Göttingen
A C L Davies, 'Judicial Self-Restraint in Labour Law' (2009) 38 Industrial Law Journal 278
An exploration of the concept of 'deference' in the public law literature as applied to labour law cases.
ISBN: 0305-9332
A C L Davies, 'Implementation of the Agency Work Directive in the UK' (2009) Revue de Droit du Travail 743
Discussion of the government's initial proposals for the implementation of the Temporary Agency Work Directive.
A C L Davies, 'Sensible Thinking About Sham Transactions: Protectacoat Firthglow Ltd v Szilagyi' (2009) 38 Industrial Law Journal 318
Analysis of the development of the definition of 'sham' in the Protectacoat case, comparing it to the lease/licence case-law.
A C L Davies, 'Developments in English Labour/Employment Law 2004-2007' (2008) 2 Europaische Zeitschrift fur Arbeitsrecht 267
ISBN: 18653030
A C L Davies, 'The contract for intermittent employment' (2007) 36 Industrial Law Journal 102
DOI: 10.1093/indlaw/dwl043
Elaborates on Mark Freedland's work on the contract for intermittent employment in his book, The Personal Employment Contract.
ISBN: 0305-9332
A C L Davies, 'Le droit anglais face aux contrats administratifs: en l'absence de principes generaux garantissant l'interet public, une maison sans fondation?' (2006) 22(5) Revue Francaise de Droit Administratif 1039
Discussion of some of the problems with the English law of government contracts, for a French audience.
ISBN: 0763-1219
A C L Davies, 'Regno Unito - Lavori Occasionali e Continuita dell'Impiego: Riflessioni sul Caso Cornwall CC v Prater' (2006) Diritto delle Relazioni Industriali 1264
Casenote on Cornwall CC v Prater, in Italian!
A C L Davies, 'Ultra Vires Problems in Government Contracts' (2006) 122(Jan) Law Quarterly Review 98
ISBN: 0023-933X
A C L Davies, 'Foundation Hospitals: A New Approach to Accountability and Autonomy in the Delivery of Public Services?' [2004] Public Law 808
Questions whether the government's proposals to create NHS Foundation Trusts will succeed in their aim of giving hospitals greater autonomy from Department of Health control.
ISBN: 0033-3565
A C L Davies, 'Mixed Signals: Using Educational and Punitive Approaches to Regulate the Medical Profession' [2002] 2002(Winter) Public Law 703
ISBN: 0033-3565
A C L Davies, 'The European Convention and Negligence Actions: Osman Reviewed' (2001) 117 Law Quarterly Review 521
Casenote on Osman v UK in the ECtHR
ISBN: 0421 755 407
A C L Davies and Christopher McCrudden, 'A perspective on trade and labor rights' (2000) Journal of International Economic Law 43
DOI: 10.1093/jiel/3.1.43
Discusses the tension between international trade and labour rights and considers various models for addressing this tension.
ISBN: 1369-3034
A C L Davies, 'Don\'t trust me, I\'m a doctor: medical regulation and the 1999 NHS reforms' (2000) 20 Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 437
DOI: 10.1093/ojls/20.3.437
This article examines recent developments in the regulation of the medical profession, focusing in particular on the regulation of doctors working in the NHS. It critiques the government's more interventionist approach to regulation in the light of the socio-legal literature on effective regulatory strategies.
ISBN: 0143-6503

Chapter (25)

A C L Davies, 'Licensing of Employing Entities and Criminalization' in A Bogg, J Collins, M Freedland, J Herring (ed), Criminality at Work (OUP 2020)
A C L Davies, 'The Administrative State and the Fundamentals of Public Law' in E Fisher, J King, AL Young (ed), The Foundations and Future of Public Law (OUP 2020)
A C L Davies, 'The “Contracting State” and the Public/Private Divide' in J Varuhas and S Wilson Stark (eds), The Frontiers of Public Law (Hart 2020)
A C L Davies, 'Government as a socially-responsible market actor after RegioPost' in Albert Sanchez-Graells (ed), Smart Public Procurement and Labour Standards: Pushing the Discussion after RegioPost (Hart (Bloomsbury) 2018)
In this chapter, I seek to defend the idea that governments should be permitted to engage in procurement markets in socially responsible ways. From this perspective, while the decision of the CJEU in RegioPost is to be welcomed for creating greater scope to use minimum wage conditions in government contracts, the reasoning in the case falls some way short of a proper understanding of social goals in public procurement, with the result that EU law continues to over-regulate this aspect of government activity to the detriment of national autonomy.
A C L Davies, 'Public-Private Partnerships in English Law' in Alfredo Fioritto (ed), Nuove Forme e Nuove Discipline del Partenariato Pubblico Privato (G. Giappichelli Editore - Torino 2017)
This chapter offers an overview of Public Private Partnerships in English law for readers from other jurisdictions, with a particular focus on public law dimensions.
A C L Davies, 'Job Security and Flexicurity ' in A Bogg, C Costello and ACL Davies (eds), Research Handbook on EU Labour Law (Elgar 2016)
A C L Davies and JR Williams, 'Proportionality in English Law' in Sofia Ranchordas and Boudewijn de Waard (eds), The Judge and the Proportionate Use of Discretion (Routledge 2016)
A C L Davies, 'Public Law and Privatisation ' in Mark Elliott and David Feldman (eds), The Cambridge Companion to Public Law (Cambridge University Press 2016)
A C L Davies, 'Terms inserted into the Contract of Employment by Legislation ' in M Freedland et al. (ed), The Contract of Employment (Oxford University Press 2016)
A C L Davies, 'The Relationship Between the Contract of Employment and Statute' in M Freedland et al. (ed), The Contract of Employment (Oxford University Press 2016)
A C L Davies, A Bogg and C Costello, 'The Role of the Court of Justice in Labour Law' in A Bogg, C Costello and ACL Davies (eds), Research Handbook on EU Labour Law (Elgar 2016)
A C L Davies, 'Labour Law as Public Law' in A Bogg, C Costello, ACL Davies and J Prassl (eds), The Autonomy of Labour Law (Hart 2015)
A C L Davies, 'Half a Person: a Legal Perspective on Organising and Representing ‘Non-Standard’ Workers' in A Bogg and T Novitz (eds), Voices at Work: Continuity and Change in the Common Law (OUP 2014)
A C L Davies, 'Migrant Workers in Agriculture: A Legal Perspective' in C Costello and M Freedland (eds), Migrants at Work: Immigration and Vulnerability in Labour Law (OUP 2014)
A C L Davies, 'Beyond New Public Management: Problems of Accountability in the Modern Administrative State' in N Bamforth and P Leyland (eds), Accountability in the Contemporary Constitution (OUP 2013)
A C L Davies, 'Employment Law' in E Simpson and M Stewart (eds), Sham Transactions (OUP 2013)
A C L Davies, 'Regulating Atypical Work: Beyond Equality' in N Countouris and M Freedland (eds), Resocialising Europe in a Time of Crisis (Cambridge University Press 2013)
A C L Davies, 'The 'Constitutionalisation' of Labour Law: Possibilities and Problems' in KS Ziegler and PM Huber (eds), Current Problems in the Protection of Human Rights: Perspectives from Germany and the UK (Hart 2013)
ISBN: 978-1-84946-124-5
A C L Davies, 'The Court of Justice as a Labour Court' in C Barnard and M Gehring with I Solanke (eds), Cambridge Yearbook of European Legal Studies (Hart 2012)
ISBN: 1528-8870
Sophie Boyron and A C L Davies, 'Accountability and Public Contracts' in Rozen Noguellou and Ulrich Stelkens (eds), Treatise on the Comparative Law of Public Contracts (Bruylant 2011)
A C L Davies, 'Workers’ Human Rights in English Law' in Colin Fenwick and Tonia Novitz (eds), Legal Protection of Workers' Human Rights (Hart 2011)
A C L Davies, 'English Law’s Treatment of Government Contracts: The Problem of Wider Public Interests' in J.-B. Auby and M. Freedland (eds), The Public Law/Private Law Divide: une entente assez cordiale? (Hart Publishing 2006)
Discussion of some of the ultra vires problems surrounding government contracts.
ISBN: 1-84113-635-2
A C L Davies, 'Should the EU have the power to set minimum standards for collective labour rights in the Member States?' in P. Alston (ed), Labour Rights as Human Rights (Oxford University Press 2005)
This chapter in a volume of the Collected Courses of the Academy of European Law is based on a lecture series I gave at the European University Institute in Florence. It considers the EU's current role in the regulation of collective labour rights both internally and externally, and argues that the EU should have the power to set minimum standards for collective labour rights in the Member States.
ISBN: 0-19-928106-8
A C L Davies and Christopher McCrudden, 'A Perspective on Trade and Labour Rights' in F Francioni (ed), Environment, Human Rights and International Trade (Hart Publishing 2001)
DOI: 10.1093/jiel/3.1.43
Sets out a 'map' of the issues arising in the relationship between international economic law and international labour rights.
ISBN: 1 84113 217 9
A C L Davies, 'Using contracts to enforce standards: the case of waiting times in the National Health Service' in C. McCrudden (ed), Regulation and Deregulation: Policy and Practice in the Utilities and Financial Services Industries (Oxford University Press 1999)
A discussion of the role of sanctions in regulation, drawing on my empirical research on National Health Service contracts.
ISBN: 0-19-826881-5

Case Note (5)

A C L Davies, 'The Employment Status of Clergy Revisited: Sharpe v Bishop of Worcester ' (2016) 44 Industrial Law Journal 551 [Case Note]
A C L Davies, 'The Legal Nature of the Duty to Review Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Temporary Agency Work: AKT' (2016) 53 Common Market Law Review 493 [Case Note]
A C L Davies, 'Fixed-Term Employment in the European Schools: Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families v Fletcher; Duncombe v Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families' (2012) 2 European Labour Law Journal 182 [Case Note]

Edited Book (3)

A Bogg, C Costello and A C L Davies (eds), Research Handbook on EU Labour Law (Elgar 2016)
M Freedland, A Bogg, D Cabrelli and A C L Davies and others (eds), The Contract of Employment (Oxford University Press 2016)
A Bogg, C Costello, A C L Davies and J Prassl (eds), The Autonomy of Labour Law (Hart 2015)

Book (6)

A C L Davies, Employment Law (Pearson (Longman Law Series) 2015)
A comprehensive textbook on individual and collective employment law.
ISBN: 978-1-4082-6360-0
A C L Davies, EU Labour Law (Elgar (European Law Series) 2012)
EU Labour Law is a concise, readable and thought-provoking introduction to the labour and employment law of the European Union. The book explores the subject’s major policy themes, examines the various procedures by which EU labour law is made, and analyses key topics such as worker migration, equality, working time and procedures for workers’ participation in employers’ decision-making. It sets the legal materials in their policy context and identifies the important issues which have shaped the development of EU labour law and are likely to determine its future, including the economic crisis and the debate about fundamental rights in the EU.
ISBN: 9781848449985
A C L Davies, Perspectives on Labour Law (2nd edn Cambridge University Press, Law in Context Series 2009)
An exploration of human rights and economics perspectives on labour law.
ISBN: 978-0-521-72234-6
A C L Davies, The Public Law of Government Contracts (Oxford University Press 2008)
This book analyses the law relating to government contracts from a public law perspective.
ISBN: 978-0-19-928739-0
A C L Davies, Perspectives on Labour Law (Cambridge University Press 2004)
ISBN: 0521605237
A C L Davies, Accountability: a Public Law Analysis of Government by Contract (OUP 2001)
ISBN: 019 829948 6

Research projects