Philosophical Foundations of Labour Law

This collection of essays presents an interdisciplinary investigation by lawyers and philosophers into the philosophical ideas, concepts, and principles that provide the foundation for the field of labour law and employment law. The book addresses the doubts that have been expressed about whether a body of labour law that protects workers is needed at all, what should be regarded as the proper scope of the field in the light of developments such as the integration of work and home life by means of technology, the globalization of the economy, and the precarious kinds of work that thrive in the gig economy. Paying particular attention to political philosophy and theories of justice, the contributions focus on four themes: I. freedom, dignity, and human rights; II. distributive justice and exploitation; III. workplace democracy and self-determination; and IV. social inclusion.

1 - Introduction: Does Labour Law Need Philosophical Foundations?
2 - The Contractualisation of Labour Law
3 - Is the Contract of Employment Illiberal?
4 - Dignity at Work
5 - Civic Republican Political Theory and Labour Law
6 - Human Freedom: A Way out of Labour Law's Fly Bottle
7 - Human Rights as Foundations for Labour Law
8 - Distributive Justice and Labour Law
9 - Discrimination and Labour Law: Locating the Market in Maldistribution and Subordination
10 - Structures of Exploitation
11 - Legal Construction of Structures of Exploitation
12 - A Risk Theory of Exploitation
13 - The Right to Strike and Contestatory Citizenship
14 - Trade Unions and Political Equality
15 - Gender and the Labour of Law
16 - Social Inclusion for Labour Law: Meeting Particular Scales of Justice
17 - Volunteer Work, Inclusivity, and Social Equality
18 - Reinforcing the Philosophical Foundations of Social Inclusion: The Isolated Worker in the Isolated State

Hugh Collins FBA is the Vinerian Professor of English Law at All Souls College, Oxford. Previously he was Professor of English Law at the London School of Economics and a Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford. Gillian Lester is the Dean and the Lucy G. Moses Professor of Law at Columbia Law School. Previously she held faculty appointments at the University of California Berkeley School Of Law (2006-2014) and at UCLA School of Law (1994-2005). Virginia Mantouvalou is Reader in Human Rights and Labour Law and Co-Director of the UCL Institute for Human Rights. She is also Director of Graduate Research Studies at UCL.