The potential and limitations of the vulnerability approach for labour law

Abstract

The vulnerability approach attempts to shift the view of the liberal subject at the heart of law to that of the vulnerable subject. A number of connections can be made between this vulnerability approach and theoretical approaches to labour law. Indeed, the social justice approach of the classical labour law scholars, Hugo Sinzheimer and Otto Kahn-Freund, displays a number of similarities with the vulnerability approach. The chapter outlines the potential of vulnerability theory to challenge some of the assumptions inherent in this liberal approach and the possible outcomes for the development of labour law. It looks at the classical labour law approach to social justice and the vulnerability approach Despite the tradition of social justice in labour law, liberal models of justice continue to dominate labour law development. Moreover, theoretical innovation in the labour law field has, to a large extent, focused on the application of liberal legal theorisations to the labour relationship.