Labour Law Regulations Research Articles

Digital agoras: democratic legitimacy, online participation and the case of Uber-petitions

ABSTRACTThis article discusses the impact of social media and new technologies of participation on citizen participation in law-making. This article focuses on electronic petitioning and examines how Uber, a controversial ride-sharing digital platform, has maximized the impact of petitions for lobbying purposes. Despite the claims that Uber is bypassing multiple regulations including taxi and labour law regulations, the petitions initiated by this platform have mobilised thousands of citizens. Considering the self-selection bias that characterises these petitions, it remains unclear how these and other online petitions should be evaluated from the point of view of their democratic legitimacy. Drawing on the analysis of a number of recent Uber petitions initiated in the United States and the review of the legal and social science literature, I argue that the use of technology has shaped not only the quantity but also the quality of civic engagement: online mobilisation occurs at a faster pace, involves citizens that would otherwise not be inclined to participate, and addresses atypical topics. In addition, the digitalisation of civic engagement has promoted political and legal discussions in apolitical platforms and facilitated the access to more information at lower costs. I suggest that technology has nonetheless not solved the democratic deficits of online petitioning, partially due to its limited influence and the leadership of participatory initiatives.

Migrant Domestic Workers and Human Trafficking in Greece: Expanding the Narrative

Despite existing evidence of widespread exploitation of migrant domestic workers, hardly any case of human trafficking in domestic work has ever been documented in Greece. The vague labor-law regulations on domestic work and the dysfunctional migration regime have effectively left unchecked the power asymmetry between domestic workers and their employers to the detriment of the rights of the former. At the same time, the relationships between employers and migrant domestic workers are embedded within a wider social context of prejudice that has sustained tolerance and apathy toward migrant labor exploitation in the domestic services sector.

KLASYFIKACJA ŚRODKÓW PRAWNYCH PRZECIWDZIAŁANIA BEZROBOCIU – WYBRANE ZAGADNIENIA

CLASSIFICATION OF LEGAL MEASURES TO COUNTERACT UNEMPLOYMENT: SELECTED ASPECTSSummary In order to effectively counteract unemployment the state needs to adopt and pursue an appropriate policy. The law is obviously one of the instruments which the state can use to curb unemployment. In particular, labour law regulations serve as an institutional and legal framework used by the state to achieve its goals within the area of fighting unemployment. The present article focuses on the classification of legal measures of counteracting unemployment as defined by the Polish Act of 20th April 2004 on the Promotion of Employment and Labour Market Institutions. The author defines two areas of fighting unemployment. The first area comprises measures taken by the state to assist the unemployed in finding new jobs and help them to adapt to the requirements of the labour market. The second area includes the state’s actions to create new jobs and the occupational activation of the unemployed. The author emphasises the fact that certain measures for counteracting unemployment are addressed specifically to groups whose social and demographic status puts them at greater risk of unemployment.

Brief Overview of the Challenges Posed to Labour Law by the Regulation of Crowdsourcing Platforms

Crowdsourcing, the practice of obtaining information or input into a task or project through the services of a large number of people, either in a paid or unpaid manner, can give way to a form of crowd labour. Authorities have yet to attempt applying existing employment and labour laws to crowd labour. To this extent, crowd labour is mostly regulated by the participation agreements provided by the crowdwork platforms and entered into by its participants. Labour law regulation could constitute an important way of influencing the development of these platforms, by establishing the minimum rules to be observed, as crowdsourcing platforms already collect all the relevant data necessary to ascertain if and when employment relationships are formed or terminated. In fact, there is no reason why this easy access to such an agreeable end, the empowerment of providers and cost reduction for the requester, must also equate to a race to the bottom in compensation, with providers forced to lower their compensation to extremes in order to accompany the shifting tides of offer and demand.

Funkcje regulacji czasu pracy wobec idei równości i sprawiedliwości

<p class="Standard">Kwestie realizacji zasad równości i sprawiedliwości, zarówno w regulacji czasu pracy, jak i w innych działach prawa pracy, wymagają wnikliwej analizy. Problem narastania społecznych nierówności jest obecnie jedną z głównych kwestii dyskutowanych w krajach wysoko rozwiniętych. Wskazuje się, że zjawisko to nie tylko zaprzecza ideom równości i sprawiedliwości, ale także staje się przeszkodą dla dalszego rozwoju gospodarczego. Sprawa ta jest ściśle związana z prawem pracy, gdyż narastanie nierówności następuje również w ramach realizowanych współcześnie różnych formach zatrudnienia. Artykuł podejmuje analizę kwestii równości i sprawiedliwości w regulacji czasu pracy w kilku aspektach. Pierwszy dotyczy określenia równowagi między interesami gospodarczymi i społecznymi w regulacji czasu pracy, co ma związek z koncepcją funkcji prawa pracy, obejmujących interesy wszystkich podmiotów aktywnych na rynku pracy. W tekście wskazuje się, że w ewolucji polskiego prawa pracy od dwóch dekad widać jednostronne ukierunkowanie zmian na realizację interesów gospodarczych, co prowadzi do stopniowego pogarszania warunków wykonywania pracy. W opracowaniu zostały poruszone kwestie podmiotowego i przedmiotowego zakresu regulacji czasu pracy, w których widać istotne problemy związane z równością i sprawiedliwością. Dotyczą one przede wszystkim objęcia regulacją czasu pracy wyłącznie osób wykonujących pracę podporządkowaną, co współcześnie nie znajduje uzasadnienia aksjologicznego ani gospodarczego. Ustawodawca nie wykazywał konsekwencji, ustanawiając regulacje czasu pracy w wielu partykularnych przypadkach. Czas pracy w wielu zawodach odbiega od modelu kodeksowego w różnych kierunkach, często bez wyraźnego uzasadnienia tego stanu rzeczy. Te regulacje zostały poddane krytyce jako odstępstwa od idei równości i sprawiedliwości. Ostatnim z podjętych zagadnień jest przyszła rola regulacji czasu pracy jako instrumentu sprawiedliwego podziału wolumenu pracy w sytuacji kurczenia się zapotrzebowania na pracę ludzką.</p>

On the significance of the employee status and of the personal scope of labour law regulation

holistic approach of employee status and its social part mean. There have been discussions in the European Union to which circle of working people shall the protection system of labour law apply, and how the security of employees can be guaranteed under the pressure of flexibility. The debates have been inspired by a changed economic and social environment in the XXth centrury. The essay presents the influence of the changing economic and social environment in the concept of employee status, and more closer in the Hungarian labour law regulation. The decision who is acknowledged to be an employee is made by the legislator. By making this decision the labour law regulation shows a tendency of withdrawal and moving forward in the last decades. The change of employment contract develops at the same time with the expansion of personal scope in Europe and shows a great variety. The legislation, judicial practice, legal practice and the collective bargaining influence the expansion of protection under labour law.

The System of Occupational Risks Assessment and Management: Problems of Legal Regulation

Review. The problem of finding ways of conceptual changes in understanding occupational safety as the system of preserving life and health of workers in recent years can be traced both in studies by Russian jurists, and statutory documents of program policy and legal nature. The main task of a new occupational health and safety management system has become a transition to professional risk assessment and management. The quality solution of this task can be achieved by transforming the National institute of occupational risk management in line with internationally recognized trends. This article contains a comparative analysis of models of legal regulation of systems of occupational risk assessment and management, used in the coordinate system of the international and European labour law regulation and in Russian labour law. The author formulates a conclusion on significant distinctions between the specified models which arose due to the differences in interpretations of "professional risk" concept in European and Russian legal traditions. The paper considers the perspectives of development of the National Institute of occupational safety in the management of occupational risks, with emphasis on the need for updating and maintaining the established legal framework, "hosting" occupational risks management system, in part of the implementation of procedures of identifying and assessing occupational risks (in particular, the risks of psycho-physiological nature) and the risks associated with the implementation of labour (professional) obligations, conditions of exercising internal control (self-control) of adherence to labour laws and other regulatory legal acts containing rules of labour law. Enshrinement in labour legislation of a new concept of labour protection, based on the idea of management of risks damage to the health of workers, will entail adjustments to a number of existing legal norms, fundamentally contradicting it. With the introduction of a special procedure for assessing working conditions the legal rules on the reduction of working time and the procedure for granting additional leave for those working in hazardous or dangerous conditions have changed: "time" protection of persons working in such conditions may be replaced by monetary compensation, that is not a satisfactory way of preventing the onset of occupational risk. In conclusion, the author emphasizes the importance of achieving the conceptual integrity of the legislation in the spirit of the predominance of preventive measures in the legal regulation of labour protection.

Labour market flexibility v. job security – a comparative analysis of Swiss and Po- lish labour law regulations on fixed-term employment contracts

In the time of a knowledge-based economy, flexibility has become increasingly important for both employers and employees. The process of making the labour market flexible leads to the greater popularity of atypical forms of employment, with fixed-term employment contracts among them, which are considered to be less consistent with the protective function of labour law in comparison with indefinite-term employment contracts. The right balance between labour market flexibility and job security has become a real concern. Taking into account the legal regulations on fixed-term employment contracts which are now in force in Poland and Switzerland, this paper determines how that relationship has been shaped in those countries with reference to fixed-term employment contracts.

Az egészségügyi dolgozók munkajogi felelőssége az egészségügyi szolgáltatás nyújtásával összefüggésben a betegnek okozott kárért

The doctor-patient relationship requires set rules for liability considering the nature of professional norms on medicine and the protection of human life and health. According to these rules, the healthcare provideris vicariously liable for damages suffered as a consequence of healthcare servicesprovided to the patient. In such cases– on the grounds of labor law rules – the healthcare providermay transfer liability to its employee. Considering recent amendments of labor law regulations, it is essential to summarize and analyze relevant labor law norms relatedto medical liability.
 The employee’s liability for damages is based on the employment relationship between the healthcare provider and the employee. Despite of the healthcare provider’s liability for damages, the employee’s liability is always personal.
 According to the new labor code the employee’s liability for damages is only ascertainable if the tortfeasor did not act like a reasonable person would have actedunder given circumstances. This means that the tortfeasor’sintention or negligence is irrelevant in the course of ascertaining liability. The purpose of our study is to provide a review of the strict measure of due care in health care services, and to summarize rules about the healthcare professional’s liability for damages.

The Regulation of the Working Conditions as a Limit of Flexible Working – The Effects of the Green Paper through the Example of Hungary

Abstract On November 22, 2006, the European Commission presented its Green Paper: Modernising labour law to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The Paper gives a different vision of the future of European labour law, one which helps increasing flexibility combined with employment security and reduces labour market segmentation. As an effect of this, a number of member states reconsidered their regulation and started legislation to reach a better level of flexibility. In Hungary the new Labour Code came into force in 2012, modified the rules of the employer's liability for damages, namely the causes for justification and created different grounds for the rules of liability for damages in labour law. The Act also gave rise to a number of “new” legal institutions, mostly in the field of atypical types of employment that result in a considerably more flexible employment, thus providing employers with what is necessary for flexible employment. In the paper it is observed how the EU directives in the field of working conditions narrow the flexible employment through the example of Hungary. As a conclusion it can be stated, that the EU must broaden its legislative activities in order to protect the employees. In addition, extending unified labour law regulations to most legal institutes possible can be justified, as it creates a unified framework for employers and contributes to the promotion of equality within the European Union.

Változások a munkajogi kártérítési felelősségben


 
 
 
 2012-ben hatályba lépett az új Munka Törvénykönyve (2012. évi I. törvény, a továbbiakban Mt.). A korábbiakhoz képest megváltozott a munkaviszonnyal összefüggő kártérítési felelősségre vonatkozó szabályok jelentős része, mégpedig oly módon, hogy e változások alapvetően érintenek jogdogmatikai, a munkavállalók érdekeivel összefüggő szociális, és a joggyakorlat igényeinek történő megfelelési szempontokat.
 
 
 

Wybrane problemy przepisów o czasie pracy pracowników naukowo-dydaktycznych

The regulations concerning the time of work serve the realization of the constitutional laws of the employees for rest. The key position among the regulations concerning the time of work is taken by the regulations of the sixth chapter of the labour law, still they are not the only ones in this aspect. One of the employees groups whose time of work is regulated in a special way of academic teachers. The article concerns some of the aspects concerning the legal regulations of the time of work of the scientific and teaching academic staff. The way of regulating the work time of the given group of workers in the act of the Law of higher education causes some doubts concerning their system of work. The aspects concerning allowing the application of certain regulations of time work in the labour law, as well as the time of accounting and the schedule of work are rather vague. The author proposes a thesis that the academic teachers and scientists are liable to a specific system of work time, similar to task based one. He also proves that in the lack of different labour law regulations, the accounting time of the teachers’ work time is four months, and the work schedule should cover only the duties of conducting the didactic classes and performing organizational tasks. He postulates the need of introducing the amendment in the Law of higher education in order to create the legal state leading to achieving the regulation clarity in the field of question.

Designing Collective Bargaining Frameworks for Self-Employed Workers: Lessons from Australia and Canada

The capacity for workers to combine in order to further their economic and social interests is a fundamental right enshrined in the Conventions of the International Labour Organization. Despite this, access to lawful collective bargaining may be limited in national jurisdictions to a more restricted class of workers, namely 'employees'. In common law countries, self-employed workers (or independent contractors) are almost always excluded. The distinctions drawn in national collective bargaining schemes between who is covered and who is not are a product of twentieth-century forms of work organization which facilitated a clear delineation between 'employees' labouring for the benefit of their employer, and self-employed 'entrepreneurs' in business for themselves. However, the economic structures and forms of work organization underpinning that distinction have broken down. Workers in need of the protection and benefits collective bargaining offers may be excluded because their contractual arrangements do not fit the twentieth-century model of employment on which access to collective bargaining is commonly based. Exploring how the boundaries of labour law regulation should be redrawn for the new globalized, outsourced and restructured world of work is a major challenge confronting the labour law discipline. This article considers how we might redefine those boundaries in the context of collective bargaining to accommodate the needs of self-employed workers. Starting from the assumption that such workers should be provided with access to lawful collective bargaining, the article discusses the issues that arise in designing such a framework. The discussion will draw upon various schemes in Australia and Canada that have been designed for particular classes of precarious self-employed workers, considering the lessons that can be learned from those experiences.

Labour Disputes: Issues Relating to Substantive Law and Procedure in the Legal Process

This study addresses issues relating to procedural and labour law regulations governing legal proceedings in labour disputes, such as re-instatement cases, in the courts of general jurisdiction. Emphasis is placed on issues relating to the time limits set for filing employment lawsuits and the manner whereby these time limits shall be counted. The study provides grounds for a proposed change in the rules of territorial jurisdiction over labour disputes and identifies issues relating to evidence relevance and evidence admissibility in re-instatement law cases. The study highlights challenges associated with the presentation of evidence by employees. Special attention is given to imperfections in the statutory dismissal procedure. The study offers a dismissal procedure for each ground for employee dismissal set forth in Article 81 of the Russian Federation Labour Code and proposes ways to streamline the labour and civil procedural laws in the context of the issues addressed.

Revisiting Agency Work in Namibia and South Africa: Any Lessons from the Decent Work Agenda and the Flexicurity Approach?

Namibia has recently introduced policies regarding the regulation of agency work, and South Africa is in the process of doing the same. The promotion of the decent work agenda by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the implementation of flexicurity policies by the European Union (EU) have been followed by the adoption of instruments giving recognition to agency work. This contribution revisits the approach to the regulation of agency work in Namibia and South Africa. It considers the question of whether these two cases can cast light on the changing role of labour law regulation as developments unfold on the international front.

Updating of the labor standards: New employment or new release

New employment is the task of every serious state. The development of the society is conditioned by the Institute of employment which, through the labor law environment, achieves impacts on all areas of functioning of the state as a whole. The amendments to the Labor Relations Act, as an initial effort of creating a climate for attracting investors and making a stable and efficient work force, created the illusion of devaluation of work as well as the position of employees. However, the new normative determinations are simply an attempt the labor law institutes to be harmonized with the same ones in the European environment. At the same time they should eliminate the fear of insecurity caused by the remains of the socialist working environment. Although it has been a long period of time since a failed socialism and painful transition, the roots of mistrust have created a big dilemma. By the harmonization of labor law regulations, the long-term conditions are created in order to increase the number of employees for new jobs and better working conditions. New single release may be the new paradigm of employment. It is the price of the development of economic relations and the correlation to the new technology, development and long-term requirements of the market demands and adaptable workforce. We are confident that the Serbian legislature is trying to achieve, through changes to the provisions of the Parent Employment Law and in accordance with the general guidelines of the Council of Ministers of the European Union, legally binding harmonization of the labor legal system and thereby finally open the labor market as a condition for foreign investments in our economy.

The State, Unions, and Work Reorganization

The state and the unions are the main institutions of corporate governance in Brazil’s emerging economy. The human-resource management policies of firms rely on changes in labor law and labor market regulations rather than on managerial models. The legal measures taken by the past two administrations, including profit-related pay and the hour bank, all aim at flexibility and labor market deregulation. The current reforms of Brazilian labor law apparently fit, in a contradictory way, long-standing banners of the “new unionism” such as decentralized negotiations and anticorporatist procedures. Neoliberal policies have disrupted old labor allegiances, leaving the unions more vulnerable than ever. El estado y los sindicatos son las principales instituciones de gobierno corporativista en la emergente economía brasileña. Las políticas de administración de recursos humanos de las empresas depende más de cambios en la ley laboral y de la regulación del mercado de trabajo que de modelos de gestión empresarial. Las medidas legales tomadas por las dos últimas administraciones, incluyendo las políticas de salarios atados a las ganancias y el banco de horas, todos apuntan a la flexibilidad y desregulación del mercado de trabajo. Aparentemente las actuales reformas de la ley laboral brasileña caben, en forma contradictoria, en lemas establecidos del “nuevo sindicalismo” como son negociaciones descentralizadas y procedimientos anti-corporativos. Las antiguas lealtades laborales, ahora quebrantadas por la política neoliberal, deja a los sindicatos más vulnerables que nunca.

Collective labour law codification, Polish experience

Num. 17, julio-diciembre de 2013, pp. 315-325 * Ponencia presentada al II Congreso de la Sociedad Mexicana de Derecho del Trabajo y de la Seguridad Social y II Jornadas de la Academia Iberoamericana de Derecho del Trabajo y de la Seguridad Social, celebrado en la Escuela Libre de Derecho de Puebla los dias 8, 9 y 10 de marzo de 2012. ** Profesor en la Universidad de Lodz y presidente de la ISLSSL, Polonia. COLLECTIVE LABOUR LAW CODIFICATION, POLISH EXPERIENCE*

The Road to Flexibility? Lessons from the New Hungarian Labour Code

As a result of a general revision, a new Labour Code entered into force on 1 July 2012 in Hungary. One of the determining objectives of the recent labour law reform was ‘flexibilisation’, and ensuring that regulation by labour law should be kept to a minimum. The new rules increased the contractual freedom of parties, and particularly the role of collective agreements in the regulation of employment relationships. While maintaining the basic structure of Hungarian labour law, the new Labour Code introduced conceptual changes in several key areas, such as the termination of employment relationships, liability for damages and collective rights. These changes were justified by the government on the grounds that the current labour law regulation was too rigid and that did not reflect the private law foundations of this field of law sufficiently. The article puts this statement under critical review and gives an overview of the most important elements of the labour law reform. In particular, after a short introduction we will examine what changes the new Labour Code introduced in the hierarchy of legal sources, and what attempts were made to extend the scope of the Labour Code to other forms of employment. Further, we will analyse to what extent the changes introduced by the new Labour Code modified the balance between the interests of employees and employers. Finally, we will also give an overview of the relationship between the new Labour Code and EU labour law.

Regulators of employees behaviour in Russia

This paper analyzes the labor law regulations. In terms of quality they have occurred to be at a low level, and therefore cannot provide the normal process of labor relations, labor rights and guarantees of workers. The paper also gives a critical analysis of a labor contract construction, which contains a lot of fiction, so its content becomes undefined and vague. For the same reason, the execution of such contract becomes difficult also for the workers. And then the chief regulator of the employees’ behaviour becomes the order of the employer. Poor quality of law norms and the presence of fiction in the agreement lead to different traumatic effects in the behavior of workers: the risk of loss of labor efficiency, the risk of being left without protection of labor rights. State guarantees of workers' rights in practice means are weak, as they are not strengthened with enough legal provisions at the law level and the legal responsibility of employers for various violations.