Labor Flexibility and Employment Law: The New Order

In the post decade there has been a retreat from full employment and a fundamental change in the labour market away from physical production work and towards the service sector. There have been changes in the structure of industry and the workforce, and changes in arrangements under which work is performed. There is emerging a secondary or marginal labour market in which both full-time and casual, temporary and part-time workers are confronted with a situation where they are required to decide whether or not to enter work arrangements geared to the flexible organisational needs of the business enterprise rather than their own needs. Tensions between employer demands for flexibility, and for a largely unregulated use of the workforce, and employee concern to ensure job security and minimal protection in employment (including health and safety) means that employment law today has to respond to organizational relationships in determining whether or not to intervene between the parties to new work arrangements. The question is whether or not the principles of traditional employment law are flexible enough to become the legal framework of a technological society.