Edward Elgar Publishing Labour Law, Vulnerability and the Regulation of Precarious Work

The shifting nature of employment practice towards the use of more precarious work forms has caused a crisis in classical labour law and engendered a new wave of regulation. This timely book deftly uses this crisis as an opportunity to explore the notion of precariousness or vulnerability in employment relationships.Arguing that the idea of vulnerability has been under-theorized in the labour law literature, Lisa Rodgers illustrates how this extends to the design of regulation for precarious work. The book's logical structure situates vulnerability in its developmental context before moving on to examine the goals of the regulation of labour law for vulnerability, its current status in the law and case studies of vulnerability such as temporary agency work and domestic work. These threads are astutely drawn together to show the need for a shift in focus towards workers as 'vulnerable subjects' in all their complexity in order to better inform labour law policy and practice more generally.Constructively critical, Labour Law, Vulnerability and the Regulation of Precarious Work will prove invaluable to students and scholars of labour and employment law at local, EU and international levels. With its challenge to orthodox thinking and proposals for the improvement of the regulation of labour law, labour law institutions will also find this book of great interest and value. Review 'The concept of vulnerability is crucial for understanding the characteristics of employment relationships and the purpose of labour law, but has not been deeply examined by labour lawyers so far. In this original and valuable contribution, Lisa Rodgers develops a theoretical account of vulnerability that advances our understanding of the field, exposing some shortcomings of existing theories and laws along the way. The book offers important insights that should inform future discussions of labour law and policy.' --- Guy Davidov, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel'While vulnerability is a concept often mentioned in labour law and employment policy discourse, its precise meaning can remain elusive. This book provides rigorous theoretical analysis and contains fresh insights to aid our understanding of vulnerability. It is a stimulating contribution to the debate on how legal regulation responds to the changing characteristics of today s labour market.' --- Mark Bell, The University of Dublin, Ireland About the Author Lisa Rodgers, Law School, University of Leicester, UK