Course Resources Archive

The purpose of this module is to provide learners with the knowledge, understanding and skills required to brief organisations on the consequences of current and future developments in employment law, and to give up-to-date, timely and accurate advice concerning the practical application of legal principles at work in different jurisdictions.  The module will provide learners with the key principles that underpin UKand EU employment law, their purpose, the major defences that employers are able to deploy when defending cases, and the potential organisational costs and reputational risks associated with losing them.  Moreover, the focus is on situations that occur relatively regularly in workplaces rather than on more uncommon or obscure legal scenarios and on advanced knowledge of legislation or case law. Employment law continues to expand both in terms of volume and complexity and the amount of regulation covering the employment relationship and the workplace has grown substantially in recent years, including additional duties placed on public bodies to actively promote equality.  While organisations can source specialist advice on more complex and unprecedented issues from legal advisers, senior human resource (HR) professionals need to be sufficiently aware of major, current and coming developments in the regulatory environment to ensure organisations are fully prepared and also able to anticipate legal problems associated with proposed decisions or plans before they are implemented.  In the context of increasing numbers of claims to employment tribunals, they take a leading role in handling issues and disputes at work and in leading an organisation's response when a formal legal claim is contemplated or pursued, including preparing and presenting responses to employment tribunal claims and they need to fulfill each of these requirements to a professional standard. The module promotes critical reflection on theory and practice from an ethical and professional standpoint, and provides opportunities for applied learning and continuous professional development. 

On completion of this module learners will be able to:

1. Explain the core principles that underpin employment law as it applies in the UK, including common law, their purpose, origin and practical implications.
2. Advise colleagues about significant legal implications of decisions, plans or proposals in the employment field.
3. Advise about the appropriate action that should be taken in workplace scenarios where employment regulation applies.
4. Play a leading role in determining the appropriate organisational response when legal action on the part of a worker or employee is anticipated, threatened or taken.
5. Participate in the preparation, presentation and settling of employment tribunal cases.
6. Know how to keep their knowledge of developments in employment law up to date and advise about the impact of these developments on employment policy and practice in their organisations.

Staff/student contact – 45 hours
Workshops, tutorials, individual support
Student directed learning – 105 hours as directed by tutors/module guide

Work Based Learning delivery students will devise an agreed work plan with their Advisor to meet their individual learning needs to achieve the module learning outcomes

The Library Catalogue contains full details of the current reading list for this module. Further details may also be found in the Module Guide.