Security in employment

Bennett, Michael Talbot (1990) Security in employment. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Abstract

This thesis consists of an examination into the ways security in employment can be achieved. Security in employment for the purposes of this work refers to the ability of a person to retain his job. What is a primary concern is the extent to which arbitrary dismissals can be prevented. The major part of the work involves a critical analysis of the law.

Section 1 discussed the scope of the thesis and the rationale behind it. Section 2 looks at how contracts of employment for long periods may achieve security in employment. In Section 3 wrongful dismissal and court remedies are considered in detail. Both sections 2 and 3 have a secondary function in providing a historical background to modem statutory rights.

Section 4 looks at voluntary procedures and collective bargaining as ways of achieving security. In reviewing the 1960s research into dismissals, the proposals of the Royal Commission in Trade Unions and Employers' Associations (1968) are considered. These proposals led to the introduction of unfair dismissal and thus section 4 has an additional function in describing the roots of unfair dismissal.

The law of unfair dismissal is a core element of the thesis and subject to detailed criticisms in sections 5, 6 and 7. In section 8 the extent to which redundancy payments and discrimination law assist security in employment is considered. Proposals for reform are suggested throughout the thesis, but section 9 draws some broad conclusions. It is argued that security in employment to a large degree is achievable through the law.

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