Allocating and preserving employer responsibilities

: challenges arising in the domestication of transfer of undertakings protections and the development of a joint employer model for worker protection

Abstract

The published work forming this submission for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by published work consists of the critical review and analysis of two linked, adjacent, and complementary modes of delivery of employment protection – the transfer of undertakings legislation, TUPE, and the joint employment model. TUPE is addressed in a detailed monograph, full journal article, and a number of case notes, whilst the joint employment model is addressed in a full journal article. These substantive strands of labour market regulation address the social problems presented by the fissuring of the workplace in the modern labour market and the vulnerability of workers consequent upon outsourcing and other forms of modern commercial contracting. They both seek to allocate and preserve employer responsibilities appropriately and effectively in the face of these modern labour market challenges. Within its comprehensive assessment of TUPE, the published work reviews various crucial issues of such as transfer related contract changes, the personal scope of the legislation, and the proper approach to its interpretation. In relation to the joint employment model, the published work adopts a novel comparative assessment by reference to the approaches adopted to the issue in the USA by the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act. In so doing, it sought thereby to develop the debate concerning, and deepen the analysis of, the potential utility and design of a joint employment model for the allocation of employment protection responsibilities under domestic employment law. In its detailed doctrinal and policy analysis, the published work forming this submission addresses crucial aspects of the protective function of labour law, particularly in the context of the fissured workplace, and thereby makes a significant contribution to the debate about and proposals for reform of the substantive content of the law of the labour market.

Date of Award	6 Dec 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bristol
Supervisor	Alan L Bogg (Supervisor)