Labor law
We explain what labor law is and what its origins are. Characteristics of labor law. Elements of the work contract.
What is labor law?
Labor law is the set of legal norms that are established in the relationship between workers and employers . It is a series of precepts of public and legal order, which is based on the premise of assuring those who work full development as a person, and a real integration to society, ensuring compliance with the obligations of both parts
The history of labor law is not as old as that of labor, which has existed since man has had to strive to meet his basic needs. For many years, there were several cultures that accepted the implementation of slavery as a means of domination, with the total delivery of the labor force and also their freedom.
New to the fall of the Roman Empire, in the Middle Ages, work began to be thought of as a social activity and began to take dimension of its importance. With the hegemony of the feudal mode of production, artisanal activity appeared, and with it the first guilds, which functioned as a guarantee of monopolies.
Perhaps the Industrial Revolution was the starting point for the awareness that wealth would not be obtained only from the land, and therefore, work should be properly remunerated.
The French Revolution and the subsequent economic liberalism contemplated that, and postulated that the worker should be paid what is necessary so that he can live and reproduce, but without ceasing to be the market (in this case, supply and demand for work) the natural resource allocator .
The alternative that emerged was Marxism, which, while demanding an abolition of the capitalist mode, demanded labor rights for workers. Although this has never been achieved globally, trade unions are recognized today in almost all countries, and governments and employers accept (to a greater or lesser extent) collective bargaining of terms of work.
See also: Tenant.
Characteristics of labor law
- Dynamic. Labor law, in the first place, as can be seen from the foregoing, is a dynamic right, in constant evolution according to the socioeconomic processes that each country is experiencing.
- Social. It is a social right, because its foundations aim to represent the general interest, but it is also a professional right, because it deals with people who exercise a profession or job.
- Expansive. Also, it is said that it is an expansive right, which was born with very low powers, which were updated and continue to do so. One of the major limitations of labor law is that it only reaches formal employment (called ' blank' ), while unregistered employment may not conform to these legal conditions. It is the duty of the State to apply sanctions against unregistered work, but it should also encourage work registered through incentives, so that both parties should proceed by legal means.
Work contract
The employment contract is the quintessential labor law document, which usually includes a number of elements:
- Compensation This is the payment that the worker receives periodically. There are many countries in which the minimum wage exists, which makes this negotiation not subject only to market laws. The bonus is an extraordinary payment that in some cases is mandatory.
- Workday. The workday, the number of hours to be worked . For the first idea of people as social beings, the employer should not direct his search to the worker who is more willing to work. That is why a maximum day is established, generally eight hours a day, which represents a third of the day.
- Holidays. The paid holidays, an amount of days per year that correspond to the worker for not going to work, while still receiving his pay.
- Working conditions. The working conditions, probably the most controversial and the least recognized, since the parameters are not so tangible. The employer is supposed to work for a healthy work environment, where workers are not exposed to physical and mental health problems. This includes providing the worker with work tools that help him in his task, also eliminating and controlling the risk factors derived from the activity to which he is affected.
