Employment contract

An employment contract or contract of employment is a kind of contract used in labour law to attribute rights and responsibilities between parties to a bargain. The contract is between an "employee" and an "employer". It has arisen out of the old master-servant law, used before the 20th century.

Terminology[]

A contract of employment is usually defined to mean the same as a "contract of service".^[1] A contract of service has historically been distinguished from a contract for the supply of services, the expression altered to imply the dividing line between a person who is "employed" and someone who is "self-employed". The purpose of the dividing line is to attribute rights to some kinds of people who work for others. This could be the right to a minimum wage, holiday pay, sick leave, fair dismissal,^[2] a written statement of the contract, the right to organise in a union, and so on. The assumption is that genuinely self-employed people should be able to look after their own affairs, and therefore work they do for others should not carry with it an obligation to look after these rights.

Following the unification of the city-states in Assyria and Sumer by Sargon of Akkad into a single empire ruled from his home city circa 2334 BC, common Mesopotamian standards for length, area, volume, weight, and time used by artisan guilds in each city was promulgated by Naram-Sin of Akkad (c. 2254–2218 BC), Sargon's grandson, including those of shekels.^[3] Codex Hammurabi Law 234 (c. 1755–1750 BC) stipulated a 2-shekel prevailing wage for each 60-gur (300-bushel) vessel constructed in an employment contract between a shipbuilder and a ship-owner.^[4]^[5]^[6] Law 275 stipulated a ferry rate of 3-gerah per day on a charterparty between a ship charterer and a ship-owner. Law 276 stipulated a 21⁄2-gerah per day freight rate on a charterparty, while Law 277 stipulated a 1⁄6-shekel per day freight rate for a 60-gur vessel.^[7]^[8]^[6]

In Roman law the equivalent dichotomy was that between locatio conductio operarum (employment contract) and locatio conductio operis (contract for services).^[9]^[10]

The terminology is complicated by the use of many other sorts of contracts involving one person doing work for another. Instead of being considered an "employee", the individual could be considered a "worker" (which could mean less employment legislation protection) or as having an "employment relationship" (which could mean protection somewhere in between) or a "professional" or a "dependent entrepreneur", and so on. Different countries will take more or less sophisticated, or complicated approaches to the question.

Structure[]

An employment contract should clearly define all terms and conditions of the employment relationship. The most common elements to any employment contract include the following:^{[citation needed]}

Terms of employment
Employee responsibilities
Employee compensation (i.e. wage/salary, benefits)
Employment absence
Dispute resolution
Nondisclosure agreements
Ownership agreements
Assignment clauses
Employment opportunity limitations
Grounds for termination

Criticism[]

Main articles: Labour economics and Contemporary slavery

Anarcho-syndicalists and other socialists who criticise wage slavery, e.g. David Ellerman and Carole Pateman, posit that the employment contract is a legal fiction in that it recognises human beings juridically as mere tools or inputs by abdicating responsibility and self-determination, which the critics argue are inalienable. As Ellerman points out, "[t]he employee is legally transformed from being a co-responsible partner to being only an input supplier sharing no legal responsibility for either the input liabilities [costs] or the produced outputs [revenue, profits] of the employer's business."^[11] Such contracts are inherently invalid "since the person remain[s] a de facto fully capacitated adult person with only the contractual role of a non-person" as it is impossible to physically transfer self-determination.^[12] As Pateman argues:

The contractarian argument is unassailable all the time it is accepted that abilities can 'acquire' an external relation to an individual, and can be treated as if they were property. To treat abilities in this manner is also implicitly to accept that the 'exchange' between employer and worker is like any other exchange of material property . . . The answer to the question of how property in the person can be contracted out is that no such procedure is possible. Labour power, capacities or services, cannot be separated from the person of the worker like pieces of property.^[13]

According to some law scholars, generally, the contract of employment denotes a relationship of economic dependence and social subordination. In the words of the controversial labour lawyer Sir Otto Kahn-Freund,

"the relation between an employer and an isolated employee or worker is typically a relation between a bearer of power and one who is not a bearer of power. In its inception it is an act of submission, in its operation it is a condition of subordination, however much the submission and the subordination may be concealed by the indispensable figment of the legal mind known as the 'contract of employment'. The main object of labour law has been, and... will always be a countervailing force to counteract the inequality of bargaining power which is inherent and must be inherent in the employment relationship."^[14]

Notes[]

^ in the UK, s.230 Employment Rights Act 1996
^ Employment Contract FAQs
^ Powell, Marvin A. (1995). "Metrology and Mathematics in Ancient Mesopotamia". In Sasson, Jack M. (ed.). Civilizations of the Ancient Near East. III. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 1955. ISBN 0-684-19279-9.
^ Hammurabi (1903). Translated by Sommer, Otto. "Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon". Records of the Past. Washington, DC: Records of the Past Exploration Society. 2 (3): 85. Retrieved June 20, 2021. 234. If a shipbuilder builds ... as a present [compensation].
^ Hammurabi (1904). "Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon" (PDF). Liberty Fund. Translated by Harper, Robert Francis (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 83. Retrieved June 20, 2021. §234. If a boatman build ... silver as his wage.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Hammurabi (1910). "Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon". Avalon Project. Translated by King, Leonard William. New Haven, CT: Yale Law School. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
^ Hammurabi (1903). Translated by Sommer, Otto. "Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon". Records of the Past. Washington, DC: Records of the Past Exploration Society. 2 (3): 88. Retrieved June 20, 2021. 275. If anyone hires a ... day as rent therefor.
^ Hammurabi (1904). "Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon" (PDF). Liberty Fund. Translated by Harper, Robert Francis (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 95. Retrieved June 20, 2021. §275. If a man hire ... its hire per day.
^ see, Sir John MacDonell, Classification of Forms and Contracts of Labour (1904) Journal of the Society of Comparative Legislation, New Series, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 253-261, at 255-256
^ "locatio conductio operarum is a contract whereby one party agrees to supply the other with a certain quantum of labour. locatio conductio operis is a contract whereby one party agrees, in consideration of money payment, to supply the other not with labour, but with the result of labour." Sohm, Institutes of Roman Law, 311 (1892)
^ Ellerman 2005, p. 16.
^ Ellerman 2005, p. 14.
^ Ellerman 2019, p. 32.
^ Labour and the Law, Hamlyn Lectures, 1972, 7
^ The Gig Economy, Smart Contracts and Disruption of traditional work arrangements
^ A blockchain-based decentralized system for proper handling of temporary employment contracts

References[]

Mark Freedland, The Personal Employment Contract (2003) Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-924926-1

[1] the UK, s.230 Employment Rights Act 1996

[2] Employment Contract FAQs

[Powell_1995,_p.1955-3] Powell, Marvin A. (1995). "Metrology and Mathematics in Ancient Mesopotamia". In Sasson, Jack M. (ed.). Civilizations of the Ancient Near East. III. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 1955. ISBN 0-684-19279-9.

[Sommer_1903_p._85-4] Hammurabi (1903). Translated by Sommer, Otto. "Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon". Records of the Past. Washington, DC: Records of the Past Exploration Society. 2 (3): 85. Retrieved June 20, 2021. 234. If a shipbuilder builds ... as a present [compensation].

[Harper_1904_p._85-5] Hammurabi (1904). "Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon" (PDF). Liberty Fund. Translated by Harper, Robert Francis (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 83. Retrieved June 20, 2021. §234. If a boatman build ... silver as his wage.

[King_1910-6] Jump up to: ^a ^b Hammurabi (1910). "Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon". Avalon Project. Translated by King, Leonard William. New Haven, CT: Yale Law School. Retrieved June 20, 2021.

[Sommer_1903_p._88-7] Hammurabi (1903). Translated by Sommer, Otto. "Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon". Records of the Past. Washington, DC: Records of the Past Exploration Society. 2 (3): 88. Retrieved June 20, 2021. 275. If anyone hires a ... day as rent therefor.

[Harper_1904_p._95-8] Hammurabi (1904). "Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon" (PDF). Liberty Fund. Translated by Harper, Robert Francis (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 95. Retrieved June 20, 2021. §275. If a man hire ... its hire per day.

[9] see, Sir John MacDonell, Classification of Forms and Contracts of Labour (1904) Journal of the Society of Comparative Legislation, New Series, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 253-261, at 255-256

[10] "locatio conductio operarum is a contract whereby one party agrees to supply the other with a certain quantum of labour. locatio conductio operis is a contract whereby one party agrees, in consideration of money payment, to supply the other not with labour, but with the result of labour." Sohm, Institutes of Roman Law, 311 (1892)

[11] Ellerman 2005, p. 16.

[12] Ellerman 2005, p. 14.

[13] Ellerman 2019, p. 32.

[14] Labour and the Law, Hamlyn Lectures, 1972, 7

[15] The Gig Economy, Smart Contracts and Disruption of traditional work arrangements

[16] A blockchain-based decentralized system for proper handling of temporary employment contracts

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show v t Employment
Classifications	Casual Contingent Full-time Gig Part-time Self-employed Side Skilled Independent contractor Labour hire Temporary Tenure Unskilled Wage labour
Hiring	Application Background check Business networking Cover letter Curriculum Vitae (CV) Drug testing Employment contract Employment counsellor Executive search list Induction programme Job fair Job fraud Job hunting Job interview Letter of recommendation Onboarding Overqualification Person–environment fit Personality–job fit theory Probation Recruitment Résumé Simultaneous recruiting of new graduates Underemployment Work-at-home scheme
Roles	Cooperative Employee Employer Internship Job Labour hire Permanent employment Supervisor Volunteer
Worker class	Blue-collar Green-collar Grey-collar Pink-collar Precariat White-collar
Career and training	Apprenticeship Avocation Career assessment Career counseling Career development Coaching Creative class Education Continuing education E-learning Employability Further education Graduate school Induction training Knowledge worker Licensure Lifelong learning Overspecialization Practice-based professional learning Professional association Professional certification Professional development Professional school Reflective practice Retraining Vocational education Vocational school Vocational university Mentorship Occupational Outlook Handbook Practice firm Profession Tradesman Vocation
Attendance	Break Career break Furlough Gap year Leave of absence Long service leave No call, no show Sabbatical Sick leave Time clock
Schedules	Four-day week Eight-hour day Six-hour day 996 working hour system Flextime On-call Overtime Retroactive overtime Shift work Telecommuting Working time Workweek and weekend
Wages and salaries	Income bracket Income tax Living wage Maximum wage National average salary World Minimum wage Canada Hong Kong Europe United States Progressive wage Singapore Overtime rate Paid time off Performance-related pay Salary cap Working poor
Benefits	Annual leave Casual Friday Child care Disability insurance Health insurance Life insurance Marriage leave Parental leave Pension Sick leave Take-home vehicle
Safety and health	Epilepsy and employment Human factors and ergonomics Karoshi Occupational burnout Occupational disease Occupational exposure limit Occupational health psychology Occupational injury Occupational noise Occupational stress Personal protective equipment Repetitive strain injury Sick building syndrome Work accident Occupational fatality Workers' compensation Workplace phobia Workplace wellness
Equal opportunity	Affirmative action Equal pay for equal work Gender pay gap Glass ceiling
Infractions	Corporate collapses and scandals Accounting scandals Control fraud Corporate behaviour Corporate crime Discrimination Dress code Employee handbook Employee monitoring Evaluation Labour law Sexual harassment Sleeping while on duty Wage theft Whistleblower Workplace bullying Workplace harassment Workplace incivility
Willingness	Boreout Careerism Civil conscription Conscription Dead-end job Job satisfaction McJob Organizational commitment Refusal of work Slavery Bonded labour Human trafficking Labour camp Penal labour Peonage Truck wages Unfree labour Wage slavery Work ethic Work–life balance Downshifting Slow living Workaholic
Termination	At-will employment Dismissal Banishment room Constructive dismissal Wrongful dismissal Employee offboarding Exit interview Layoff Notice period Pink slip Resignation Letter of resignation Restructuring Retirement Mandatory retirement Retirement age Retirement planning Severance package Golden handshake Golden parachute Turnover
Unemployment	Barriers to entry Discouraged worker Economic depression Great Depression Long Depression Frictional unemployment Full employment Graduate unemployment Involuntary unemployment Jobless recovery Phillips curve Recession Great Recession Job losses caused by the Great Recession Lists of recessions Recession-proof job Reserve army of labour Structural unemployment Technological unemployment Types of unemployment Unemployment benefits Unemployment Convention, 1919 Unemployment extension List of countries by unemployment rate Employment rates Employment-to-population ratio Wage curve Youth unemployment
See also templates Aspects of corporations Aspects of jobs Aspects of occupations Aspects of organizations Aspects of workplaces Corporate titles Organized labor

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