Human Rights in the Workplace

The programme

Human rights law is taking an increasingly important role in the workplace. This course investigates this trend. It looks at the implications for workers, employers and businesses of framing the issues arising between employers and employees in terms of rights, as well as the challenges. The rights concerned might be constitutional rights or rights found in regional or international instruments of human rights. 

The main focus of the course is on UK law, including the Human Rights Act and European Convention on Human Rights. The course will provide knowledge and understanding of the legal frameworks and main academic debates, and more in depth debates on human rights law in the workplace. Participants will develop critical skills by evaluating the rules, policies and principles of this evolving and increasingly important area of law and consider the role of trade unions and strategic litigation in relation to this subject; and develop their analytical skills, for example by identifying and resolving legal challenges raised by questions discussed in the sessions. 

The course examines freedom of association and the right to strike, the prohibition of slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour, freedom of expression, the right to work, the right to privacy and freedom of religion. The cases have been selected as illustrations of issues that arise in employment disputes and how attempts to analyse them in terms of rights have been resolved (including, commonly, the rejection or suppression of a rights discourse).

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you will:

• Be able to exhibit a good understanding of the legal framework and challenges in the protection of human rights in the workplace; 
• Critically appraise the law and evaluate the rules studied on their own terms, for example for clarity, consistency and coherence; 
• Relate the legal rules to the experience in practice of those whom they most directly concern, and particularly workers and employers; 
• Consider challenges for workers and their organisations in bringing cases to tribunals and courts; 
• Suggest improvements that can be made in the protection of human rights at work. 

Content

Key topics

Day One

• Introduction: Solidarity v Human Rights; Sources of Human Rights at Work
• The Right to Work - The Duty to Work 

Day Two

• The Prohibition of Slavery, Servitude, Forced and Compulsory Labour; Migrant Workers; The UK Modern Slavery Act; Business and Human Rights
• The Right to Organise, Collective Bargaining and Strike  

Day Three

• Freedom of Expression and Political Association
• Freedom of Religion and Religious Discrimination in the Workplace 

Day Four

• The Right to Private Life at Work: Workers’ Monitoring and Surveillance in the Workplace or when Working from Home
• The Right to Private Life Away from Work: Dismissal for Off-Duty Conduct, including Social Media Activity 

Course structure and assessments

Delegates will receive four hours of lectures/ seminars each day. There will therefore be a total of 16 hours of classroom teaching over the four days. There will be no assessment but delegates will receive a certificate of completion provided that they attend at least 12 hours (75%) of classes.  

Teaching staff

• Professor Virginia Mantouvalou (Convener)
• Professor Nicola Countouris
• Professor George Letsas
• Professor Colm O’Cinneide

Fees

The fees for this course are £3250. We offer discounts* for the following:

• 20% discount for UCL students, staff and alumni
• 15% discount for delegates from non-commercial sectors 
• 15% discount to commercial organisations that send three or more delegates
• 15% discount for those currently not in work

*discounts can only be applied once if any of the above apply.