Employment Law

So have already talked a little about my dissatisfaction with one of the subjects that I am studying (Jurisprudence); in this post, I thought I would share with you my enjoyment of Employment Law which I am also studying.

I love Employment Law.

I can't exactly pinpoint what it is that I enjoy so much about it but I can say with much conviction that I do absolutely love it. Perhaps I am enjoying the fact that its a relatively straightforward area of law to study. Compare for example, Employment Law with Trusts Law and the doom and gloom within the latter, perhaps I enjoy Employment law more because it is applied-Contract law and Contract law has been my all time favourite area of study.

I take comfort in my approach to studying Employment law. As a student of Law at undergraduate level, there is that persistent feeling that you don't know enough law - you haven't read enough; you don't understand the intricacies of case-law enough; you don't fully understand the applicable doctrines in an area. Whilst these factors have dogged every other Law module I have studied and am studying, the same cannot be said for Employment law. When I study Employment law, I feel I know where to look, what to read and in how much detail. I don't believe I'm being blindly naive in my appreciation of concepts in Employment law. Like most of my other subjects, I come across area where the law is in an unsatisfactory state. But the difference is, I seem to appreciate more fully the nature of the problems and I actually enjoy spending time thinking about prospects for reform.

So there you have it - its not all doom and gloom - Lacklustre Lawyer isn't so Lacklustre in Employment Law. Well at least he doesn't think he is. Currently I am studying the Working Time Regulations 1998. There hasn't been written on these regulations in most student textbooks. I've consequently enjoyed the opportunity to study the regulations first-hand and to plug each individual regulation into Westlaw and read all the cases in which it has been applied. Its interesting because, for once, I feel as though I have grabbed an area of the law by the balls and squeezed with much satisfaction and less pain.

This post wouldn't be complete without reference to my excellent lecturers who really have done quite a fantastic job in providing me a base from which to explore different areas in an interesting, productive and fun way. No Law student needs to be told at the inadequacy and drawbacks of some lecturers who are terrible at engaging students interest in the law. I'm really quite honoured with my lecturers in this area though. Its no coincidence that they are leading practitioners of Employment law. Often, the fact that they are practitioners could be a significant drawback because of their partial inability to teach the area from an academic standing. My lecturers aren't like this at all. In addition, they come with the benefit of offering the most up-to-date cases in Employment law, which is so important in areas like Unfair Dismissal and the Working Time Regulations 1998.

Will be digging into my Employment law materials on a regular basis and enjoying every minute of it.