Understanding Labour Law: Rights, Regulations, and Standards

Labour Law: Employer and Employee Relationships

Labour law governs the relationship between employers and employees, specifically regarding employment contracts. These relations are categorized into two types:

• Individual Labour Relations: Legal rules governing the specific rights of the worker and the employer.
• Collective Labour Relations: Situations where workers organize to address existing inequality and insecurity.

Public Bodies in Labour Law

There are two primary public bodies:

1. Labour Courts: Responsible for resolving individual and collective disputes.
2. Labour Inspectorate: A public body tasked with controlling legal provisions related to working conditions.

Functions and Sources of Labour Law

The main functions of labour law are to protect rights from free market risks and to give a voice to workers. These rights are regulated by:

• Legal and regulatory provisions of the state.
• Collective bargaining agreements (CBA).

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union recognizes various worker rights, while the ILO (an UN agency with over 180 member states) formulates international labour standards, with over 100 conventions currently in force in Spain.

Non-Fundamental Rights

These include the right to employment, free choice of profession or trade, professional advancement, and sufficient remuneration to satisfy the needs of the worker and their family.

Key Legal Principles

• CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement): A hallmark of labour law, allowing employees and employers to regulate working conditions without external intervention.
• Principle of Succession of Legal Rules: Legal rules can only be repealed by subsequent legal rules.
• In Dubio Pro Operario: A principle requiring judges to construe legal provisions in the way most favorable to the employee.

Minimum Relative Mandatory Law

A minimum relative mandatory law imposes minimum employment conditions favorable to workers, meaning these rules do not permit worse working conditions. Consequently, a CBA may provide better conditions than those established by these mandatory laws. Most labour legal rules fall under this category.