The course aims to provide students with the knowledge necessary to understand the basic features of the subject, as far as its individual (individual employment relationship) and collective (trade union law) aspects are concerned, copying with both the theoretical and operational levels. 

Firstly, students will increase their awareness of labour law as a special legal system with regard to private law and corporate law. Secondly, they will understand the legal framework, characterised by a specific intertwining of law, collective agreements and individual agreements. Finally, they will examine the rules governing the establishment, the management and the extinction of the employment relationship. International and European labour law will be analysed in the general frame of the legal sources with particular reference to the supranational level that is becoming more and more influencial vis à vis the national level.

In general, the aim is to encourage students to take an open approach to the subject in order to understand the core of a changing law due to technological developments of the global production system.  

In particular, according to the peculiarities of this course, an effort will be made in order to achieve a satisfying knowledge about the following topics:

-  the role of trade unions and industrial relations from a legal and economic perspective;

-  the labour market institutions, the employment support and workers’ income;

-  the employment contract between dependent employment, self-employment, work and non-work, performance based on rewarded or a free of charge job ;

-  the staff management, the managerial powers, the productivity and the work environment;

-  the contractual relations between enterprises and employment relationships: direct, indirect and flexible labour.

This course will deal with the following topics:
-  The history, the fundamental principles and several aspects of the labour law.
-  Supranational and national sources of labour law.

a)  Trade union law
Historical introduction – the relations between trade union law and employment relationship – the freedom of association – the freedom of association as freedom of organization: the structure and the nature of the trade union – the freedom of association as freedom of action: the collective conflict – the trade union representation, the representativeness and the trade union activity in workplaces – trade union’s participation, the bargaining and the collective agreement in the private and public administrations.   

b)  Labour law
The individual employment relationship: from the origins to the so-called Jobs Act - The employment contract: its classification and contractual matrix - Employment, labour market, income support – employer’s and employee’s obligations and employer’s powers – the individual and collective dismissals -  the relocation of the company and employment relationships – the indirect and flexible labour.

- Private Law. 

- Knowledge and understanding skills: at the end of the course, students are expected to acquire the tools for understanding the rules governing employment relationships in their individual and collective aspects and to gain a comprehensive knowledge of labour law, with particular reference to some aspects of policy of law, and to gain an advanced knowledge of the main topics.   

- Practise knowledge and understanding skills: at the end of the course, students are expected to be able to use the knowledge gained to analyse legal documents (laws, collective agreements, sentences) and, therefore, to handle case studies regarding the staff management and industrial relations. To this end, exercises concerning case laws and/or business cases and work groups on topics subject to specific workshops will be performed in class. 

- Making judgments: at the end of the course, students are expected to read and interpret critically the topics dealt with, combining both the knowledge gained and their own point of view. This means that they will be able to manage different aspects of the subject autonomously and critically. To this end, face to face lessons, group works and workshops and writing will be performed in class.

- Comunication skills: at the end of the course, students are expected to express themselves clearly and properly and to use the technical-legal language of the subjects. To this end, debates, summaries of subjects examined in previous lectures and writing will be performed.

- Learning skills: at the end of the course, students are expected to develop their understanding skills and to acquire, autonomously, professional skills necessary to enter the labour market. To this end, face to face lessons, workshops, writing, group works, debates in class, and conversation with the professor will be performed in order to take an open-to-doubt approach and to promote durable learning skills in extremely dynamic contexts such as the modern workng organizations. 

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

No support activities are organised with persons other than the lecturer.

Teaching

This course is based on face to face lessons and active learning.

The face to face method aims to provide students with theoretical basic knowledge through lectures supported by the professor with slides and internet. Internet shows the main websites about labour law (the legislation, public authorities, “social partners”) and allows to find documents such as newspaper articles about topical issues, judgments and collective agreements at both national and company levels. These agreements are analysed in order to know their structure and also as a common intersection for trade union law and individual employment relationship.

The active learning aims to develop understanding and management skills of "critical situations" by putting theory into practise. In fact, team-building exercises will be promoted in class by the lecturer and then discussed togheter under the supervision and the guidance of the same lecturer and other people possibly involved from time to time in the activity (professionals, trade unionists, scholars of the subject). This activity has been developed in the last few years and will be relaunched this academic year with particular reference to topics such as collective agreements on the company productivity and the welfare company. The role playing is performed, under the supervision of the professor, by officials of most representative business organizations at the local level and/or by business union leaders belonging to large companies in the area. This activity is important in order to improve operational and teamwork skills.

Attendance

For a better understanding, students are strongly encouraged to refresh their basic notions of Private Law and Corporate Law (consistently with their own study path) regarding: sources of law; associations; society; company; bonds; contract.

Attending students should come to the classes with an updated Labour Code and the course books.

Course books

a) Trade Union Law:

F. CARINCI, R. DE LUCA TAMAJO, P. TOSI, T. TREU, Diritto del lavoro. 1. Il diritto sindacale, UTET, Turin, latest edition: Chapters I, II (§§ 1 to 4), IV, V, VI (§§ 1 to 9), VII (§§ 1 to 13), X [§ 1 and letters A, C, E (§§ 14 and 15)].

b) Individual Employment Relationship:

W. CHIAROMONTE, M.P. MONACO, M.L. VALLAURI (a cura di), Elementi di diritto del lavoro, Giappichelli, Torino, 2019 [Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 (only § 1), 14, 15, 16] + G. PROIA, Manuale di diritto del lavoro, 3a edizione, Wolters Kluwer-Cedam, Milano, 2020 (Chapters IV, sez. V and VII, sez. IV).

For general consultation of legal and contractual rules, however, the use of an updated Labour Code is strongly recommended (Giuffrè, Milan's latest minor editorial is recommended).

For OPTIONAL English documents, please see Blended Platform, where you can find some documents on one or more current labour law topics. The students CAN CHOOSE ONE OR MORE of these cases and discuss them in the oral examination.

For attending students, any further instructions and readings will be provided by the lecturer during the classes.

Assessment

The expected learning outcomes are assessed through an oral examination concerning topics discussed in the lessons and in the above-mentioned course books. The oral examination allows a comprehensive assessment of each student, in terms of his/her knowledge and, mainly, his/her practical, argument and critical thinking skills as well as his/her communication skills.

The examination consists of an oral discussion about 1-4 general and related to the main topics issues. This approach should show the student's level of knowledge. It will be assessed according to the following criteria: 1. Comprehensive knowledge of the contents; 2. Confidence in the subject and in its main concepts; 3. Reasoning and coordination skills of the different aspects of the labour law; 4. Ability to use knowledge in a critical and autonomous way; 5. Communication skills in terms of linguistic ability and the technical-legal vocabulary.

The score will be expressed in thirtieths according to the following value system:

·  Below 18/30 – insufficient level: the student does not achieve any of the learning outcomes included in the "Knowledge and understanding skills" paragraph;

·  18-20/30 – sufficient level: the student achieves the learning outcomes included in the "Knowledge and understanding skills" paragraph;

·  21-20/30 – fully sufficient level: the student achieves the learning outcomes included in the "Knowledge and understanding skills" paragraph and "Practise knowledge and understanding skills" paragraph;

·  24-26/30 – good level: the student achieves the learning outcomes included in the "Knowledge and understanding skills" paragraph, "Practise knowledge and understanding skills" paragraph and “Self-assessment” paragraph;

·  27-29/30 – very good level: the student achieves the learning outcomes included in the "Knowledge and understanding skills" paragraph, "Practise knowledge and understanding skills" paragraph, “Self-assessment” paragraph and “Communication skills” paragraph;

·  30/30 cum laude: excellent level: the student achieves the learning outcomes included in the "Knowledge and understanding skills" paragraph, "Practise knowledge and understanding skills" paragraph, “Self-assessment” paragraph, “Communication skills” paragraph and “Understanding skills” paragraph.

Both attending and not attending students have to pass the final oral examination regarding the two above-mentioned course books. Only attending students can do the final examination divided into two parts: the first part is on trade union law (a); the second one is on individual labor law (b).

The final score, always expressed in thirtieths, will be the result of the mean of the two parts.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

After appointment, the lecturer will be available to settle arrangements in order to support student-workers, even via skype calls, to the preparation of the final examination.

Course books

Individual study of the course books above mentioned and the material uploaded on the Moodle platform

Assessment

The final examination consists of an oral exam concerning the issues addressed in the two above-mentioned course books.

The assessment criteria of the examination are the same as those already mentioned for attending students.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.