By Michael Ryley and
Edward Goodwin
Publisher: Thomas Telford
Price: £25
This small book, the main text of which runs to 140 pages, including footnotes, is not so much a text that attempts to cover employment law as a whole, but a series of essays that focuses on topics that strike at the heart of the construction industry.
The text is divided into eight chapters. The first chapter deals with the basic principles and sources of employment law. As an overview it is useful but superficial. The legal difficulties surrounding statutory written particulars of employment and implied terms (for example there is no coverage of the recent case law on the implied term of trust and confidence) and the section dealing with union recognition is perfunctory.
Chapter two, which deals with whether a worker is an employee or self employed, contains very clear guidance and the book was produced just after the House of Lords decided Carmichael v National Power [1999] ICR 1226, so it is up-to-date. Chapters four and five, which deal with collective bargaining in the construction industry and the PAYE/NIC position, contain material not readily obtainable elsewhere (such as in encyclopedias) and are the most useful sections of the book. Chapter eight on transfer of undertakings is the most disappointing chapter. It does not get to grips with the complexities of the legislation and case law.
But this is a useful starting point for the construction lawyer who needs to know some employment law or the employment lawyer who wants to specialise in the construction industry.
