The parties to the employment relationship : a comparative analysis

Abstract

The International Labour Organisation notes that globally there is “a general increase in the precarious nature of employment and the reduction of workers’ protection”. The issue of who is party to an employment relationship has become increasingly problematic as a result of major changes in the organisation of work and the growing inadequacy of labour law to adapt to those changes. New forms of work have arisen which do not properly fit into traditional parameters and in which workers find themselves in a precarious situation where their employment status is unclear or outside the scope of protection that has been linked to an employment relationship. As a consequence the topic of the employment relationship is increasingly on the agenda of the International Labour Organisation.