Business Law

Business Law

Business Law

Introduction

In the case of Lionel we have seen that Lionel is actually going through the most radical attack against labour law, in the last quarter century, has been moved by theories of the conflict of interests between insiders and outsiders (Lindbeck and Snower, 1988). The deadly insidiousness of those theories lies in their capacity of highlighting the contrast between the universal character of the protection that workers are formally offered by the juridical rule and the real effects that it can cause, of protection of one part of the workers - the insiders - against the competition of another part: that of those who are outside the fortified citadel of regular work.

Business Law: The Case of Lionel

Lionel is employed with a firm of Estate Agents called “Great Movers”. He has a desk in an open planned office and his duties include preparing property details, driving to properties to show around prospective buyers and liaising with solicitors and other professionals regarding the sale of the said properties. He also deals with administration and has his own computer console in the open planned office. He has been working for 'Great Movers' for approximately eighteen months when he encounters problems. He has been experiencing pain in his lower back and he feels that this is due to the chair that his employers have supplied, it is non-adjustable. A group of male colleagues have been sniggering behind his back in the office laughing about the way he dresses. He feels that they are treating him in this way because he is an openly gay male and likes to wear brightly coloured tiles. When he tried to approach his Line Manager about the problems he was experiencing she merely said “Oh come on Lionel, what is it with your sort, you let little things wear you down. Just try and toughen up and be a man.” She declined to take his concerns any further even though he has sent them to him in a written form. One Tuesday morning Lionel arrived at his desk early and heard fellow colleagues referring to him as “a big girl's blouse.” This upset him so much that he went to see his Line Manager for a second time. She lost patient with him and bawled across the office floor “Oh for God's sake don't you think I have other problems to sort out - just get out there and do your job and stop behaving like a big fairy.” Lionel is so upset that he feels like walking out.

Real effects that it actually can cause, if the theoretical insider/outsider model corresponds to the effective labour markets functioning in a certain place and a certain time. But we can no more exclude this possibility on the basis of an ideological option: the question whether in fact this actually happens or not is open.

Another menace in the case of Lionel, is specifically directed against the continental European labour law, has appeared at the horizon during the ...