A long felt need for a book on the practical aspects of employment law was filled with the publication of “A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO LABOUR LAW”, by retired President of the Labour Tribunal (LT) and Attorney at Law, Velayuthan Vimalarajah.
This book will no doubt be of immense value to practitioners, academics, law students, employers and employees. The policy maker will be equally benefited by the pragmatic approach and the sensible proposals made by the author. In the areas that he has covered, Mr Vimalarajah has diligently dealt with all practical issues that are generally known to occur in relationships between the employer and the employee in Sri Lanka.
The author has drawn on his vast reservoir of experience, firstly, as an officer of the Department of Labour, from which he retired as Prosecuting Officer, subsequently as a highly regarded President of the Labour Tribunal, and, finally as a much sought after practitioner of employment law after retirement in 1991, in dealing with important issues.
While expressing his own views on several employment related matters, the author has made reference to a large number of cases decided in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. To the practitioner, therefore, this publication will serve as a ready-reference on important questions of law.
The first chapter is titled, “Understanding Labour Law: Some Grey Areas”. The author refers to a particular difficulty with characteristic candidness in the following terms, “Forty one years have passed since the establishment of Labour Tribunals; even now proper applications are not made to the Labour Tribunals. This is a question which calls for serious consideration. The Tribunal President is helpless when there is no proper application before him”. The first chapter deals with making a proper application to the LT, identifying the employer, amendment of caption, prescription, change of company name, winding up orders and enforcement of an LT order among other matters.
The second chapter deals with the Shop and Office Employees Act. Employers and employees alike have numerous questions over matters such as annual leave, casual leave, maternity leave, encashment of leave, the carrying forward of leave, intervals for meals, poya days and other public holidays, overtime and the payment of remuneration.
An entire chapter has been devoted in respect of the law relating to women. Here, the author deals with the statutory provisions of The Employment of Women, Young Persons and Childrens’ Act, The Shop and Office Employees (Regulation of Employment and Remuneration) Act, The Factories Ordinance, Maternity Benefits Ordinance and Mines (Female Labour Underground) Ordinance 1937. He hasn’t failed to deal with the often neglected issue of sexual harassment at work.
There has been protracted litigation concerning the jurisdiction of a Labour Tribunal, time and again. The author has given due consideration to this legal issue. The most apt judicial quotes on the subject have been produced for the reader, together with a list of important appellate court decisions on the jurisdiction of the LT.
The author’s concern with practical problems faced by the public is evident by his treatment of ‘Domestics and EPF’. He has alluded to a letter to the editor written by a reader to a national newspaper inquiring as to whether he was required to pay EPF to domestics or not.
The publication contains a brief but useful chapter on industrial arbitration and the procedures adopted for resolution of industrial disputes by arbitration, together with a list of cases concerning industrial arbitration. It is worth mentioning that the author is the President of the Association of Industrial Court Arbitrators.
Other topics include grievance handling, an area that is neglected by most employers. The basics of disciplinary procedure are explained in simple terms. Similarly, the just and equitable doctrine is tackled in a manner that can be readily digested by the reader. In doing so the author has drawn upon the vast number of judgments on this doctrine, and has examined its application on various facets relating to an inquiry before the LT.
The Contract of Employment is another topic that has received fair expression. In addition to dealing with the different types of employment, the author also examines the ways in which a contract will arise, the rights of an employee, the right to work, the ingredients of a valid contract, implied terms of a contract of employment, the unilateral variation of a contract of employment, identification of the employer among other matters.
The chapter titled, “Changes in Labour Laws in Sri Lanka – Some Random Thoughts” is thought provoking. It deals with the Industrial Disputes Act, jurisdiction of Labour Tribunals, procedure of the Labour Tribunal, compensation awarded by the Labour Tribunal, enforcement of Lanour Tribunal orders, powers of the Minister, Termination of Employment (Special Provisions) Act, The Wages Boards Ordinance and The Shop and Office Employees Act.
The author and the publisher, the Institute of Industrial Law, deserve commendation for compiling this praiseworthy publication. |
E-mail