The main purpose of employment law is tolegalise the relationship made between employers and employees and to ensurethat all members of the workforce are treated fairly and equitably. Employmentlaw has been put in place to establish the working conditions necessary toensure that people work in an environment free from discrimination in allforms, providing fair opportunities to employees, along with keeping them safeand treated according to the principles of justice (ICS Learn). Employment law goesonto cover areas of recruitment and selection, providing up to date informationon employer’s legal obligations so their procedures comply with the law.In UK employment law there are three keysources; these include common law, statute and European law.

Over recent yearsthere has been a large amount of new UK employment law which has meant anincrease in employment rights that employers need to abide by, in addition tothe contract.The employment tribunal system was formed asa way for all disputes between employees and employers to raise theircomplaints regarding employee rights. It was created as an easy and accessibleway of resolving conflicts that arise within the workplace and to act as aninexpensive way of settling them. For an employment tribunal to accept to heara case, a claim must be made within three months of the incident/ dismissaloccurring. Following this, it becomes Acas’ responsibility to make contact withboth parties with the aim of agreeing a settlement outside of the tribunal. Ifa settlement is agreed, it must be drawn up and both parties are required tosign preventing any other related claims against the employer taking place. Instanceswhere an agreement has not been drawn up, can however still form the basis ofan agreed settlement, as demonstrated by Newbury v Sun Microsystems (2013) casewhere a settlement figure was still considered binding, even though the wordingof the agreement could not be agreed upon.

The law of contract which regulates thefundamental relationship between employers and employees, and of the law ofnegligence, which provides us with the right to claim compensation when wesuffer an injury at work, comes to us via the common law (Taylor and Wilkinson,2017). If a disagreement amongst an employer and employee relates to commonlaw, for example, a breach in the contract the case will be heard within thecounty or High Court. The UK court system allows cases to be appealed to highercourts, which means if an appeal is accepted, the law becomes mandatory.