Labour law – private law or public law. Deliberations on the nature of employment contract

Labour law is in fact a part of the public law. Although, genetically and to a certain extent normatively, it is related to private law it is heterogeneous in nature. Despite the fact that the essence of labour law is tantamount to free contractual relationships, it is becoming more and more public (statutory) law as the process of limiting the employment contract by the legislator is still increasing. The nature of labour law as the public one is confirmed by the contents of the employment contract which contains the features characteristic for an administrative contract. Moreover, a number of labour law institutions is characterised by orders and prohibitions aiming at enforcing specific employer’s behaviour. This is particularly apparent in the parenthood protection where more and more new obligations towards the employees are imposed on the employers which are completely inappropriate to the equivalence in terms of employment relationship. Thus, legal acts regarding labour law are in fact becoming rather more purely political acts or social policy ones than the exponents of the needs in the law-making process.

Labour law is in fact a part of the public law. Although, genetically and to a certain extent normatively, it is related to private law it is heterogeneous in nature. Despite the fact that the essence of labour law is tantamount to free contractual relationships, it is becoming more and more public (statutory) law as the process of limiting the employment contract by the legislator is still increasing. The nature of labour law as the public one is confirmed by the contents of the employment contract which contains the features characteristic for an administrative contract. Moreover, a number of labour law institutions is characterised by orders and prohibitions aiming at enforcing specific employer’s behaviour. This is particularly apparent in the parenthood protection where more and more new obligations towards the employees are imposed on the employers which are completely inappropriate to the equivalence in terms of employment relationship. Thus, legal acts regarding labour law are in fact becoming rather more purely political acts or social policy ones than the exponents of the needs in the law-making process.