Employee Protection at Common Law explains the potential development of Australian employment contract law, following the deregulatory Workplace Relations "reforms" of the Howard government.

Riley makes a case for the development of the same duties of good faith and fair dealing with workplace relations law as have developed in contemporary Australian commercial law. The book includes an explanation of the development of the duty of mutual trust and confidence in employee contract law and its potential to resolve individual workplace disputes over matters such as performance-based pay and termination benefits.

This new text provides the first extensive discussion of the application of the doctrine of estoppel in the workplace context. It also includes chapters on unconscionable dealing, restrictive covenants, and the application of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) to resolve individual employment disputes.

Table of Contents

Preface (with synopsis)
Acknowledgments
Table of Cases
Table of Statutes

CHAPTER 1: BEYOND DEREGULATION
The object of this work
Deregulation--a global phenomenon
Private regulation and fairness
The Australian Experience
Escaping the limits of "employment"
The "HRM" agenda
Who is the employer anyway?
A road map
The obstacle that must be overcome
Moving forward

CHAPTER 2: CONTRACT AND WORK RELATIONSHIPS
The work of this chapter
Contract law theory--the "classical" model
The nature of employment contracts
Relational contracts and the need for good faith
Regulating for good faith and fair dealing

CHAPTER 3: GOOD FAITH AND FAIR DEALING
The juridical nature of the good faith obligation
Early manifestations of good faith
The Malik decision
Acceptance in Australia
Mutual trust as a tool of construction
"Fair dealing"
Australian Applications
Overcoming Addis
A future for good faith and fair dealing in Australia?

CHAPTER 4: ESTOPPEL AND WORK RELATIONSHIPS
Escaping contract
Dealing with disappointed expectations
What is estoppel?
The appropriate remedy in a workplace context
Rocky’s tale
Beyond Rocky
Developing estoppel in a workplace context
Conclusion

CHAPTER 5: UNDOING UNFAIR WORK CONTRACTS
The work of this chapter
The unconscionability principle
Illegitimate exploitation
Duress
An alternative analysis – unconscionable dealing
Practical lessons
Moving forward

CHAPTER 6: FAIRLY SHARING THE FRUITS OF WORK
"Human capital" disputes
What is human capital?
Potential flaws
"Property" in information?
Future directions?
Conclusions

CHAPTER 7: STATUTORY CONTROLS ON UNFAIR DEALING
Beyond the common law
Modern statutes and a commitment to fairness
The Trade Practices Act
A rich source of jurisprudence for common law?

CHAPTER 8: MOVING ON
A restatement of goals
Work relationships and the good faith standard
The legal tools
A role for the judiciary
Further work
Conclusion

Bibliography

"Riley's book has two main aims: to identify the tools available in the Australian legal system that might ensure fair dealing in work relationships, and to explore how those tools might need to be developed further to create an equitable private law of work in Australia. The book succeeds very well in meeting these aims.
...Riley's passion for her subject and her unashamed commitment to the social and economic importance of fairness at work comes through in her writing. She writes in an easy style that makes the book accessible to those lacking an expert's grasp of the numerous legal principles she covers, while providing plenty of thought-provoking material for the reader with a strong background in workplace law and commercial law. This book is highly recommended for academics, students and legal practitioners practising in workplace and employment law."

-- Law Institute of Victoria, Jan/Feb 2006