explain in simpler terms The Common Law of contract established that the parties to a contract exercised free will and

Question

because they had capacity, they could determine their own rules under the contract. However, this
freedom of contract was based on the notion of an exchange of agents who were equally disposed
in terms of bargaining power. Human experience proved, especially during the industrial
revolution, that the employment relationship bore no such hallmarks as free agents. The rise of the
welfare state launched an assault on the employment relationship in an effort to create a
countervailing force against employer power in the bargaining relationship.62 This marked the birth
of statutory rights which are essentially a state intervention into a purely private relationship.
In these respects statutory law creates a proprietary interest in the job of the employee by
guaranteeing rights that were not available at common law. For example, unfair dismissal laws.
The nature and scope of these rights are subject to change with time and evolve as social norms
change. Parliamentary intervention is the principal vehicle for the creation of the labour law in this
respect. This section of the module merely highlights some of the protections enacted under statute
to protect the employment relationship from predatory behaviour.

Answer 1

The Common Law of contract says that when people make a contract, they do it willingly and can set their own rules since they have the ability to understand and agree. This idea works well when both sides have equal power to negotiate. However, it became clear during the Industrial Revolution that in many job situations, workers did not have equal power compared to their employers.

To address this power imbalance, governments started to create laws aimed at protecting workers, which we call statutory rights. These laws are like a safety net for employees, ensuring they have protections that weren't part of the original contract law. An example of this is the law against unfair dismissal, which prevents employers from firing workers without a good reason.

These worker protections can change over time as society’s views change, and new laws can be created by government action. This module section focuses on some of the legal protections put in place to help workers from being treated unfairly.