Co-Chair
Aoife Bradley
Co-Chair
Björn Gaul
Employment and Industrial Relations Law Committee
Very few legal fields face the revolutionary changes that employment and industrial relations laws do. Issues such as technology, human rights, globalisation, corporate citizenship and increased movements of people have created unprecedented legal complexity as they interact with traditional laws often formulated decades ago. As the largest of the Human Resource Section Committees of the IBA, the purpose of the Committee is the identification, technical analysis and proactive management of national, regional and global developments in these rapidly evolving fields. The Committee takes a ‘cutting edge’ approach to its selection of topics and speakers and draws upon the combined experience of its officers and panellists to present the members with innovative solutions to the employment law problems of today.
Forthcoming conferences and webinars View All Conferences
IBA Annual Conference Copenhagen 2026
04 Oct - 09 Oct 2026
Copenhagen , Denmark
Publications
Managing multinational employment law compliance in the era of constant change: disability rights reform in North Macedonia’s labour market
This article analyses a new proposed Law on Professional Rehabilitation and Support of Employment of Persons with Disabilities to be adopted in North Macedonia, placing it within the broader challenges of multinational employment law compliance. It explores the law’s objectives, mechanisms, and alignment with EU and international standards, while considering implications for multinational employers navigating diverse regulatory frameworks.
Released on May 04, 2026
Union consultation goes digital amid renewed debate over traditional principles of union recognition
Recent Italian case law decisions spanned from considering the impact of increasingly digital workplaces on trade union rights to re-examining traditional union representation and recognition principles. In two 2026 decisions the Court of Cassation clarified that digital consultation methods may satisfy statutory obligations, provided that substantive participation is preserved. Together, these rulings reflect a consistent judicial approach: procedural forms may evolve, but the core functions of representation and collective negotiation must remain intact. Running in parallel, the Constitutional Court’s October 2025 ruling on Article 19 of the Workers’ Statute reshaped the criteria for workplace union recognition by rejecting exclusive dependence on company‑level bargaining participation as the sole gateway to RSA status and grounding representation rights in objective measures of union national representativeness.
Released on May 04, 2026
India’s new Labour Codes: recognition of trade unions
India’s new labour codes presents by far the biggest change in the country’s employment law legislative history. This article focuses on the concept of recognition of trade unions, as introduced by the law.
Released on Apr 29, 2026
The Nokia case: ‘genuine collective purpose’ and the future of enterprise-based representation
This article examines the Israeli National Labour Court’s ruling in the Nokia case, focusing on the legal definition of a ‘workers organisation’. The decision rejects recognition of an internal, enterprise-based committee, emphasising the requirement of a genuine collective purpose. The Court held that a body upholding individual employment agreements as primary cannot qualify for recognition. The article places this reasoning within broader transformations in labour markets, where hybrid models of representation are emerging. It argues that the ruling highlights an unresolved tension between traditional collective bargaining frameworks and evolving employee preferences for more flexible, individualised forms of collective representation.
Released on Apr 29, 2026
Working Title Podcast – conversations in good company
Episode 1 - What’s up with non-competes?
In the opening episode of the new podcast series by the IBA Employment and Industrial Relations Committee, hosted by Veena Gopalakrishnan from Trilegal, India and Mikko Kontturi from AURORALAW, Finland, with guests Hector Gonzales Graf from MGGL, Mexico, Lucy Gordon from Walker Morris LLP, UK, and Gordon Williams from MinterEllison, Australia, we discuss the current state and what to expect in the near future in the field of non-competition agreements in their jurisdictions.
Watch a short teaser of the episode below.
Listen to the full episodeEpisode 2 - The policy pretzel
In the second episode of the IBA Employment and Industrial Relations Committee podcast series, hosted by Veena Gopalakrishnan from Trilegal, India and Mikko Kontturi from AURORALAW, Finland, with guests Stephan Swinkels from Littler, The Netherlands, Roselyn Sands, RoselynSands Law, France and Kirsten Lucas, Stephenson Harwood, United Arab Emirates, we discuss the best practices and insights on global employer policies for multinational employers. We delve into the need for standardisation while acknowledging that one size may not fit all.
Watch a short teaser of the episode below.
Listen to the full episodeSubcommittees and other groups
The Employment and Industrial Relations Law Committee also coordinates the activities of the following subcommittees/working groups.
- Compensation and Benefits Subcommittee
- Presidential Task Force Against Human Trafficking