Employment & Labour law

Employment law is the area of law that governs the employer-employee relationship. Therefore, if the business has more than one employee, then the business likely uses employment law. This area is made up of both state and federal laws and includes many different subjects with the common goal to protect workers' rights. For employees, these laws work to prevent discrimination, promote health and safety, establish a minimum required level for economic support and prevent work disruption due to disputes between labor and management. This could also be defined as laws that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, employer, and union. Individual labour law concerns employees' rights at work also through the contract for work. Employment law also features issues such as worker's compensation, employment discrimination, labor relations, family and medical leave, immigration, employee benefits, wrongful termination, occupational safety and health and as well minimum wage.

The basic feature of labour law in almost every country is that the rights and obligations of the worker and the employer are mediated through a contract of employment between the two.  A major issue for any business is to understand the relationship between the worker and the master. There are two types of workers, independent contractors and employees. They are differentiated based on the level of control the master has on them. Workers provided tools and resources, closely supervised, paid regularly, etc., are considered employees of the company. Employees must act in the best interest of the employer. The labour movement has long been concerned that economic globalization would weaken worker bargaining power, as their employers could hire workers abroad to avoid domestic labour standards. The International Labour Organization and the World Trade Organization have been a primary focus among international bodies for regulating labour markets. Conflicts arise when people work in more than one country.

Employment law in Nigeria was not founded on the provisions of a single statute. Rather, it is dispersed in different legislation that provides the framework and is greatly influenced by case law. Over the years, specific legislation has been enacted to address different issues in the Nigerian employment industry. However, the substantive law remains the Labour Act enacted in the 1970s, the Factories Act, the Employees Compensation Act, the Trade Disputes Act and the Trade Unions Act (TUA). Although there is an unsettled discussion as to whether the Labour Act extends beyond unskilled and manual workers, it nonetheless remains the governing law for labour matters, especially where international labour conventions make recourse to national laws on aspects already covered by the Labour Act. Nigerian law also allows freedom of contract in upholding and binding employers and employees to their agreements. Some other employment laws include the Nigerian Labour Act, the Pensions Act, the Industrial Training Act, Employee Compensation Act, Trade Unions Act, among few others.

It is also widely accepted that where there is an employment-related dispute between an employer and employee, the appropriate court with the exclusive jurisdiction to determine such a matter is the National Industrial Court established under the 1999 Constitution (as amended).