The ‘Social Organisation’ of the Workplace as a Fundamental Concept of Labour Law Theory

Abstract

The workplace, a certain kind of organisation (which consists of people and, therefore, is social in nature), is crucial for perceiving labour law from the perspective of public administration. Put simply, if one wants to view the fulfilment of tasks or public functions within the realm of labour law, one always needs to bear in mind that although one might be referring to ‘the employer’, the discussion, in fact, refers to the workplace, with the employer being a certain ‘organ’ or emanation of the workplace. This reflection fills me with particular joy as a researcher because it necessitates the appreciation of the human ommunity at the workplace despite the considerable reluctance of the Polish labour law doctrine to accept the workplace as a human community and an administrative-legal construct of social organisation. I believe that the workplace must be recognised as a key institution in the theory of labour law and this is beyond any doubt. The social consequences of failing to recognise the workplace can be dramatic. Moreover, in a situation where other human communities are scarce, the importance of the community of the workplace (especially if one remembers its relative stability) turns out to be fundamental.