Labour Law: Courses & Careers

Drawing heavily from human resources management, law and industrial relations, Labour Law effectively deals with all issues arising in the relations between workers and employees. Based on government laws and regulations, these laws delineate the rights & responsibilities of both workers & employers, specific grievance mechanisms, dispute resolution, union management and negotiation and so forth. Law Courses in India and abroad also touch on human resources management with specific issues on industrial relations and maintaining successful relationships between employees & company. Are you wondering – How to Become a Lawyer in this field? Let us take you through the career possibilities under Labour Law along with their scope.

Core Skills Required

As labour law professionals in court practice or in industry, there are certain skills considered essential apart from a minute-level grasp over relevant law and legal provisions. These have been mentioned below.

• Research and Analysis skills
• Critical Thinking and reasoning abilities
• Negotiation Capabilities
• Decision-Making skills
• Communication skills
• Persuasion skills
• Exceptional Writing abilities
• Updated with recent changes and amendments

Courses & Universities for Labour Law

Labour law courses [e.g LLB] on offer across the globe equip individuals with a solid understanding of its underlying mechanics and nuances and help build a successful career in Law. Refer to our blog on Law Entrance Exams to know more about relevant entrance tests. Given below are top law colleges in the world that can help you build an excellent career in the field:

Name of University	Location	Times Higher Education Ranking 2021	Courses
University of Melbourne	Australia	31st	Graduate Diploma in Employment & Labour Relations Law Master of Employment & Labour Relations Law
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign	USA	48th	Juris Doctor in Law and Master of Human Resources and Industrial Relations
Leiden University	The Netherlands	=70th	Advanced LLM in Global and European Labour Law
University of Bristol	UK	91th	LLM-Employment, Work and Equality LLM Labour Law & Corporate Governance
University of Leicester	UK	=170th	PG Diploma in Employment Law LLM Employment Law

Top Labour Law Colleges in India

The following are the popular law colleges in India:

• Mahatma Gandhi Law College 
• University of Law 
• National Law University
• Gujarat National Law University 
• University of Petroleum and Energy Studies
• Government Law College 

Related Articles: Law Colleges in India

Labour Law Course: Syllabus

If you are planning to pursue labour law courses in India, here are some of the important subjects you will come across-

Pre and Post Independence PeriodIndian Constitution and Labour Laws	Labour Policy of IndiaConcept of Industrial relations	Directive Principles
Fundamental Rights	Labour Welfare in India	Development of Industrial Disputes
Conciliation Officers	Legislations in India- Definitions	Intellectual Property Law
Law Relating to Wages and Monetary Benefits	Industrial Relations	Social Justice

Eligibility Criteria 

If you are looking forward to pursuing labour law courses abroad or in India, below we have mentioned the important pointers related to entry requirements- 

• For UG Courses: Completion of formal education of 10+2 from a recognised institution. 
• For PG Courses: Minimum required marks in courses like LLB, BA LLB, BBA LLB, etc. or its equivalent. 
• A good score in English language proficiency exams like IELTS, TOEFL, etc. 
• Minimum required score in entrance exam- LSAT 
• LOR and SOP in the prescribed format 

Labour Law Entrance Exams 

In order to secure admission to labour law courses whether in India or abroad, it is compulsory for candidates to qualify for entrance examinations. As per the university and study destination of your choice, you can choose amongst the below-mentioned entrance exams- 

• CLAT (Common Law Admission Test) 
• LSAT (Law School Admission Test) 
• AILET (All India Law Entrance Exam Test)
• AIBE (All India Bar Exam) 
• AP LAWCET (Telangana State Law Common Entrance Test) 
• TS LAWCET (Andhra PradeshLaw Common Entrance Test)

Types of Labour Law

The following are the types of Labour Laws in India:

• Collective Labour Law – It is fixated upon the tripartite relationship between the employer, employee and union. This provision regulates the legality of strikes and industrial disputes
• Individual Labour Law – It focuses more on the individual’s rights as an employee in India. These rights include legislation for the social security of employees and against discrimination, etc.

Career Profiles for Labour Law

The following are the popular career path in the field of Law:

Labour Law/Employment Law Advocate
Advocates of labour of employment law work with various parties, be it the workers, governments or companies. They typically deal with issues ranging from contracts, worker safety provisions, wages and salaries, harassment, equal opportunity law, compensation law, leave and discharge policies, law amendments and international labour law policies, amongst others. Upcoming lawyers can choose to specialise in a specific subfield of employment law and build a strong career both domestically and internationally.

Quick Read: Types of Lawyer

Labour Relations Professional 
Tasked with maintaining cordial relations and serving as an intermediary between employees and the organisations, a labour relations professional is an important wheel in successful management. Common issues such professionals deal with engaging in are formal as well as informal communication between unions and managers, regular updates and revisions on contracts and policies as required, scrutinising grievances, proposal drafting, collective bargaining, etc.

Human Resources Manager
Though lying a bit outside the ambit, a degree in labour law is no less beneficial in the job of a human resources manager, instead, the various labour law subjects equip one with a concrete background in employment law and related issues. Typical tasks of human resources professionals include hiring, employee relations maintenance, contributing to planning activities, employee grievances, transfer and promotion, retirement and discharge, etc. The need for such professionals is felt across industries and the scope also transcends into management consulting and public policy. 

Legal Analyst
As a legal analyst, you can expect to work under lawyers, at courts, in research analysis at law firms or at a more senior level, in governmental and administrative positions. Particularly in labour law, the job of a legal analyst may range anywhere from conducting core research to being an understudy. Typical responsibilities one can expect are studying cases and judgements, documentation, filing, proofreading and summarising and much more.

Also Read: PhD in Law

Employment or Labour law is an emerging discipline both in India and abroad. It involves proper learning and research throughout the duration of the course. Needless to say, choosing the right course and university combination plays a major role in developing the right career path. Take assistance from the AI tool at Leverage Edu which shortlists such unique combinations based on your personalised interests so that you can take an informed decision towards a rewarding career!