Employment in Schools: A Legal Guide (2nd edition)

Citation

Guth, J. (2009), "Employment in Schools: A Legal Guide (2nd edition)", International Journal of Law and Management, Vol. 51 No. 1, pp. 52-53. https://doi.org/10.1108/17542430910936682

Employment Law in Schools is meant to be a comprehensive guide to employment law as it applies to schools in England and Wales. Considering the table of contents, the book does seem to cover a wide range of topics and most of the issues that one might be faced with in a school employment context. The chapters seem to be logically structured, although why dispute resolution procedures under the Employment Act 2002 are dealt with in chapter 2 is anyone's guess. I would have put this towards the end of the book but this may simply be personal preference. Other chapters deal with recruitment issues, employment rights and duties, human rights, discrimination issues as well as the termination of employment relationships and staff representation in the specific context of schools. All in all, it is difficult to identify any major omissions.

Overall, the text is well written and good use is made of extracts from legislation and cases. Each chapter is well structured and laid out well. Splitting the text into numbered paragraphs supported by a comprehensive and intuitive index makes it easy to find the topic you are looking for. The style of writing is formal but not inaccessible and, if I am honest, there is little fault to be found with this book. Nonetheless, I am not bowled other with enthusiasm for it. It is simply boring. It must of course be remembered that this book is probably not meant to be academically stimulating, interesting or exciting; it is meant to be a guide to employment law in a specific context. However, does that necessarily mean it has to be so dull? The content of the book is made up of statements of the law. There is no analysis or comment on the legal position and little consideration how the law might actually operate in practice although there is the odd useful tip. For example, in the section on hiring staff, readers are advised to draw up a list of criteria for selection and then apply those criteria at interview.

I find it difficult to gauge the usefulness of this book for an audience with a non‐law background. It seems to me that the book is very much written in legal language, accessible legal language but law speak nonetheless. While the introductory chapter briefly explains the doctrine of precedent (I am not entirely sure why); no real explanation is given for example of the term “common law” and yet chapter 5 contains a section on the “Employers' common law obligations after the contract has ended”. I may be oversensitive in this regard and may be underestimating those who would make use of a book such as this one in the school context; however, I do feel the book could be made more accessible by paying more careful attention to how headings are worded and by avoiding use of legal jargon.

There is little else to say about this book. It will sit neatly on my bookshelf with the other employment law books and is unlikely to ever come down again unless I should get a very specific query about employment in schools. I can see the text being of some use to those working in schools who have responsibility for staffing and employment issues. It is not a bad book by any stretch of the imagination; it is just a dull book which does nothing to bring the law alive and demonstrate is application in every day life. It lacks examples and illustrations of key points and principles. It is in a way little more than a bringing together and organising of various legal sources written in a slightly (and I do mean slightly) more user‐friendly way than the originals. The problem, as with all guides to law is of course that it was out of date from the minute it was published and it will need updating frequently.

Would I recommend this book to managers or senior staff in schools? Well, no. At £39, it is expensive for what it is and the money could probably be better spent towards an appropriate training course for relevant staff. The book might look good on a shelf and you might even flick through it or look something up but chances are that if you think you need to look at the book, you will want to ask somebody anyway, at least for a second opinion or to clarify what the legal principle the book has shared with you might mean in practice.