Contract, Employment and the Contract of Employment

Many of the rights and duties of the parties in an employmentrelationship arise out of the characterisation of the contractof employment as such. Employment also occurs by virtue of thefact that a contract of employment has been entered into. Inconsequence, it is natural to think of the contract of employmentand the employment relationship as co-existent. It is thus ofsome importance, both in legal theory and in practice, to establisha logical account of the rights and obligations between theparties that exist because of the contract of employment otherthan during the period of employment, both after and possiblybefore that relationship exists. Various possible accounts areexplored, and the conclusion is reached that the theoreticalnexus between employment and contracts of employment shouldbe broken in order to provide a more logical conceptual framework.