Work, Family and the Law

Simultaneous participation in paid work and family life is the barbecue stopper question of 2005, as Prime Minister Howard termed it recently. Many of the issues still concern the friendliness of the workplace towards women, who remain the primary carers of children in a majority of cases. But the juxtaposition of work and family is no longer only a women and children issue. Care of the elderly at home is increasing and there is also a growing number of males involved in primary care. Work, Family and the Law is a special issue Volume 23 No 1 of the journal Law in Context. The contents are listed below. You can read the abstract for each chapter by clicking on its title. You may also purchase a single copy of this issue through this page, or subscribe to the journal from the journal page. Work, Family and the Law weighs the performance of the (now declining) industrial tribunals, the private bargaining between employers and workers and also the courts in their employment jurisdiction. Comparisons are made between Australia and other countries, particularly in Europe. Avenues of promise and areas of particular concern are indicated in the context of the looming great changes in Australian industrial relations.