Social law [DRHDB301]
Learning outcomes
The social law course focuses on labour law. At the end of the course, the student is required to: • To master the most important legal rules and principles of labour law and to define them precisely; • Use and apply these concepts, legal rules and principles to concrete cases; • To be able to problematize a concrete situation and ask relevant open questions; • Distinguish, in the subject studied, the essential from the accessory; • Master the organisation of social relations, understand and correctly apply the hierarchy of norms, distinguish and precisely define the different professional categories, apply the relevant legislation to each professional category and correctly justify this choice; • Making the necessary links between labour law, social security law and other branches of law such as administrative law, constitutional law, the law of obligations, judicial law, etc. This implies, of course, a sufficient command of these subjects; • Read and analyse case law correctly; • To develop and formulate a personal opinion, a critical point of view on all questions of social law, in a structured, argued and motivated manner; • Correctly use the social law code, the material and the sources studied, even when faced with a new problem, in order to analyse, problematise and solve it; • To understand the issues at stake in any social question, without limiting oneself to legal issues, while maintaining legal objectivity; • To develop, in groups or on their own depending on the exercise, their ability to question the legislative framework, to master it, to use the tools and to adopt a critical and nuanced mindset on the questions that are put to them or that the student has identified themselves.
Objectives
The social law course has different specific objectives that the student will be able to achieve at the end of the course: • Understand the originality and specificity of social law with respect to other branches of law and professional realities in the field; • To adequately understand the interactions between social law and other branches of law and the economic, social, etc. issues of the labour market as a whole; • To master the fundamental concepts of labour law by knowing the applicable legal and judicial framework. To do this, the student will be able to use the applicable labour legislation and apply his or her theoretical knowledge to practical situations; • To have a reflective and nuanced grasp of the subject matter; • Identify, problematize and respond to legal issues related to social law; • To qualify the legal and statutory framework studied.
Content
The social law course deals with labour law. It covers : • differences between professional categories (employees, civil servants, self-employed); • the history of labour and social law ; • collective labour relations (professional organisations, trade unions, national trade union council) (e.g., labour unions, joint committees, works councils, collective labour agreements, etc.); • the individual employment relationship (in particular, specificities of employees, civil servants, selfemployed; the resulting social protection regime, the employment contract (from recruitment to termination of the contract); • worker protection (health and safety at work, non-discrimination, working time, etc.); • well-being at work (basic principles, obligations regarding well-being at work, occupational health).
Teaching methods
Please note that teaching methods may change depending on the health situation and the guidelines given by the relevant authorities. This is a lecture-based course. Students are invited to participate actively, either by asking or answering questions or by spontaneously asking questions on certain subjects. The teacher offers several question and answer sessions as well as individual or group questioning. The aim is to encourage as much interaction as possible between teachers and students. Students are asked to prepare certain lessons either by means of pedagogical paths made available to them on the webcampus (which may consist of readings, viewing of commented powerpoint or videos, documentary research, etc.). During the oral course, students are invited to ask questions about the material covered during these preparations. Students who volunteer to do so are also asked to prepare an analysis of a case law decision from the casebook in relation to a subject in groups of two students. Their case law analysis will be presented to the other students during a class according to an agenda defined with the course professor. Students who volunteer will be exempted from one question in the June examination (see evaluation procedures). For all courses, students are asked to review their notes from the previous course and, if necessary, to do the required preparation. At the beginning of each course, students are given the opportunity to ask any questions they may have about previously discussed material that they may not have understood. In order to show the importance of social law and to make the subject as lively as possible, the lecture is closely linked to current events and developments (social developments, strike movements, new reforms, social consultation, relocation, statistics on social benefits, social debates, etc.). It is therefore more than likely that some of the material covered in the course will not be included in the reference materials listed below. Towards the end of the course, a specific question and answer session is also organised.
Evaluations
Please note that the assessment methods may change or be adapted according to the health situation and the guidelines given by the competent authorities. Evaluation method The examination, both in the first and second session, is a written examination. Students who have voluntarily participated in the case law analysis (see teaching methods) are given a score out of 5 for this exercise. The rating is communicated to them at the latest during the last oral class. The student may then choose to keep the mark in both the first and second term, and will be exempted from one examination question weighted at 5/20. If the student chooses not to retain the mark, then he/she is not exempted from any questions in the June and second session examination. Objectives of the evaluation The aim of the examination is to validate that the student has achieved the objectives of the course and has the required learning outcomes (supra). Evaluation methods The mastery of the course objectives and learning outcomes can be checked in several ways: 1. By comparing one concept with another (in this case, a general question to assess whether the student has mastered the subject as a whole and is able to articulate the different concepts in a relevant and argumentative way, in compliance with the requirements and rules of the language French); 2. By commenting on a text (in principle, a case law decision (in French or Dutch) from the 2021-2022 casebook or on the webcampus or discussed during a practical course) or a quotation; 3. By solving practical cases (practical exercises of the same type as those proposed several times during the course but mixing different legal issues, as in professional realities); 4. By multiple choice questionnaire ; 5. By multiple response questionnaire ; 6. Through open questions; 7. Through closed questions. Materials allowed in the examination The exam is closed-book, so only the social law code and the bac code are allowed, possibly supplemented by the texts listed in the legislation section, 'texts allowed for the exam', of webcampus. • In accordance with the guidelines issued by the Academic Secretary, only "number" references are permitted in the codes. The numerical references must of course be placed next to the relevant articles and not arbitrarily on any page of the code! Any non-compliant return will be considered as fraud. • Post-it notes may only be used as 'bookmarks', to indicate the relevant page(s). Collections of post-its filled with numbers and other figures, letters or words are strictly forbidden, as are post-its in the form of arrows or any other drawing. Any improper use of post-its will be considered as fraud. • The current indexed amounts can be noted by the student in his/her social law code instead of/alongside those listed in the legal texts.
Recommended readings
Recommended readings are listed or posted on webcampus. In addition, regular monitoring of social news is strongly recommended in order to make the link between the theory covered in the course and the practice of social law. Essential supports • each student's personal course notes (each student is logically responsible for ensuring the completeness and quality of his or her own course notes - see 'Teaching Methodology') • presentation slides put on webcampus ; • code of social law (code The Charter CLC4 social law, 2020-2021 edition) • casebook 2020-2021. Course materials The social law course is based on : • presentation slides to support the oral course, • a code of social law (The Charter CLC4 Code of Social Law, 2022-2023 edition), • a casebook 2022-2023 (available via webcampus), • any other document made available to students on webcampus; • students' personal notes taken during the oral course. The basis of the social law course is the lecture and therefore the student's course notes. The student can usefully supplement his or her course notes with the help of reference manuals available in the library. The lecture aims to introduce the material, to emphasise and explain important points, to give a different perspective on the material and, possibly, to make a link with some or all of the case law included in the collection. It is essential that students ensure that their course notes are up to date and worked on throughout the term in order to be able to follow the course easily and to prepare for the exam. The course outline and slides allow students to structure and complete their notes. The use of the CLC4 'Social Law' code is essential for the course, the examination and the exercise sessions. A collection of case law containing various decisions, both in French and in Dutch, is intended to illustrate the subject matter and to work on it. The decisions in the casebook are part of the subject matter, except for the Dutch decisions, which are for illustrative purposes. The reference manual, available in the library, is • Clesse, J. and Kefer, F., Manuel de droit du travail, Brussels, Larcier, 2018.
Language of instruction
French / FrançaisLocation for course
NAMUROrganizer
Faculté de droitRue de Bruxelles, 61
5000 NAMUR
Degree of Reference
Undergraduate Degree| Block | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelier en droit (horaire décalé) | 3 | 5 |
