Contract, Employment and the Contract of Employment

Many of the rights and duties of the parties in an employment relationship arise out of the characterisation of the contract of employment as such. Employment also occurs by virtue of the fact that a contract of employment has been entered into. In consequence, it is natural to think of the contract of employment and the employment relationship as coexistent. It is thus of some importance, both in legal theory and in practice, to establish a logical account of the rights and obligations between the parties that exist because of the contract of employment other than during the period of employment, both after and possibly before that relationship exists. Various possible accounts are explored, and the conclusion is reached that the theoretical nexus between employment and contracts of employment should be broken in order to provide a more logical conceptual framework.