The money imperative of the English law business and its attendants is well-illustrated by the price of law books.
Some areas of law are crucially important for non-lawyers in their everyday lives. For example, employment law deserves to be intelligible to the averagely literate person, and employment law rules should be easily available to anyone with problems in the workplace.
The key source for employment law is Harvey on Industrial Relations and Employment Law, a five-volume looseleaf work, priced at £1179, or almost 200 hours of work at the national minimum wage.
Another key sourcebook is Sweet and Maxwell’s Encyclopedia of Employment Law, price £1397.
Recently, a book entitled “Employment Court Practice” has been published, price £275. This closely follows the style of the White Book and is a new court reference book for employment practitioners. The strange thing about this book is that there appears to be no employment court in the United Kingdom. This publication marks a further step in the move away from public accessibility to the employment tribunal and its domination by lawyers.
More specifically, in the area of disability discrimination, Doyle’s Disability Discrimination: Law and Practice, costs a mere £49, or nine hours at the national minimum wage.
Books on health and safety law are also out of the range for most workers, for example:
Sweet and Maxwell’s Encyclopedia of Environmental Health law and Practice at £1165.
Redgrave’s Health and Safety is cheaper, at £242.
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