The field of employment law, also known as labour law, is an important aspect of modern workplace environments. Employment lawyers, employment solicitors, and business law specialists are very important to modern businesses, and are also used by individual workers and trade unions during times of dispute and legal action.
Employment lawyers perform a variety of different functions, most of which revolve around the relationship between employees, employers, and trade unions. This tripartite relationship is integral to all aspects of employment, and lawyers are often needed to draw up contracts, help solve disputes, and mediate the many aspects of a good working relationship. When dealing with the many aspects of employment law, many businesses choose to deal exclusively with labour law specialists, due to their working knowledge of the laws, rights, and standards that define modern workplaces.

Employment solicitors and business law specialists are able to perform a variety of functions within a modern workplace, including setting up individual work contracts, working with wage agreements, and analysing many different aspects of modern work practices. Some examples of the issues faced by employment lawyers include minimum wage, working time, health and safety, anti-discrimination, unfair dismissal, and child labour. Some of these issues are quite common in some jurisdictions, although they may be rare in others. There are two basic categories of employment law, which many lawyers specialising in one or the other. Collective labour law is the term used to describe the relationship between employers, employees, and trade unions, while individual labour law is used to define individual workers rights and work contracts.

Employment law has become a large field of law in the 21st century, with a wide range of individual practices in operation and many large firms also employing dedicated business law specialists. While trade unions have less of a role than they have in the past over much of the world, there are still a number of issues that need addressing on a regular basis between employers and employees. Employment solicitors and employment lawyers have both the knowledge and the experience to deal with all the individual aspects of employment, including setting up contracts, defining and protecting individual rights, and enforcing legal obligations.