Dialling Up Detection: A Review of Recent Experiments and Strategies Designed to Identify Work Law Violations

Speaker: Prof. Tess Hardy, Melbourne Law School, Australia.

Moderator: Fabiola Mieres, ILO Research Department

One of the most formidable obstacles facing labour inspectorates is identifying when a violation has occurred. Many contraventions of work law are hard to detect and easy to conceal. Drawing on a recently published chapter in The Oxford Handbook of the Law of Work (OUP, 2024), Associate Professor Tess Hardy (Melbourne Law School) will examine various detection modes and mechanisms that have been deployed by government labour inspectors to more effectively monitor compliance with work law. The seminar will explore ways in which to reduce barriers under a complaint-centric approach, how to enhance data collation and analytics when adopting a more proactive stance and the benefits of collaborative approaches. Tess will also consider the potential and pitfalls of alternative information sources, such as anonymous reporting lines and whistleblower schemes.

About the Speaker:

Associate Professor Tess Hardy is Director of the Centre for Employment and Labour Relations Law at Melbourne Law School. Her research mainly focuses on labour regulation and its enforcement, and the way in which this intersects with business regulation more broadly. Prior to joining academia, Tess was a private practitioner based in Melbourne, Tokyo and Hong Kong, advising principally in the area of work law. Tess is currently an editor of the Australian Journal of Labour Law.

This Knowledge Exchange Seminar is facilitated by the ILO Research Department as a platform for dissemination of research findings and exchange of ideas. The views expressed in this seminar are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the ILO nor of its constituents.