Jesse Tomalty: Is there a Human Right to Employment?

Resymé

"Employment is of tremendous importance to a great many people. Not only do the majority of adults gain their living through paid employment, but many people derive a sense of satisfaction, accomplishment, or self-esteem from their work. Furthermore, employment can provide an opportunity for socializing, and can contribute positively to employees’ sense of identity and belonging. Chronic and involuntary unemployment tends to undermine people’s ability to support themselves and their dependents, isolates them socially, and has been shown to have a detrimental effect on mental well-being. These and other considerations have led some to conclude that there is a human right to employment. In this paper, I argue that the plausibility of this claim depends on how the content of the right is understood. The human right to employment tends to be interpreted as (a) a right not to be prevented or prohibited from taking up employment (entering into an employment contract), or (b) a right to guaranteed employment. I argue that the human right to employment cannot be sustained on either of these interpretations. I propose instead that we interpret the human right to employment as (c) a right not to be excluded from the labour market. On this interpretation, I argue that the human right to employment can be justified."