The Worker and the Law Revisited: Conceptualizing Legal Participation Mobilization and Consciousness at Work

Situating legal mobilization within a wide-ranging conceptual framework of worker activity that goes beyond recent interest in ‘strategic litigation’ and related organizing the gig economy, this contribution explores fundamental relationship between ‘laypeople’, i.e., non-professional subjects law, labour law. Notwithstanding growing empirical law research, there remains lack clarity rigorous evidence pertaining to how workers, activists employers think about has evolved over time. The idea, often implicit policy discourses, we have become increasingly ‘legally minded’, implications this, remain particularly underexplored. This article develops understanding what is, does, or potentially can do, mapping range ways which ‘laypeople’ may invoke engage with at work, distinguishing activities defined as (1) participation; (2) mobilization; (3) consciousness. schema more obvious laypeople formal institutions, ‘strategically’ otherwise, towards everyday processes constructing ‘legalities’. concept legalities, meaning taken-forgranted assumptions is ‘legal’, provides lens through view ideological involved constitution society economic institutions vice versa. Revisiting theme focuses much on understands acts upon conceptions characterizes protects worker, interrelations two Legal Participation, Mobilization, Consciousness, Juridification, Individual Employment Rights, Tribunals