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Month: June 2024

Leases and the Law of Domestic Service: Delving into Scotland’s Employment Law History

by Dr. Alice Krzanich, Lecturer in Law and Legal History, University of Aberdeen

The history of employment law in Scotland is an under-researched topic. While some aspects of law and labour in Scotland’s past have been examined, others have been barely touched at all. Moreover, while many elements of employment law in modern-day Scotland are similar or identical to those in England and Wales, Scots law has its own distinct history concerning labour and employment. This is due to Scotland’s unique legal institutions and juristic traditions. There is consequently a need to investigate the history of employment law in Scotland more fully and to tease out some of the themes of its development.

This blog entry illustrates some of that distinct legal heritage by examining the employment of domestic servants in early nineteenth-century Scotland. In particular, it shows how Scots contract law regulating domestic service shared certain analytical features with the law of leases in the period c. 1800–1850. This may seem surprising, as the employment of domestic servants may (outwardly at least) seem to have little directly in common with leases of property. Yet this analysis will reveal commonalities between the two, resulting from the influence of Roman law alongside customary practices. Moreover, the law of leases was not the only area of private law that the contract of domestic service shared connections with in the nineteenth century; it was also often conceived as part of the law of familial obligations. This raises further questions about the nature of historical Scottish master-servant law, which this analysis will highlight.

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The Willy’s Chocolate Experience debacle: A classic case for solatium in damages for breach of contract?

by Thorsten Lauterbach, Teaching Excellence Fellow, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen

It will have been difficult not to see the tale of woe behind the Willy’s Chocolate Experience, a story that dominated headlines[1] in Scotland and beyond,[2] as it went viral on social media: children and their parents had been looking forward to around an hour of exhilarating entertainment, at up to £35 per ticket, only to receive the exact opposite. It is a box of wondrous legal issues aplenty: advertising, employment law, intellectual property law, consumer law, contract law – and there may well be some more. This blog entry looks at this story from a consumer redress angle, particularly focusing on solatium for breach of contract in common law, and how the thinking on this concept was driven by one – or two – prominent Scots.

What happened?

Advertising via the Willy’s Chocolate Experience website had promised “a place where chocolate dreams become reality. Book your adventure now and embark on a journey filled with wondrous creations and enchanting surprises at every turn!”,[3] “an enchanted garden, with giant sweets, vibrant blooms, mysterious looking sculptures, and magical surprises that add an extra layer of wonder to your Chocolatey Experience!”,[4] Imagination Lab, Twilight Tunnel – an “event [which] guarantees an immersive and delightful entertainment experience suitable for aged 3+ years old”.[5] However, the reality turned out to be different.

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