Tort Law in the employment relationship: A response to the potential abuse of an employers authority

It is a feature of the employment relationship that an employer is vested with authority under the employment contract to direct the conduct of an employee. Although central to the employment relationship, there is a risk that an employer may abuse that authority by creating a conflict between an employee’s obligations under their employment contract and other obligations the employee owes at general law. This article considers the tortious liability faced by an employer by reason of the employment relationship and suggests a more convincing explanation for the various forms of that liability; namely, that each type of liability faced by an employer responds to the risk that the authority vested in an employer to direct the conduct of an employee may be abused.