Protective Function and Freedom of Contract in Labour Law

The article discusses the issue of the protection function and freedom of contract labor law. It deals with their importance and especially with their mutual position. The position and the contents of the function and then contractual freedom in today’s legal framework of labor law is explained first. Following this, their relationship and effect is analyzed, divided into four basic points: the question of cogency or dispositivity of labor law, position of the protective function as a factor limiting the freedom of contract, contrary the position of freedom of contract as a limiting factor of the protective function and, last but not least, the connection of their mutual relations to the concept of flexicurity. This analysis is accompanied with the relevance of re-codification of private law for the understanding of the importance of the function and especially freedom of contract for labour law.