One day, perhaps, governments will cease to find employment a fertile area for more legislation, and the courts will take the view that they have said all that needs to be said on the subject. But there is no sign of that day approaching in the near future and so, two more years having passed, another edition of this book appears. When numbering editions the luxury is not afforded to authors, unlike hotels, of skipping the thirteenth. I hope that has no particular significance. I have been helped in many ways by several people in the preparation of this edition. In addition to, as ever, the very efficient editorial team at OUP, I would like particularly to mention Dr Michael Addo, Victoria Bresslaw, Patrick Fear, Owen Knight, Polly Lord, and Victoria Mayo. My employment law undergraduates at Exeter continue to have been a delight to work with. Above all, my thanks go to my wife Helen who has made many sacrifices to help me produce all 13 editions since 1990—she already had much practice by then—as well as to our nineyearold daughter Rachel who displayed her usual excellent taste and judgment when choosing the cover for this edition. I have stated the law as it appeared to me in February 2014.