Arbitrating Individual Labour Disputes in Jordan: Has the Policy of Promoting Arbitration Been Misplaced?

The Jordanian Court of Cassation has recently ruled that arbitration clauses are enforceable against employees in relation to individual labour disputes. While the Court rested its rulings mainly on the policy favouring arbitration as enshrined in the Arbitration Law, concerns arising from the Labour Law perspective have not been dealt with sufficiently by the Court. This article presents the relevant decisions of the Court of Cassation and assesses them from the perspective of labour law and the public policy embedded in it. It is argued that, while the arbitrability of individual labour disputes may be accepted, the enforceability of a particular arbitration agreement against an employee warrants a more careful approach than actually followed by the Court. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]