The central purpose of labour law is to protect employees. Employees are dependent on their employers, not just economically, but personally under their contract of employment. The resulting need for special protection is met by labour law. The basic idea of labour law is to bring about a fair balance of interests between employers and employees. The main purpose of labour law consists of protecting employees from violations of personal integrity, economic disadvantage and health risks involved in working as an employee.

Home workers, who are especially economically dependent on their employers, are also covered by labour law, partly under special provisions and partly under provisions applying to all employees. Labour law is divided into individual labour law, which governs relations between employers and employees, and collective labour law, which applies to legal relations between unions and employer associations at company and most of all at inter-company level.