Centralisation of Labour Regulation in Response to the Black Death: The Statute of Labourers and Contract Law

Abstract

The Black Death killed an estimated third to a half of the English population in 1348-49, causing a shortage of agricultural labour. Survivors were more mobile and less willing to take on poor quality work. The Ordinance (1349) and Statute (1351) of Labourers attempted to combat the consequent inflation and wage rises. Further outbreaks in 1361, 1368-9, and 1375 also triggered legal responses: further legislation in 1361, case law developments in the 1370s, petitions presented to the House of Commons seeking legislative change in response to particular grievances and, eventually, the Statute of Cambridge in 1388. Their effectiveness in controlling the labour market was limited by, inter alia, a lack of enforcement infrastructure.