The chapter considers the traditional conception of labour law as presented in the work of the Weimar scholar, Hugo Sinzheimer. Through a close reading of Sinzheimer’s prescriptions for the creation of an economic or labour constitution, I attempt to identify those elements which are capable of generalisation: those elements which are true of the regulation of work relations in all types of capitalist economy. This exercise is motivated by a belief that while much of Sinzheimer’s writing has become outdated, there is a generalisable core that is still valid today. To begin, as he did, with a recognition of the humanity of the worker, to move from that recognition to a concern with securing respect for human dignity and liberty in the context of working relations, cannot be dismissed as anachronistic without abandoning much wider aspirations to constitute free and equal societies. In line with the themes of the workshop, a second aim of the paper is to consider how the generalisable elements of Sinzheimer’s conception of labour law might be re-specified for current economic conditions. Though it is not possible within the confines of a short paper to consider this second question fully, I attempt, at least, to provide an indication of the potential benefits and difficulties involved.