10 Employee Rights You Should Know

Every worker is entitled to their rights in a healthy work environment. Employee rights are the legal and moral entitlement you’re supposed to receive as an employee, and these are an essential aspect of any modern workplace. While specific rights depend on where you work and your employment status, some basic ones should cover every worker, regardless of status or position. Unfortunately, very few employees know this, although some have been employed for years. It’s difficult to know if you have been treated unjustly or if your employer has violated your rights if you don’t know what’s due to you. Here are some employee rights you should know.

Equality and fair treatment 

Equality and fair treatment are fundamental human rights that extend to the workplace. Regardless of where you work, you must not be discriminated against based on gender, age, disability, religion, race, or sex. Identifying any form of discrimination (on the basis mentioned) is straightforward in most cases. However, some forms of discrimination are subtle and indirect. Direct discrimination occurs due to obvious characteristics you may have, making you different from the rest. However, indirect discrimination occurs when rules that apply to all workers may be inconvenient to some. For example, if all workers are required to work on Saturdays, that may be an indirect form of discrimination against workers whose faith doesn’t allow them to work on Saturdays. 

You’re entitled to time off or paid annual leave

All employees (and workers, generally) are entitled to 4 weeks of annual leave each year. If you work five days a week, your employer must provide at least 20 days (and 24 days for six-day workers) of paid annual leave each year, including bank holidays. You can also pile up holiday entitlements during maternity and paternity leave or from time away while sick. Of course, the specifics may vary or change from one location to another. But the bottom line is that you’re allowed a period of paid leave each year. This right ensures you can rest, recharge, and return to work without breaking down. In some workplaces, employers insist workers take time off to improve their health and productivity. Working throughout the year (particularly physically demanding jobs) has some health implications if you fail to give your body the rest it needs beyond weekends. Paid leave reduces the risk of work burnout and helps workers remain consistently productive throughout the year. 

You must receive a detailed payslip 

Whether it’s in electronic form or printed, you must receive a detailed payslip during the payday or a day before. Your payslip should contain a detailed pay breakdown for the relevant period or time. It should also contain tax deductions, pension contributions, health insurance payments, and any other deductions applicable in your case. Your payslip should mention your total pay before any of the deductions and what you have left after the deductions. That will be your gross amount and net amount, respectively. A separate statement should also explain all fixed deductions. 

You should receive a contract employment

Most employees work without contracts, despite the latter being a central part of employment. In most cases, employers are not legally bound to provide a written contract before you start work. However, within two months of starting your position, you should receive a written statement outlining your work’s basic details. It should spell out your conditions of employment, what is expected of you, some basic and main terms, payment and remuneration information, and any other important information about your role. 

Things like leave period, expected work hours, paid holidays, health-related absence (or sick leave), minimum notice period, disciplinary processes, and procedures for reporting grievances should also be provided. 

Privacy rights

As a rule of thumb, most workplaces consider personal possessions private. That means your purse, wallet, briefcase, backpack, phone, personal laptop, and employee storage locker are your personal property and should be treated as such. However, your employer can monitor your telephone usage if you use the organization’s telephone and internet at work. Also, while personal computers, phones, and tablets are private property, your employer can monitor your emails, chats, and phone conversations if they’re on a company computer or device. As long as you use company devices, your employer can track the websites you visit as well as restrict your access to some websites at work. Privacy rights establish the boundaries between your private life and your professional duties. It prevents your employer or superior from encroaching or infringing on personal matters without your permission. Your employee might not state your privacy boundaries, but it’s important to know them so you can have a better sense of security at work. 

A right to a safe working environment

Every employee deserves and needs to work in a safe and healthy environment. That is important for mental and physical health, which, in turn, boosts productivity. But it’s also an important element for job satisfaction. This right ensures that your employee provides you with a safe space to work, free from potential hazards and other health or safety risks. Such hazards could be biological, chemical, or physical, as long as they risk your health and safety while working. Knowing this right allows you to demand the necessary improvements or safety measures in your workplace. For example, if your job requires you to work at a height or exposes you to dangerous chemicals, your employer should provide all the protective gear you need to work safely. You should also receive adequate training on safety and equipment usage to reduce the likelihood of injuries while at work. You can always seek legal assistance from an injury lawyer if you sustain injuries due to your employee’s negligence or failure to provide a safe working environment.

Minimum wage and overtime pay

Most countries have a minimum wage standard that employers must stick to when paying employees for work. That establishes the baseline standard for work compensation. Minimum wage payment ensures that companies do not exploit their workers or overburden them while underpaying them. The pay standard varies from place to place, so you must research the bare minimum due to you as a worker. Please note that minimum wage is only the barest minimum and can be set higher to meet your expertise, experience, skillset, or productivity level. Understanding this right is important as it allows you to negotiate a fair wage and ensures you can afford basic needs. Overtime pay comes in if you work beyond set basic hours. You’re entitled to additional pay, which increases your earnings anytime you exceed your work limits. Some employers pay overtime according to the number of extra hours spent, while others pay higher than the regular wages. 

A minimum notice period

Your employer must give you a minimum notice period before terminating your employment. Again, the details differ from place to place. But if you’ve been employed for more than a month but less than 2 years, you must be given at least a week’s notice before any work termination. Those employed between 2 and 12 years should receive not less than a week’s notice for each year they remained in continuous employment. If you’ve been employed for 12 years or more, you must receive at least 12 weeks notice. 

But this responsibility or right goes both ways. You’re also required, as an employee, to provide your employer with prior notice before leaving your job. Your contract should specify the required minimum notice period for informing your employee about your resignation. However, this right may not be present if you’re contracted to work for a specific period. For example, if you’re working under a three-month contract, your service ends immediately when your contract expires. 

Whistleblower protections

You have the right to expose illegal dealings or activities in your organization without fearing retaliation from your co-workers or superiors. That’s where whistleblower protections come in. This right ensures that companies or businesses operate in transparency and fairness. It also encourages workers to report evidence of wrongdoing to the right departments. If handled correctly, such reports can benefit the company, society, or the employer. Once you know that the law shields you from potential retaliation, it’s easier to come forward with crucial information regarding illegalities. You can speak out against misconduct, unfairness, harassment, and fraud to help maintain your employer’s integrity. And this leads to the next point. 

You should be protected from bullying and harassment 

Bullying and harassment are not encouraged in societies in general. While they’re mostly talked about in schools or online platforms, employees are exposed to such experiences in many forms at the workplace. That creates an unsafe working space, induces fear, and affects the victimized employee’s mental (and sometimes physical) health. As part of a broader picture of creating a safe working environment, your employer should put the right measures in place to protect you and your colleagues from this unhealthy practice. Bullying and harassment can be verbal or physical, but the effects are always the same – discomfort, panic, and fear. That can affect your work productivity, costing your job and mental health and leaving you stressed and sometimes depressed.