Employee Rights That You Need to Know About

In the workplace everyone has rights, and it is very important that you know what rights your employees have when running your own business. A simple way to ensure that you stay morally and legally watertight is to look for legal advice, for example through attorney Joseph Taraska. The rights within a place of work can vary depending on what employment status is held by personnel, for example, whether someone is an employee or a worker. Employees are workers but not all workers are employees.

Here are several rights your employees have that you need to know about.

#1 Receiving a payslip

The day that your employee is paid they should receive a detailed payslip with a breakdown of exactly what they are getting paid, for the relevant time period that this work was carried out in, and any deductions that are taken from it. For example, taxes and pensions. Their payslip should include total pay before and after any deductions (net and gross), fixed deductions as well as any variable deductions.

#2 Not to be discriminated against

Your employees have the right to not be discriminated against or treated unfairly within the workplace due to their characteristics. The following are included characteristics: Age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or beliefs, sex, and sexual orientation. It does not matter whether the discrimination is direct or indirect, your employee will have rights.

#3 Unfair dismissal

As an employer, you must give lawful reasons and the relevant agreed amount of notice time when choosing to terminate any employee’s contract to work for you. You should be mindful of the main reasons an employee can be let go and the correct procedures to follow to go through this process.

#4 Personal privacy

Your employees have the right to have their personal information kept private, this can include but is not limited to their addresses, contact information, medical situations (both mental and physical), and of course their salary amount. If you are found to be disclosing this information with other employees, customers, or even family and friends then you are breaching your employee’s right to keep their information private.

#5 Health and safety

Implementing correct health and safety in the workplace is extremely important for an employer and is one of the most significant rights that an employee has. Everyone should feel and be safe at work with access to the correct PPE or equipment and tools as well as having relevant procedures in place. These rights not only protect your employees but also you and your business. If these rights were not in place, then it opens a lot of space for corner cutting which can lead to accidents and problems, both of which can cause a lot of time and money to be wasted.

There are of course many other rights that employees have that you should be aware of, and it is important that you do your own research as an employer.