What are My Rights as An Employee?

Employees have several responsibilities and legal rights which are enforceable by law. No matter in which field you are, being an employee you must be aware of your rights. Before you get to know an employee’s rights, let’s discuss the employees' rights definition.

Employee legal rights definition

Employee rights is a term used to describe various rights of an employee that ensures protection for a worker in an organization. Employee rights are established to prevent employees from employer discrimination, risky workplace conditions, and any other circumstances which can threaten an employee’s well-being and safety. The Department of Labor and Employment establishes employees’ rights and gives them access to information which can affect their professional and personal lives.

Being an employee, do you know what your employee rights are or have you ever questioned: “what are my rights as an employee?”

This blog is all about to helping employees to know their employee confidentiality rights. Here are some major employees’ rights:

1. Right to workplace safety:

A worker has the right to do his job in a healthy and safe work environment. According to OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), “a worker has the right to refuse to perform unsafe work.” If an employee feels unsafe at his workplace, he may file a complaint or request an investigation with the right regulating authority. He has the right to review complete information about workplace regulations related to office health hazards and safety.

2. Right to equal work opportunity for all:

A worker has the right to perform in a workplace free from harassment and discrimination. This right safeguards employee against unfair and prejudice treatment in the organization. This right is established to offer equal work opportunities to employees regardless of race, creed, or gender, and to improve employee-employer relations.

3. Right to payment of wages:

Employees’ wages should be paid straight to them in legal tender, cash, or through a bank. The employers cannot deduct money from their employees’ salary without having valid reasons for the same.

4. Right to access information:

Workers have the right to review and access record and other essential information. An employee can review his personal file. He may also get his medical records as well as has access to employer data with regards to changes and events which can affect his work environment.

An employer must maintain copies of injury and illness records and is bound to make the documents available to workers whenever required.

5. Right to self-organization and collective bargaining:

Every employee has the right to self-organization, i.e, to create or to join any legitimate employees’ union, without any interference from the government or their employers. Every employee can join a union for collective bargaining, he is eligible to join the union on his first working day.

Collective bargaining is a procedure between the union and employer, where the employment terms and conditions are agreed upon and fixed. In this process, the two parties, basically union party and employer party decide upon a way for sorting out grievances. Collective bargaining results in a CBA contract (Collective Bargaining Agreement).

These are 5 rights of employees that every employee is entitled to. These rights are basically designed to ensure the health and safety of all workers working in different departments. To read more such interesting blogs, visit Net Pro Referral.