Many of us feel embarrassed when it comes to asking questions in the workplace about our career and the rights that we feel we may be entitled to. The best way to navigate through the various stages in your career is to always be up to date with your employment and labor rights and responsibilities.
Throughout your career there are likely to be ups and downs, very few people now work in the same job for their entire careers. Furthermore, even if you work for the same company, there is always like to be some changes as you progress or perhaps issues if you don’t progress. Throughout this process of change and development, you need to be able to protect yourself and the best way to do so is with the knowledge of employment and labor rights.
Knowing where you stand is critical
Having access to information on your rights in the workplace should be easy enough if you have access to the internet and, or, if there is an HR department in your company. The basics are the starting point for many and its things like remuneration, working times, holiday entitlement, pension calculations, benefits and staff development that are a must know in relation to your job and the law. The state as well as federal legislation will provide some minimums below which your employer cannot deviate, but the crux is ensuring that you know these minimum standards to be able to enforce them on your behalf and hold the employer to account.
Be open to using professional advice and support
There are a few more complex issues, and the end of contract or termination of employment can be a lot trickier to navigate on your own. Likewise, discrimination in the workplace is something that you may need to discuss with a professional ADA attorney as having access to the rights an information is one thing, but being able to enforce and seek practical equality in the workplace may require assistance at times. This is simply the next step in the process of knowing and understanding your workplace rights. As an employee you must feel that you are able to raise any issues with regard to unsafe or unfair working conditions without fear of reprisal and this can only be done with the basic knowledge of what these rights are.
It is also important to understand that with all these employment rights will also come some responsibility. In the workplace there is a responsibility of the employees to contribute towards shared safety and being part of the company’s process to ensure a workplace that meets the standards set by the government and relevant legislation.
These are the primary steps that you will need to firstly understand and then be prepared to take to protect yourself in the workplace. Building a career that is unsustainable and being able to stand up for the rights that are guaranteed to workers is a definitive way to build and sustain a career in a workplace that cares for its workers.
