Employee Right and Responsibilities

 01.Definition of employee rights and Responsibilities 

Employee rights refers to a variety of measures that safeguard employees in the workplace. Employee rights vary depending on the company and the industry in which it operates. However, every employee, in any company, is entitled to certain benefits. At the workplace, all employees have basic rights such as the right to eat, the right to be safe, the right to be paid for the work they do, the right to join trade unions, and the right to gather – including the right to privacy, fair compensation, and freedom from discrimination, and the right to seek access to justice. 

To avoid a breach of these rights and obligations, it’s essential to understand what they are. Employers and employees have reciprocal obligations to one another, which are spelled out in their employment contracts.Every employee is entitled to more than just a safe workplace; there are legal obligations for a proper work schedule, minimum compensation, and other things. Employees’ employment in the organised private sector is governed by various laws, such as the Equal Remuneration Act, Payment of Gratuity Act, Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, Employees’ State Insurance Act, Maternity Benefit Act, and so on.

Figure 01. Employee Rights and Responsibilities

02.Importance of employee rights and Responsibilities 

Employees are the backbone of any company. Employees are considered to make or break enterprises. An employee, according to the basic textbook definition, is someone who has accepted to be engaged under a contract of service to work for a fee.

Employees, on the other hand, play a far more vital role within the organisation by developing a strong and deep relationship with their employers. Employees are required to create, administrate, organise, publicize, sell, transport, maintain, and repair when employers start a business (or develop a branch of an existing business). As a result, employees are the ones that run the business.

The wisest career move one will ever make is to educate oneself before, during, and after a job experience. This will benefit both management and employees because it will assist employees to understand their rights and offer them a more accurate picture of their options. When management informs employees of these rights, they must establish an environment in which those rights are respected. As a result, both sides recognize each other’s rights and responsibilities, which has a significant impact on the organization’s productivity.

Figure - 02. Employee rights 

03.What is meaning of ‘Employee Rights and Responsibilities?

 03.1.Employee Rights:

It is defined as the predefined rights or privileges of an employee associated with the organization. It aims at receiving fair treatment from employers. Such requests can be put by an employee to their employers when he feels that something is going off in the organization than what was committed when finalizing the employment.

03.2.Employee Responsibilities:

Every employee linked with the company is allocated specific responsibilities to accomplish daily, weekly, or monthly. This responsibility defines the precise path that needs to be followed by an employee daily. Employees get paid by working successfully on such duties. Defining commitments also help the organization avoid chaos or confusion among employees regarding what needs to be done. This clarity indeed also helps the company in achieving its goals faster than expected.

Figure 03.  https://prezi.com/p/msyq5cankery/employee-rights-and-responsibilities/

04.Description of Employee Rights in the workplace

All the rights of an employee in the organization have been mentioned below

04.1. Break Time

Every employee has the right to get a break time of at least one hour in the day. Some companies let employees sleep for 1.5 hours. We often forget our mental health in the middle of office work. Such breaks help the effortlessly working employees to regain their power.

 04.2.Fixed Working Hours

 Usually, every company has fixed working hours between 8 to 10.5 hours in a day. These hours might be in shifts, flexible, or inflexible. So, any employee working for more than the predefined hours will be considered overtime hours. In this case, the employee can get paid an extra amount of compensation for the extra hours he has committed to the company.

04.3.Safe and Healthy Work Environment

Demanding for a healthy and safe work culture is the right of every employee. Offering a safe work culture is the responsibility of the company’s HR. Also, arranging for emergency equipment must be installed within the organization.

04.3 Medical Claim Facilitye

The organization generallyb provides medical claim facilities to their employees if some mishappening or accident occurs within the organization. It is solely the shared responsibility to ensure that the office environment is safe and free of such threats.

04.5. Saying No to work on Holidays

Employees hold all rights to refuse to work on the paid holidays. Nobody from the company can force him to open his laptop and start working from home on the paid holidays.

04.6. Availability of Company Resources

The company must provide all the resources required to get the job done. Managing a laptop, note-pad, office bag, cell phones, and other necessities specific to the job profile must be handed over by the company itself. Hence, It is the responsibility of HR to take care of such things.

04.7. Paid Leaves

The minimum number of 12 leaves annually is the right of every employee. He can easily claim it from the HR person of the company respectively. Every employee working in the company, irrespective of the duration, is entitle to the following paid leaves:

Figure 04 - paid leaves

05.If Employees Don’t Respect Their Duties, The Employer Can Follow These Steps:

1. Deal with politeness Disciplining the employees

2. Build a Give and take Relationship

3. Discipline is the key

4. Warn Every Disrespectful Behavior

06.If  Employer Doesn’t Respect Their Responsibilities, The Employee Can Take These Steps.

1. Step Back & Analyze the Situation

2. Talk & Get Advice From a Colleague

3. Conversation With Your Employer

4. Make a Coping Strategy

5. Make a Complaint to HR or the Main Boss

6. Get Yourself a New Job

Conclusion
An employee’s legal rights and responsibilities  have been thoroughly outlined above. Every employee has some basic rights and responsibilities in their work. Knowing these employees’ rights can help to establish a warm and comfortable work environment. 

References 

01. https://educaloi.qc.ca/en/capsules/rights-and-responsibilities-of-employers-and-employees/

02. Figure 01 - https://www.startuphrtoolkit.com/employee-rights-and-responsibilities/

03.Figure 03 -https://prezi.com/p/msyq5cankery/employee-rights-and-responsibilities/

04.https://content.wisestep.com/employees-and-employers-rights-and-responsibilities/