What Are An Employee's Rights And Obligations?

Employee rights indicate the legal entitlements that employees can enjoy in their workplace, while employee obligations indicate the duties and responsibilities employees must follow according to their employer.

You should know your employee's rights and obligations to utilize your workplace effectively.

In this guide, Aniday will detail the employee rights and obligations you must follow.

What Are Employee Rights?

Employee rights are the legal entitlements employees have in their workplace. These rights relate to one's work and ensure fair treatment in the workplace.

Beforehand, are employees and workers different? Yes, employees and workers are different. 

Every employee is a worker, but not every worker is an employee. A worker does some work or services under a contract or arrangement for a reward (a reward can be money or anything else). However, an employee has an employment contract and is responsible for working under an employee to do regular work.

1. You Must Receive A Payslip

You must receive a pay slip when you get paid for your work. The pay slip should contain the essential information about the pay you received. However, depending on your employer's convenience, the payslip can be given online as a paper or PDF. For example, this information can be included in the pay slip, but it depends on how you get paid and your role:

• A clear and transparent breakdown of all deductions.
• Fixed deductions must be explained in a separate statement, provided before the first payslip, and updated annually.
• The amount paid for the specific period.
• Total pay after deductions (net amount).
• Total pay before deductions (gross amount).
• Variable deductions based on pay include tax, national insurance, student loan repayments, and pension contributions.

2. You Cannot Be Discriminated

Discrimination is the activity or when someone is mistreated in their workplace due to specific characteristics. These characteristics are stated and protected under the Equality Act in your country. To give you a more detailed overview, here are the protected characteristics under this law:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage or civil partnership
• Pregnancy or maternity
• Race (color, nationality, ethnic or national origin)
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

How do you address if you are being discriminated against at work? Here's how you address discrimination issues:

• Identify whether you are covered by the law to address the discrimination issue.
• Identify whether your employer is responsible for the issue.
• Specifically, identify which discrimination characteristics or characteristics are related to your problem.
• You must take legal action by talking to a professional based on the type of discrimination characteristics violated.

3. Protection Against Unfair Dismissal

Protection against unfair dismissal is an employee right that the employer must provide before terminating the employment contract. Every termination should follow fair dismissal.

4. Request For Flexible Workspace

If you are an employee who has worked continuously for a specific number of weeks, like 26 weeks, you can request a flexible workspace through a statutory application. You can make this application only once per year.

In this application, you must include details about how you want flexibility to work, how it affects the business, and the required details. Your employer must decide based on that within three months or on the specific due date.

5. Your Work Environment Should Follow Health And Safety Laws

According to your country's Health and Safety at Work Act, your employers must follow the ideal health and safety laws that address the employees. They include:

• Maintain a hazard-free workplace.
• Provide safety training and equipment.
• Conduct risk assessments regularly.
• Communicate emergency procedures.
• Ensure compliance with safety regulations.

6. Be Aware Of Minimum Notice Periods

The minimum notice period refers to the time you or your employer must provide before ending the employment relationship, ensuring a smooth transition for both parties. It may vary based on your employment contract, such as 1 month to 2 years.

7. You Are Entitled To Annual Leave

Employees are entitled to paid annual leave, with the specific number of days varying by country or state regulations. These holidays can also be obtained during maternity, paternity, adoption, or sick leave.

8. Eligible For Statutory Maternity Rights And Pay Leave

Employees should be aware of the statutory maternity leave offered, which is 52 weeks (may vary depending on your country's employee rights). The employee doesn't need to utilize all leaves, but the employee must take two weeks leave after the baby is born or four weeks if you works at a factory. However, there are two types of statutory maternity leaves, as follows:

• Ordinary Maternity Leave (the first 26 weeks)

• Additional Maternity Leave (the last 26 weeks)

During your maternity leave, you are also eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) for a specific number of weeks. This pay will be paid on time based on the employee rights in your country.

9. Eligible For Statutory Paternity Rights And Pay Leave

Employees can take paternity leave if their partner is giving birth to their baby. To be eligible for paternity leave, you must generally be employed by the same employer for at least 26 weeks before the 15th week when your baby is due (may vary depending on your country). You must take one or two weeks of leave after the baby is born, and it must be on one go.

Depending on your country's employee rights, you can take paternity leave within a specific number of weeks and maybe 56 days of the baby's birth.

You can also obtain your paternity pay during your paternity leave, depending on your earnings.

What Are Employee Obligations?

Employee obligation indicates that employees must perform as they were hired and be disciplined. They must follow the scope of work outlined for them based on the employee agreement. Here are some key employee obligations that must be followed:

• You must follow the company policies and procedures.
• Should complete the assigned tasks and duties accurately and on time.
• Maintain professionalism and respect towards colleagues and clients.
• Ensure the safeguarding of company assets, including confidential information.
• You need to comply with health, safety, and workplace regulations.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, understanding your rights and obligations as an employee in your country is essential. It empowers you to exercise your entitlements, uphold your responsibilities, and confidently navigate your professional role.

We hope this guide helped you understand the key employee rights and obligations you should know.