As an employer, you’re not just in charge of making sure that your employees are able to follow the direction that you provide for them. You are also responsible for them and, in particular, responsible for making sure that their workers’ rights are met for as long as they’re at work. Here, we’re going to look at some of those rights and what you can do to make sure that you’re protecting them.
Their right to fair and equal pay
Your employees have a right to know how much they’re getting paid, and to get paid as and when they should expect it. Most payroll issues are accidental, so you should incorporate payroll software to ensure that you don’t make any mistakes like missing paychecks or being late with them too often.
The right to freedom from discrimination
Discrimination, whether it’s in how you hire, promote, delegate, or fire is illegal in all of its forms. You should ensure that you have a good idea of what the protected classes are. It includes not just gender, sex, and race, but it also includes factors like religion, race, and disability. Failing to make your workplace accessible to employees with disabilities could be seen as a form of discrimination, so you want to ensure that you’re not failing in that respect.
Their right to a safe workplace
Whether it’s an office, a factory, a construction site, a yoga studio, or otherwise, you have to ensure that you’re taking the time to identify any health and safety risks and provide plans to mitigate them. This can include a fire escape plan, ensuring that employees have access to supportive and ergonomic furniture, and keeping the workplace clean and tidy. A safe workplace also makes a workspace much more productive, too.
Their right to worker’s compensation
Of course, despite the best efforts of employers and their teams, injuries can and do happen. When they do, it may be your responsibility to ensure that your employee is taken care of through worker’s compensation. As such, you should always take the time to work out your workers compensation insurance costs before taking on more employees. If you fail to provide the compensation that your employee needs, then they could be forced to take legal action against you in order to keep themselves secure from financial ruin.
Their right to freedom from bullying
Bullying, abuse, and other toxic workplace behavior can happen anywhere, no matter how diligent and sensitive an employer you might be. It’s important to make sure that you have the provisions and processes in place to help any who have been targeted by harmful behavior in the workplace. Working with an HR agency, you can make sure that you have a process by which any complaints can be filed confidentially and with plans in place to address problematic people or actions.
Ensuring the rights of your employees are met and respected is the single most important part of being an employer. If you can’t do this, then you need to reconsider whether employing others is right for you.
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