Employer / Employee Rights and Responsibilities At Work Place

Employer / Employee Rights and Responsibilities At Workplace

                                                                     (Azmi, 2022)

An organization is a combination of deferent genders, deferent race, deferent religions, deferent age driving towards common objectives. Employees are working under different departments and possess unique responsibilities towards the organizational objectives. In mass manufacturing process, it is highly important to have written policies and procedures on equal employee rights. 

What are employee rights

In modern HR concept, employees are considered as part of the organization contributing numerous ways. Each organization has it's own written employees rights which always incorporate with  government human right policies as well as buyer COC (code of conduct). Each employee make bond with employer at the time of joining the company by signing legal documents which include rights / responsibilities.

1) Discrimination Policy -  According to the (Campbell, 2021) discrimination can be described as a person or group of persons are treated unfairly  for their specific characteristics. it is a right of each employee to gain respect for their religion, race, gender, age, disability at the workplace. Each employer is bowed to treat employees in fair manner and avoid penalize employees for these characteristics. 

2)  Minimum Working  and break times - According to the wages board ordinance 1941 (salary.lk, 2023) maximum normal working hours should not be exceeded 48 hours per week. Maximum 12 hours OT per week. Employees are entitled for break time in every 4 hours. 

3) Sexual harassment -  According to (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2023)  "Sexual harassment is an unwelcome sexual advance, unwelcome request for sexual flavors or other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature which makes a person feel offended, humiliated and/or intimidated, where a reasonable person would anticipate that reaction in the circumstances".  Sexual harassment can be identified as

• Touching without consensus
• Insult base on sex
• Request for sex
• Email or text with direct sexual meaning
• Deliberately brushing up a person 

4)  Health and Safety - It is written policy by employer giving commitment to employee to commit employee health and safety in the organization. Proper set of health and safety procedure is considered as one of the parameters customer is looking while compliance audits. Below are fundamentals of health and safety,

• To provide sufficient control over the accident can be happened in production process
• Keep in touch with employee for the matters that could affect their health
• Provide periodical training on health and safety to the employees.
• To maintain healthy working environment
• To safe handling of hazarded substances (correct usage of PPE)   

                                                            (Marouchak 2018)

Employee responsibilities

It is equally important that employees understand their primary responsibilities towards the company as they expecting the rights. Employees are legally signed contract with the organization for the responsibilities

• To perform their assigned duties to the level company expecting
• To perform duties in aligning with company rules and regulations
• To perform their duties aligning company safety procedures
• To respect fellow employees and not to discriminate 
• Not to damage company properties
• To respect and work hand in hand with employer

Employer responsibilities

The foundation for the growth of an organization is laid between the mutual understanding of employer and employee. these are legally signed bonds between two parties. Employer has to play a major role to align employee towards company common objectives. The employer can win the heart of employees by aligning with the responsibilities towards employee.

• To provide individual working instructions and job descriptions.
• To provide suitable and appropriate place to work
• Pay salary and benefits as signed in contract as well as on agreed dates
• To set product and safety procedures 
• To treat each employee qual manner
• To provide equal opportunities to each employee
• To create fair and pleasant working environment.   
• To respect each employee regardless of position

Conclusion

Both employer and employee have different type responsibilities but those responsibilities are designed towards one company objectives. performing individual responsibility by both parties makes the company grow continuously. Therefore it is important to have close communication methods between employer and employee to discuss and to fix the problem faster as possible.  An organization has it's own disciplinary procedures in case any party break their responsibilities. disciplinary actions can be taken at any time regardless of employer and employee.

                                                            (Sammi 2022)

Campbell (2021) Discrimination in the workplace. betterup.com[online]. Available at https://www.betterup.com/blog/discrimination-in-workplace. Accessed on 8th Aug 2023.

 Salary.lk (2023) working hours and holidays. salary.lk[online].Available at https://salary.lk/labour-law/leave-and-holidays/working-hours-and-holidays. Accessed on 8th Aug 2023.

Australian human rights commission (2023) sexual harassment in the work place. humanrights.gov.au[online]. Available at https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/projects/sexual-harassment-workplace-legal-definition-sexual-harassment#:~:text=of%20Sexual%20Harassment-,The%20Legal%20Definition%20of%20Sexual%20Harassment,that%20reaction%20in%20the%20circumstances. Accessed on 10th Aug 2023. 

Azmi(2022) Employer & employee rights and responsibilities at workplace. startuphrtoolkit.com[online]. Available at https://www.startuphrtoolkit.com/employee-rights-and-responsibilities/. Accessed on 11th Aug 2023