A Case Study on Human Rights at a Work Place
The employees in every company have human rights that are protected by the law. The Human Rights Act (HRA) which protects employees’ rights and freedoms. There are various principles of the HRA that are being designed in order to protect the following rights of the workers. The employee has the right to a private and family life. This condition refers to the discriminating act of employer against sexual preference, religious affiliation, race or nationality- these are some of the instances that a company or an employer is violating the worker’s right to a private life. The employee has also the right to see or know any information that held about him or her such as emails or CCTV footage. For example, the employer has the right to monitor the flow of communications within the workplace provided that the employees are aware of the monitoring before it takes place. These include emails, internet access, telephone calls, data, and images monitoring. The right to privacy of every employee in the organization means that the employees cannot be monitored everywhere in the workplace. They have the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and freedom of expression, assembly and association. In the same manner, workers have the right to be joining a trade union, as well as to attend gatherings in the work place, so as to campaign in order to improve the benefits of the employees. And more importantly, the employee human rights protect the employees’ health and safety in the workplace. If the companies or the employers do not practice or respect this law in the work place, they are certainly breaching the human rights law of the employees. Furthermore, if the employees believe that their human rights in the workplace have been breached, they better talk to the management or employer first. Then, if the demand or appeal still not met; the employees must follow the employee’s grievance policy indicated in the employment contract. In the case that an employer has an appeal or demand, he or she can hand over a complain letter to the supervisor. If the supervisor cannot resolve the complaint or issue, the employee can escalate the problem into the line manager. If the line manager cannot still resolve the issue, the employee has still the chance to bring the complaint to the HR manager. In this event, the HR management should arrange a grievance meeting with the employee to iron out whatever the problem of the worker. And, if despite all these efforts, the employee still get an unsatisfactory result. The employee has the right to take legal action against the company. For employee’s human rights law is complex, an employee needs to get legal advice from a lawyer.
(http://www.desktoplawyer.co.uk/dtl/index.cfm?event=base:article&node=a76056b76177d76194)
Moreover, all employees have an employment contract with their employers. It may be in writing or in verbal form. An employment contract is an agreement between the employer’s and the employee’s rights, responsibilities and duties. They are all included in the terms of the contract. The employment contract is made as soon as the employee accepts a job offer. If the employee starts working it only shows that he or she accepted the job on the terms offered by the employer through a contract. A written contract can help in cutting out disputes with the employer in the near future, as well as it will help the worker to understand his or her employment rights. The worker and the employer are both bound to the employment contract until it expires or until the terms are changed. Additionally, any employer will be keen to keep drug misuse away from the workplace. Similarly, causing ill-health, drug misuse increases the chances of accidents in the work place that interferes with the productivity of the workforce. In this connection majority of the companies are practicing a drug testing policy among their employees. The management or the employer has the legal obligation to look after the health of the entire workforce as well as to the health and safety of them. Any drug monitoring policy can be achieved through regulation of drug testing carried out in the organization. In this manner, a disciplinary action and support is taken to drug users. In drug testing, the employer needs employee consent; this is normally done by a full contractual occupational health and safety policy. This must be inclusive in the employment contract or in the company handbook. This must be done through genuine random tests procedures among the employees. It will be significantly discriminatory act if the drug testing will be carried out among particular employees only, unless it can be justified through the nature of the jobs.
(http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/HealthAndSafetyAtWork/DG_10026594)
References:
(http://www.desktoplawyer.co.uk/dtl/index.cfm?event=base:article&node=a76056b76177d76194)
(http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/HealthAndSafetyAtWork/DG_10026594)
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