In simple terms, the responsibilities of employees and employers may mean to pay employees in exchange for their work and make sure that workers and others are protected from anything that may cause harm. But the mutual share of responsibility among employees and employers go way much beyond.
Companies hire employees to make the most of their unique abilities to fix a problem and get their job done. So employees are responsible for carrying out their duties according to the instruction of their employers.
Completing the assigned tasks is the very basis why employees are hired for by the employer. On the other hand, employers also have to abide by some legal as well as ethical responsibilities while hiring employees.
The employer has to look after the health, safety and welfare of their employees. Employers are obliged to do whatever is reasonably practicable to achieve this. The legal issue regarding employer and employment responsibility is discussed in the scope of UK employment law.
Rights of employees
The rights workers enjoy from their employers after being hired are:
- Right to a written employment contract.
- Receive a fixed minimum wage as per the government regulations.
- Specified maximum limit of work hours every week not exceeding 48 hours.
- Right to opt-out of extra hours of work
- Get protection from unauthorised deduction of wages.
- Get an ample amount of rest breaks during working hours.
- Protection from all sorts of discrimination. Race, religion, sex, class, sexual orientation, to name a few.
- Ensuring the supply of proper safety equipment to the workers needed to carry out the job.
- Consulting the employees before making any changes to the employment contract.
- Enjoy allocated amount of paid leaves, sick leave, paternity or maternity leaves as per company policy.
Employer’s responsibilities towards employees
As employers are the ones who hire employees to get their work done, they are the ones accountable to fulfil the rights of the employees. This obligation of employers are as follows:
- Employers must provide their employees with an appropriate space from where they can carry out their works. Along with that, employers must supply employees with the tools, equipment and other things they need to do their job.
- Employers are also responsible for training the employees and equipping them with the right knowledge that will help them carry out their duty.
- Its the legal obligation of employers to pay their employees the salary and benefits they agreed to. Which is, of course, higher than the minimum wage fixed by the government. This also includes paid vacation, paid holidays and other types of holidays.
- The employer is in charge of securing the workplace for his employees. It is also his responsibility to supply with the appropriate safety equipment to his employees so that employees don’t have to take up an unwanted danger.
- Employers are also obliged to treat their employees with respect. They must make sure their employees are not harassed or discriminated on any grounds while working.
- Employers must give their employees a written notice before their contracts are ending or that they are being laid off. Note that employers may also pay employees a sum of money instead of giving the information.
- Contract renewal has to be done by arranging a meeting among the concerned parties and decisions need to finalised based on the discussion that takes place.
Employees responsibilities to the employer
The above sections explain what the employer and the employees can expect among themselves. Below are the Responsibilities of employees towards their employers:
- The first and foremost duty of any employees is to carry out the job he has been hired to do.
- It’s also the employee’s duty to do his job carefully and sincerely. Otherwise, they can get fired if they’re often late for work, or if they’re absent too often or proven no good for the work.
- As employees, they must avoid putting themselves or others in a dangerous position.
- The employees are liable to maintain all the rules of the organisations while carrying out their works.
- Employees are also liable to maintain the secrecy of the confidential information they encounter while doing their job. Apart from these, there might be other specific contractual bindings for each employee.
Developing a strong working relationship between the employer and their employees and developing mutual respect is beneficial for both the parties. This way employees are more likely to be happier, more productive and achieve the goal of sustainable development. So total clarification of rights, roles and responsibilities is necessary between the employers and the employee.