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Research Project

Employer/Employee Rights and Responsibilities - Some Background

Put in its simplest form, an employee wants a job to give them the means to provide for the everyday needs of life. These may be obvious things like food, clothing and shelter but might also include friendship, support, a feeling of belonging and personal satisfaction.

Employers take on employees to do a job. That job may be providing some form of service or it could be a contribution to the actual production of a good. Employers, therefore, expect the employee to do the job they are employed for to the best of their ability and in return pay them a wage or salary for the work they do.

Because we are dealing with human beings, there can be many complications to this seemingly simple relationship. Complications can come in the form of discrimination, relationships, prejudices, stereotypes, poor communication, misunderstandings, misinformation, differing aims and objectives and plain ignorance!

As a result of these human problems, there is a wealth of legislation designed to protect employees from such problems but which also impress on employees that they too have responsibilities, which cannot be ignored.

Image: Women sewing in a tailor's shop in Stepney in London's East End, 1946. Times have changed in industry with both employers and employees having greater rights and responsibilities.
Title: Backstreet Workshop. Copyright: Getty Images available from Education Image Gallery.

An added problem comes with the fact that the legislation covers all industries and workplace environments but situations vary in different industries. What may be appropriate arrangements in retail, for example, may not be practical in other types of industry, for example, in oil exploration or construction.

Let us start by trying to find out what the key areas we should be investigating are.

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