Why knowing your rights is important

I’ve been delaying this blog for the last two months but I cannot sit idly by and let you fall into this trap of having your rights trampled.

I’ve witnessed a close friend have her rights violated at her place of work which breaches every labour law in every jurisdiction I know where there is a right to a fair hearing. Sometimes as a HR practitioner I forget that knowledge of labour laws is not second nature for most and that's the reason I started the HR Boss in the first place was to educate the masses. I often cringe at the thought of employees tolerating their rights being breached without them even knowing. Here’s the thing if you don’t know your rights as an employee you cant stand up for yourself and you may find yourself in a very unlucky situation like my friend who we will discuss below.

So here we go… starting today I will be doing blogs on different scenarios depending on when they arise and addressing them from a HR perspective.

Here goes the first scenario…

Being called to “a meeting” with a few minutes notice with no charges laid against you.

Here are a few keys rights that you should know:

1. When asked to attend a disciplinary hearing, one is entitled to a representative or friend present.

2. One should be properly advised of such meeting verbally or written to give you enough time to find said representative.

3. In the meeting, you should be allowed to give your side of the “story” and firm evidence should be presented by the accuser regarding the charge that is being laid against you.

Those are three very basic rights you have: a right to a representative, a right to be properly informed and a right to a fair hearing.

See my friend was not given any of those three basic rights…she knew something wasn’t right when it occurred but she went along with it anyway because she wasn’t sure of her rights as an employee and her protection.

Like my friend…I suspect many of you are fearful or your employers and are unsure of the levels of power they have over you…send us your queries to infohrboss@gmail.com and we will try to anonymously address your queries to help everyone reading.

Be Blessed

Mad HR practitioner