There are all sorts of legal issues that can and do arise when you are an employee. It’s hugely important to make sure that you are aware of these, and that you know what you should do when any of them crop up. Nobody ever thinks that they are going to be in such a situation until it finally happens to them, and this is something that you are certainly going to want to think about.
In this post, we are going to consider some of the things you can do to ensure that you are dealing with these legal issues as well as possible. All of the following are going to be helpful in ensuring you can manage it properly and effectively, and that you are going to get the results you want too. Let’s take a look at what might be involved here.
Table of Contents
Know Your Rights
One of the first things you need to do here is to make sure that you know your rights as an employee. So many people don’t, and it means that they are going to very often end up not having the right care and not knowing what they deserve. This is a shame, but it’s something that we can work around and which you can improve yourself by simply getting clued up on your rights as well as you can.
As it happens, there are all sorts of rights that you have as an employee, and regardless of who you work for or what your job is. Then there are some more specific rights as well, which you are going to find apply to certain industries or roles. It’s vital that you look up and research these so that you can be as aware as possible of what you are owed in legal terms. This is a really important part of making sure you are able to deal with legal issues as and when they do arise.
Recognise When An Issue Is Legal
There are a lot of times when an issue is simply just annoying, and despite what you might hope, isn’t actually a legal issue at all. That is therefore going to mean you can’t take legal routes to solve it, and it would be a waste of time and money to do so. This is surprisingly common, so it’s a really important thing to be able to spot when an issue is legal and when it might not be as well.
Not every frustration at work qualifies as a legal matter. In general, you can expect a problem to cross into legal territory when it involves breaches of contract, violations of labor laws, workplace discrimination or harassment, unsafe working conditions, or retaliation for reporting wrongdoing, as well as things like wrongful termination. If you are experiencing something that ties to your rights under the law, then it is a legal concern, and not just a workplace annoyance or preference.
Document Everything
And if that is the case, you are going to want to start documenting everything you can that might potentially be relevant to a case, should it get that far. You want all the evidence you can find, and you will find that there is a lot of it once you start to look out for it. If you get into the habit of keeping documentation, that is going to help you a lot later on, so it’s a simple approach that you should definitely think about.
You can start gathering dates, times, descriptions, meeting minutes and so on to begin with. Add to that any relevant emails, messages or memos, and you are already in a much better place to work from, and then you might also want to incorporate copies of your contract, the employee handbook, or performance reviews. You can also consider making use of witness statements, so include their statements and names as well.
Record details while they’re fresh, and then you can use this log if the issue escalates. It can prove crucial, so it’s certainly something to think about.
Review Employment Agreements & Policies
It can be hard to remember exactly what has been said, so it’s important that you check again with what is in writing, just to make sure that there has indeed been a breach of policy. This means you need to review the employment agreements that might be in place, as well as any policies that are published and handed out. That might include the contract, the offer letter, the agreements in writing otherwise, and so on. These can all be helpful in a case as well, so they are important for you to think about.
Use Internal Channels
Before you take further action, you need to show that you have tried to get resolution through internal channels first. Of course, it is not always safe to do so, but if you do feel safe to do so, then this is the first thing you should do. Most companies have a formal process to handle complaints, and this is what you should go through first. That could mean going to your line manager, HR, or an ethics hotline for example.
Seek Outside Help
After that, it’s important to know when you might need to seek outside help from a consumer law lawyer or the like. That is likely to be when you haven’t got resolution internally and you think you might need help legally, and in this case it’s going to be important to make sure that you are thinking about how you might get that as soon as possible.
The sooner you get help, the better, and it could mean that it makes a world of difference to the outcome that you get. This is important when you are trying to keep your rights intact.
