Upholding Worker’s Basic Rights in Hiring and Training Personnel for Your Business – Even if you’re running a very small operation, you cannot expect to do everything yourself. As manager, you must see to it that you have the right employees, and that you train them well, and motivate them to do their very best at work.
If you want to be a good employer, the first step is to know the rights of workers. These are:
Equal work opportunities for all
Male and female employees are entitled to equal compensation as well as equal access to promotion and training opportunities. It is unlawful to discriminate against female employees.
It is also unlawful to hire a woman on condition that she should not get married, or to stipulate expressly or tacitly that a woman employee shall be deemed dismissed if she gets married.
Security of tenure
Every employee shall be assured security of tenure. No employee can be dismissed from work except for a just or authorized cause, and only after due process. Work days and hours. Work day refers to any day during which an employee is regularly required to work. Hours of work refer to the time an employee renders actual work, or is required to be on duty or to be at a prescribed workplace.
The normal hours of work in a day is eight hours. This includes breaks or rest periods of less than one hour, but excludes meal periods, which shall not be less than one hour.
Wage and wage-related benefits. Wage is the amount paid to an employee in exchange for a task, piece of work, or service rendered to an employer. This includes overtime, night differential, rest day, holiday and 13th month pay.
It also includes the fair and reasonable value of board, lodging, and other facilities customarily furnished by the employer.
Safe working conditions.
Employers must provide workers with every kind of on-th-job protection against injury, sickness, or death through safe and healthful working conditions.
Rest days and holidays
Rest day refers to any rest period of not less than 24 consecutive hours after not more than six consecutive work days. Holidays or special days are classified as such by law or declared by competent public authority, regardless of whether it falls on an employee’s work or rest day.
Source: Bureau of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development
Website: www.dti.gov.ph