Legal rights and principles
General principles of labour & employment law
Employment and labour law refers to a system of laws that regulate the relationship between workers and employers and is primarily concerned with the imbalance of power between workers and employers.
While workers who are classified as employees have been the primary beneficiaries of employment and labour rights, there are exceptions to this, and rights are increasingly being recognised for workers regardless of their employment status.
A typology of rights
Labour standards are protected in law as rights and may be categorised as follows:
Individual Rights
Including minimum wages, dismissal law and minimum rights /conditions of employment
Collective Rights
Involves the rights of trade unions to organise and to bargain
Anti-discrimination rights
Including protection from sex/gender, race discrimination and protection from sexual harassment
Social security law
Including compensation for injuries, unemployment insurance