Know your Rights as Young Worker

Nowadays, it is just a typical scenario to see young people dividing their time between school and work. At a time when financial crisis seem to spread like a dreaded disease, more and more people have become attracted to the idea of joining the employed population even at a young age.

Young workers, usually those of school leaving age or those who are 18 years old and under, though younger than the usual workforce, should be aware that they also have the rights that they need to protect in order to gain the benefits that they deserve for choosing to work earlier than usual and the employment law expert is the right person from where the best advice can be sought.

There are employment rights that every young worker is entitled to and knowing what these things are can become the way for one to experience greater satisfaction out of the work being done and for the added efforts that were exerted for their performance to stay at par with the regular workers.

Below is the list of the rights that young workers are entitled to enjoy:

Health and Safety Considerations

People under 18 years should work without dealing with any possible risk to their health and safety and every employer must make it a point to engage on the necessary assessment before employing these people. Aside from the typical health & safety risks that ordinary workers usually have to deal with, it must be kept in mind that young workers because of their age often lack the experience and the skills that can further protect them from work related harm.

Job Limitations

Definitely, there are certain limitations that will set the difference between the responsibilities of young workers and the ordinary workers and it will depend on their capabilities physically and mentally as a young individual. The young workers should also be spared from working under hazardous conditions like exposure to radiation and other toxic materials or in an environment that will just put their well-being in jeopardy.

Ideal Working Hours

Workers under 18 years of age should work not more than 8 hours a day and must be entitled to a 12 hour rest period in between each working day and 2 rest days for the entire week. There are rules that prohibit the young employees to work between 10pm and 6am. However, there are certain considerations depending on one’s line of work.

Since the situation dictates people to welcome the idea of working at an early age, it should not be overlooked that there are certain rights that should not be violated to give the young workers the necessary protection that they need. It pays a lot to know how the employment law can benefit you because for sure, by knowing the privileges that you are entitled to have as a young member of the working population, you can gain the confidence that you will have nothing to be sorry of for working at an early age.