Employment law is that area of ​​law related to employment. Also known as ‘labor law’, it covers rulings and precedents designed to protect the rights of workers and the organizations they work for. This helps regulate relationships between unions, employers, employees, and business applicants.

Labor law can be divided into two categories. These are ‘individual work right’ and ‘collective work right’ respectively. The former here refers, of course, to laws relating to a person’s rights in his or her workplace, while the latter refers to relations between employees, employers, and unions.

A lot of this will revolve around what are known as ’employment standards’, which are the established standards that are legally expected of employees for any employee and include things like minimum wages, hours of work and more.

There are many organizations and individuals involved in the regulation and maintenance of labor law. For example, the US Labor Standards Administration is an agency in the United States that is in charge of ensuring that labor laws are made and followed. Meanwhile, employees and unions can use labor lawyers as mediators and consultants, or to help them file cases and represent them in court. If, for example, you felt that your working conditions did not meet labor standards, or that your contract had been illegally terminated, or that you suffered some type of harassment or abuse in the workplace, then you could hire the services of a lawyer. labor. to receive some kind of compensation.

The main characteristic of labor law in most territories is that the rights of both parties and their obligations will be detailed in the employment contract. From this moment on, both employers and employees will seek to fulfill their obligations in the contract and any breach could be challenged in court.

However, there are legislations and laws regarding what is written in the contract and there are certain things that cannot be agreed according to common law. For example, many states require employment to be ‘at will’, meaning that they may terminate your contract by resigning at their discretion.

So if you feel ‘stuck’ in your job, your employers may not legally have the right to keep you in your job and you are free to go. In such a situation, it would be advisable to use an employment lawyer to help you get out of that situation.

At the same time, organizations are often required to include what are known as ‘essentialia negotii’ (or ‘essential terms’) in any contract to ensure that the employee knows such things as the length of their employment, their salary, their subsidy on vacation etc. Therefore, an employment lawyer can not only be helpful in fighting with your employers or contesting their demands, but also in deciding whether or not to accept the terms of a contract initially.