Know your rights

Everyone has rights at work. This Work Scene Investigation will help you understand what they mean for you.

Are you angry because you didn't get the holidays you wanted? Do you have reason to believe you're not getting paid enough for your age? Have you been working more hours than you are supposed to? You need to get in touch with your rights!

Draw a line and match the right to its definition.

Rights	Definition
Equal opportunity employment	A safe place to work
Occupational health and safety	A fair go for pregnant women
Agreemants/awards	A fair go for everybody
Overtime	A specific wage
Pregnancy discrimination	Time worked before or after your regularly working hours

Right on

Which right is most important to you and why?
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DISCRIMINATION

Everyone deserves a "fair go" at work. That means being treated fairly, having the same opportunities as others and being paid properly for your work. To support this, the law says an employer must not discriminate between employees. Whether you are a man or woman, a person of any race, religion or culture, young or old, parent or single, an active union member, an injured worker, a disabled worker, or a pregnant worker, you must receive a fair go at work.

That means you are entitled to:

• freedom from insults or jokes based on sex, race, religion or culture
• equal pay for equal work
• access to job opportunities and promotion
• fair share of training
• support if you are injured
• support, where appropriate, so your work fits in with your family life.

Case study –

Write a 'make-belief' case study of an employee that has been discriminated against in their workplace. Include how and why they were discriminated against, what their actions were in attempt to get help and how the conflict ended.

Have a read of ‘know your rights – getting a fair go,’ and fact sheets ‘all about rights,’ ‘equal opportunity,’ ‘tattoos, body piercings and hair on your face,’ and the ‘Australian Human Rights Commission,’ to give you a few ideas

Related Worksite fact sheets:
Rights – All about rights
Rights – Equal opportunity