You may have just landed a job abroad, or you may have been employed for a long time. Like companies' work culture, legislation varies from one country to another. Expat employees are sometimes more vulnerable when faced with a legal framework that they are not familiar with. How can they protect themselves and enforce their rights? How to be sure that the employment contract respects the legal framework?
Your rights as an employee
To better identify any possible problem, it is essential to be aware of employees' rights. Whatever their profession, every employee has the same rights. The rights described below are shared by a large number of countries.
The right to fair treatment
The employer must not discriminate against you. All employees must be treated fairly, regardless of gender, geographic or social origin, religion, or sexual orientation. The right to fair treatment also includes people with disabilities. If you are a disabled person, your employer is required to make any necessary adjustments to ensure that you are able to work in good conditions. The right to fair treatment extends to the recruitment process. An exception, however, is age discrimination, which may be justified in specific cases, for example, when employing young people for very physical jobs that are potentially dangerous for older ones.
The right to a fair salary
All work deserves a salary, a fair wage, which corresponds to the work done. The salary must be the same for two people doing the same job. In fact, fair payment is far from being respected. Women bear the brunt of this, as they are still very often paid less than men, despite performing the same duties. The right to be paid fairly also includes the right to a living wage. The employer must guarantee you a minimum wage that you can live on. In practice, this right is far from always being followed as well.
The right to protest against unfair working conditions
As an employee, you have the right to demonstrate your disagreement with your company when you feel that your working conditions are unfair or unsafe. The right to protest is enshrined in the International Labor Organization's Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention of 1948. But sometimes state laws are at odds with international law and even fail to protect striking employees.
Other employee rights
As a new area of life, the company remains divided into various sectors, in which your rights must continue to be respected. Thus, you have the right to privacy and family life. Your employer or colleagues cannot interfere in your private life. However, your office is not your home. All the devices you use at work belong to the company. The employer can therefore monitor your communications (internet browsing, emails, phone calls, images, data). However, such monitoring is only possible after you have been informed.
Other rights ensure the proper execution of the employment contract. For example, you have the right to paid vacations, to the limit of working hours, to safety in the workplace and in the course of your duties, to training, to health insurance, and to the respect of individual and collective freedom.
Spot any inconsistencies
Before taking your case to the appropriate institutions, determine what offense your employer has committed. Is it discrimination related to your gender, your religion, your origin, your handicap, or your sexual orientation? How is this discrimination manifested (lower salary than you should receive, unsuitable work position, violation of your personal freedoms, pressure suffered at work, etc.)? Are you the only person affected, or have other employees been victims of these practices, too? Do these violations only target expatriates, or are locals also affected?
Check your employment contract and the country's Labor Code
We don't always take the trouble of thoroughly reading our employment contract. However, a careful reading can reveal possible inconsistencies. Ensure that your employment contract clearly mentions your name, your status (worker, student, trainee, etc.), the title of your position, its remuneration, your missions, the working hours, etc. Ideally, find out about the legislation of your expat country before you leave. Again, we often tend to neglect this aspect of working abroad. Studying all of the labor laws is unnecessary, but knowing the broad outlines of the country's current practices can prove very useful. For example, has it ratified the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families? How does the country ensure the rights of employees? What support agencies exist locally?
Gather evidence and seek help
Gather all the evidence that support your claim. If you find that your rights are not being respected, contact the Equality and Human Rights Commission in your area and if they do exist, and your company's unions. The first step is to engage in a dialogue and take an amicable approach. However, some unscrupulous companies can make things worse. They often take advantage of the vulnerability of expatriates who are not always aware of their rights and even more so when the foreign worker does not master the language of their host country. In addition to the Commission and any trade unions, do not hesitate to contact foreigners associations and the immigration services of your host country.
Useful links:
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights
European Commission: rights at work
US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
United Nations Global Compact – Business & Human Rights
