1. Introduction

The International Law of Employment Status of each country differs as it is based on some very specific factors of the country such as political, legal and socioeconomic differences. That being said, there are multiple types of employment statuses out there such as freelancers, contractors, interns, zero-hour workers, etc., but the 2 main ones usually first covered by the contract acts are Employee and Self Employed. The Employees are protected under a contract and also by the Employment Act of 1996, they enjoy other small benefits and while the Self- employed workers do not enjoy the maximum of the Employment Act, they enjoy total freedom as their own employers and work with their own rules. Now coming to some of the laws and organisations that protect the interest of the employees and labourers around the world, in different countries are as follows-

1.1 ILO

The ILO or the International Labour Organisation was formed in 1919 as a part of the Treaty Of Versailles and hence became a specialised organisation by the United Nations that promotes social justice and labour rights. It provides rules and regulations and benefits regarding employment and labour rights for its 187 member countries[1]. It helps in revising the labour laws of a country and also assisting the country wherever required. Not only does it provide protection to employees, but also covers different privileges for the other employment statuses mentioned earlier such as the Self-employed and workers, freelancers, zero-hour workers, agency workers, etc.

1.1.1 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles And Rights at Work

This declaration was embraced by the International Labour Conference in June 1998, and amended in 2022 which was directed towards the government and organisations to maintain basic human rights and values that are absolutely necessary in the social lives of the employees. It not only encourages the elimination of forced or coerced labour, but also the abolition of child labour. The declaration strives for a safe working environment for the employees and absolutely condemns work-place discrimination. That being said, the main aim of the declaration is to ensure the promotion of social and economic progression while respecting the diversity and different perspectives of its member countries. While keeping that in mind, it demands a give-and-take policy from its countries that they must promote, respect and realise these principles even if they have not ratified the conventions that were provided by the organisation for the same[2].

1.2 Employment Rights Act 1996

This was an Act formed by the Government of the United Kingdom to consolidate the enactments made in relation to the employment rights in the country. The main features covered in this Act included benefits of Unfair Dismissal, which meant that an employer could not dismiss his employee without following a fair procedure by making a reference to the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures. This was a set of procedures to provide guidance to all the parties involved in the employment, and meant that an employee cannot just be fired just for having a union membership, asserting statutory rights and for taking family-related leave. Section 13(1) of this act states that an employer may not unlawfully deduct the wages of an employee unless the contract or statute allows to, or if the employee had previously consented to a deduction of his wage, but once again, not under pressure or coercion. The wages may be deducted for tax purposes, statutory disciplining procedure or for the reimbursement for damages to the employer. Coming to the working hours of the employees, this act states that there must be limitation on working hours, which must be an average of 48 working hours per week. It also covers rest period, family-related leave, bullying, annual leave, exclusions etc. These regulations are created in order to regulate and safe-guard the interests of the employees as well as looking after their well-being by providing flexibility[3].

1.3 The Fair Work Act 2009

This act was formed in November 2008 and implemented on April 2008, taking over the Workplace Relations Act 1996 in Australia. It enforced the protection of workplace rights and provided definitions to the words 'employer' and 'employee'. It covered the terms and conditions of employment and also the rights and responsibilities of the employer, employee and organisation. It also covered other aspects mentioned earlier, such as work under misinterpretation or coercion. It clearly states that the employer may not threaten an individual into working for them and also allows for adverse action against different parties in the contract and when this action can be implemented[4].The main role of this act is to provide minimum standards to all employees on how they must be treated and to introduce a national workplace relations system to provide legal framework.

2. Conclusion

It is important to provide employment rights to not only employees, but also other employment statuses such as freelancers, self-employed workers, workers, zero-hour workers, agency workers as the rate of such work options have been significantly increasing as well. Even in India, more and more people have become Zero-hour workers as it provides the least or minimum number of working hours, increases flexibility and reduces expenses, and these workers are also protected by the Zero work hour contract in India. Just like this, there are also other contracts that protect the other employment statuses in India and hence there are different acts around the world, each country to its own, that protect these workers. In this article, we discover the ILO or the International Labour Organisation which covers most of these employment statuses on a more common ground and hence provides a legal framework for its 187 member countries, India being one of its founder countries. Then we talk about the Employment Rights Act 1996 which provides protection for its UK workers, and the Fair Work Act 2009 which does the same for Australia.

By-

M Neha

3. Citations

1. About the ILO, available at (https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/lang--en/index.htm), last visited (05-12-2023).

2. ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles And Rights at Work, available at (https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---declaration/documents/normativeinstrument/wcms_716594.pdf), last visited (05-12-2023).

3. Key Employment Rights, available at (https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7245/), last visited (05-12-2023).

4. Rights and Responsibilities of employees, employers, and organisations etc., available at (https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2017C00323), last visted (05-12-2023).