The fundamentals of the employer-employee relationship
When speaking about the employer-employee relationship, it is necessary to highlight the fundamentals of successful cooperation. First of all, one is to keep in mind that both sides (the boss and the employee) should understand the importance of ethics. In other words, being ethical is considered to be an extremely important business tool successful organizations rely on. Generally, to improve the employer-employee relationships, the employer is to establish the so-called fiduciary relations with his or her people. The kind of trust influences the growth of productivity, while ethical behavior increasing causes higher compensation. For instance, one of the primary aims of the organizations, which activity is based on marketing, is to create a strong team. Thus, as far as marketing activity means long-term relations with customers, the cooperation of employees determines the outcomes of the company. The employer has to reward the workers if they perform their duties conscientiously.
The point at which a prospective applicant becomes an employee
When speaking about the moment, a prospective applicant becomes an employee; one is to keep in mind that it is the employment contract, which determines the new status of the applicant. However, Ivan Israelstam (n.d.) also states, that “even if nothing has been put into writing or signed, and the contract of employment has only been verbally agreed between the two parties, an employee is considered to be fully employed and therefore protected under labor law legislation” (para. 1). The Labor Relations Act states that a person who performs certain duties and works for another person is considered to be an employee. On the other hand, if one person helps conduct the business of another person, he or she also seems to be an employee. It should be pointed out that the day when a person starts to work is considered to be the start of the employee’s legal obligations.
The difference between a contractor and an employee
Another important point, which is to be highlighted, is considered to be the difference between the employee and the contractor. So, some of the differences are based on the following:
- Another principal difference is that the employee is trained by other employees who have more practice (i.e., who seems to be more skilled and experienced). This need can be explained by the fact that the employee is to perform his or her job in a certain manner. When speaking about the contractor, one is to keep in mind that he or she relies on his or her own methods. No training is needed.
- The employee is provided with various instructions in relation to his or her duties (the employee is told when, where, and in what way he or she is to perform his or her job), while the contractor is not provided with such detailed instructions.
- The employee’s services can not stand alone; integration of his or her services into business operations seems to be extremely important, as the success of a business depends upon the kind of integration. The contractor’s services are not difficult to separate, so no integration is needed.
- The employee is to perform his or her duties personally; if the contractor is hired, it doesn’t matter who performs certain tasks.
- The employee should not provide the assistants with control; while the contractor should.
- The employee can continue his or her relationships with a person who orders some services; the contractor’s relations end when a person is fully provided with certain services.
The legal implications and obligations of the employer-employee relationship
When speaking about the basic obligations of the employer-employee relationship, one is to keep in mind that there are not only economic terms. The relations between the sides must be considered within. Generally, the employer is to think about the welfare of his or her workers. This point covers not only good working conditions but the corresponding concern for employees. Josephson (2010) is of the opinion that “employees also have moral obligations, and they go beyond giving a full day’s work for a full day’s pay. Loyalty goes both ways. Employees have moral duties to the organization, co-workers, and customers” (para. 4).
Generally, the employer-employee relationship is considered to be rather complicated issue, and “because of the complexity of employment relationships and the wide variety of situations that can arise, employment law involves legal issues as diverse as discrimination, wrongful termination, wages and taxation, and workplace safety” (“Employees Rights 101”, 2012, para. 1).
The laws that address the employer-employee relationship
So, when speaking about the law that addresses the above-mentioned relationship, one is to keep in mind that there is a common employment law, which is divided into two branches, namely labor law, and employment discrimination law.
Employment law includes establishing the employer-employee relationship, protection of intellectual property, workers’ compensation, occupational safety, unemployment compensation, maximum hour legislation, etc. The most widespread topics of labor law cover strikes and lockouts, collective agreements, recognition elections, collective bargaining, union organizing campaigns, etc.
Employment discrimination law prohibits employees from different types of discrimination, including race, sexual orientation, origin, etc.
Conclusion
The success of the employer-employee relationship depends upon numerous factors, which most important, however, seem to be interpersonal relations between the sides. Responsibility and mutual respect are considered to be the primary factors, which determine further cooperation between the employer and the worker.
References
Employees Rights 101. (2012). Web.
Israelstam, I. (n.d.). Employees Have to Be Careful When Cancelling Job Contractors. Web.
Josephson, M. (2010). Responsibilities in the Employer-Employee Relationship. Web.