Work Rights for teenagers

As a teenager, starting a part-time job can be pretty exciting. It promises a group of older friends, a sense of independence and maturity and, most importantly, your own money. But it´s no secret that work is not always a walk in the park.

Things like harassment, bullying and discrimination can make work an uncomfortable place to be. The good news is that this kind of behaviour is illegal at work, and you don´t have to suffer in silence.

Discrimination is when someone is not treated fairly because of their age, race or gender. The most common form of discrimination for young people to encounter in the workplace is age discrimination. This involves bullying or harassing someone because of your age. It can also involve being given the wrong kind of work, or not enough work, because of your age and not your ability.

Discrimination is illegal in any workplace, but it is OK for employers to treat you differently because of your age if your age would prevent you from doing the job properly.

For example, it is legal for an employer not to give a 17-year-old a job delivering pizza, because their age would prevent them being able to deliver pizzas my car.

Bullying and harassment, however, is always illegal, regardless of your age, ability or working environment. This means any behaviour by another person at work that makes you feel unsafe, needlessly embarrassed or intimidated.

A lot of employers assume that young people don´t fully understand their rights or how to use them. Sadly they are right most of the time. Very few teenagers know how they should be treated at work.

If you don´t know your rights as an employee, or what to do if you feel you´re not being treated fairly, it´s easy to be intimidated by a workplace where everyone seems to know more than you do. So the best way to avoid discrimination is to get educated!

If you are being unfairly treated at work for whatever reason, speaking up for yourself isn´t just a right, but a responsibility. Your fellow employees may feel the same. Your problems can´t be solved if you don´t bring them up!

There is no reason why every person in a workplace shouldn´t feel safe and valued. The sooner you address issues.