It doesn’t really matter if you’re already an experienced driver or if you’ve just received your permit, you should always work on improving your skills behind the wheel. Here are some great tips that will help you improve your driving skills.

Be Smooth and Steady

In order to become a better driver, you will need to make your control operation as smooth as it can be. Instead of stomping your foot on the brake pedal or accelerator, try to lightly apply pressure. This will not only help you save money in wear and tear but in fuel as well. Not to mention, that you will be in complete control of your vehicle. Being in control of your car is one of the things that will make you a skilled driver.

Learning how to control your vehicle will come in handy in poor weather conditions. If you want to become a better driver, you should also get familiar with your car’s safety features, such as traction control and ABS. Knowing everything about your vehicle’s safety features will help you know how to react and maintain control in any situation that you find yourself in.

Defensive Driving Course

Taking a defensive driving course is a great way to refresh your memory and once again learn answers to the driver’s license tests. Not to mention that you will also experience other benefits by taking this course. For example, you will improve your driving record. When you complete a defensive driving course, many states will let you reduce or eliminate points from your driving record.

Completing this course will also allow you to reduce or eliminate ticket fines. If you get a ticket and want it dismissed, you should simply complete the course. By doing this, you will also lower your insurance rates. This is mostly due to the fact that insurance companies use driving records to determine what your rates will be.

Be Aware of Your Surroundings

In order to avoid any accidents, you will need to be completely aware of your surroundings. This means that you should check your rear-view mirrors often and that you should always pay attention to what’s happening in the distance. You should also watch what other drivers around you are doing, since that will make you more aware of any dangerous situations that may occur. It will also make you prepared and help you react faster if a dangerous scenario develops.

Be a Proactive Driver

A proactive driver is one that avoids any situations on the road that increase the risk of an accident. For example, if you’re in the left lane and are driving above the speed limit, yet you see a vehicle tailgating you. Even though you may want to force the aggressive driver to slow down just out of spite, you should avoid doing that. Instead, simply yield to the right and let that driver pass.

Being a proactive driver means that you should only trust yourself when behind the wheel. Never put your faith in any other driver on the road. In other words, you can never truly know what other drivers may or may not do in a certain situation, so you should never depend on them if a dangerous scenario develops. You should remember that the only thing you’re capable of being in control of is your vehicle.

Avoid Distractions

The truth is that there aren’t so many bad drivers out there. However, everyone becomes a bad driver once they let distractions influence their skills behind the wheel. And there aren’t a lot of people who are capable of putting their entire focus on the road. Most people are constantly on their smartphone while driving, fiddling with the radio, or even eating. In order to become a better driver, you will need to avoid distractions.

Planning a party can be a demanding task. You have to determine how many people to invite, buy all the liquor, send invitations, and much more. In all that mess it’s easy to oversee one essential part of party planning – decorations.

Invitations

You probably have a lot of friends and acquaintances. It may be hard fitting all of them at once. Each of those individuals has a different personality. Putting people who don’t have similar tastes in one place can be quite risky. That’s why it’s best to limit the party to a certain group of people.

Invitations are easy to decorate. If you want to invite people directly you can print out the invitations and send them out. However, this is not so easy when you’re planning a bigger party. Decorating your invitations is important regardless of its form. A good idea would be to invite people over with a funny email. Sending a formal email is just like sending a blank card with your address and a date. After all, an invitation is supposed to show people how fun the party will be.

Pick a Theme

Many fun parties have themes. The rules for attendees are simple: Dress up and role play. Having a theme makes it easier for the host, too. This way, if you want to have a 1950s party, you can decorate it accordingly. Print out some pictures from the 1950s, frame them and put them up on the wall. Retro lamps and telephones from the fifties aren’t that expensive.

If you’re throwing parties often, you should try to keep up with the seasons. If there is a holiday approaching, make a theme relevant to it. If there is nothing special in the calendar when you’re planning a party, it’s time to go wild. Find a theme you would enjoy the most. Remember, picking a theme is not necessary, but it will definitely make the part more interesting.

Lights

If you’re hosting a party at night, dim lights are going to bring out a clubby atmosphere. Your living room could be the perfect place for dim lights. Make enough room for people to dance and place speakers far away so the music isn’t too loud. Leave the lights on in other rooms so people could go there to chat. By doing this, people will find a place they feel most comfortable in.

Lights determine the tone of the party. If you want to host a smaller and calm gathering, then you should do that during lunchtime. Open your curtains and provide the room with a lot of daylight. Daylight affects people in a different way compared to artificial light. Daylight is more enjoyable and is sure to bring out some smiles and pleasant conversation.

Scented Candles and Incenses

The smell of the room is important if you’re expecting guests. Select a scented candle or an incense stick as your source of the scent. Those sources can be used for decorating the place as well. If you have a lantern, you can put a scented candle in it and place it on the table. Incense sticks look interesting, but they’re very strong. Limit yourself to one stick per room and keep it in a visible place.

Flowers

Flowers are a perfect choice for many occasions. It doesn’t matter if it’s a birthday party, wedding party, or a graduation party, you should definitely consider getting them. Plants provide the room with a more natural look. Having a couple of flowers here and there can give the room a certain color. Go with roses in bright places of the room. Violet flowers can look great on tables. Bigger plants, like ficus trees, can be placed in the corners to give the impression that the room is larger than it is.

As a landlord, you already know that it’s smart to increase the value of your property as much as you can. If the value of your property is high, then you can earn more money from the rent you receive. There are multiple ways to increase the value of your property, but the next six are essential.

Cleaning and Painting

The first thing you should do is improve the look of your property. This means both the interior and exterior. If you own a house, clean up the porch, patios, and sidings. The entrance should be breathtaking. Make sure to repaint your walls on the inside. Put on a fresh, light color, to enhance the impression that the place is brand new. Be sure to have everything washed, from floors to door frames.

You should know that you don’t have to spend a lot of money in order to improve the way your property looks. For example, you can simply mow the lawn, paint the front door, add a window box beneath the windows, and add some flowers in the garden. This probably won’t cost you more than $400, but can increase its value significantly.

Adapt the Policy

Pet-friendly properties are always in high demand. People who have pets are more likely move to a pet-friendly property and pay an additional fee than to give up their pets. Therefore, you can legitimately increase the value of your property this way for as much as thirty dollars on a monthly basis. Allowing this can be helpful in increasing the value of your property. If your place is for non-smokers, you can charge an additional fee for smokers. Don’t overdo it, because it can be pressing to your tenant. If you limit them on too many things, you will surely lose customers.

Marketing

Advertisement is a big part of the rental game. The best way to advertise is on the internet, since you won’t end up spending too much money. If you want to, you can pay for ads, or even put up your own website. Be sure to post a lot of pictures. Use a decent camera and take photos from different angles. A good way of marketing could be by posting these photos on social media accounts like Instagram. This is a free way to advertise and also a good option for spreading information among your acquaintances.

Bathroom and Kitchen Improvement

Upgrading your bathroom and kitchen can greatly influence the value of a property. The comfort and functionality of having appliances increases the demand for tenants that live with a family. Your kitchen should at least have a refrigerator, a stove, an oven, and a sink. These are the essentials. However, additional appliances such as water-coolers and coffee makers can make a significant change. The more comfortable your home is, the more money you will get every month.

Add New Furniture

Furniture is essential to have if you want your property to be instantly available for people who’re ready to move in. If your property is furnished, that would mean people could move in immediately. You want to have beds, sofas, a couple of TVs, radio players, and some coffee tables. Fill the place with the things you would need and use, but keep in mind that they might have some of their own stuff.

Showings

If you want someone to value your place, you’ll have to properly present it first. Have showings often while you’re in between tenants. Decorating the place slightly and using air fresheners can improve the first impression. Be present with the agent and show all the good things your house or flat have to offer. Be communicative with your potential tenants and answer their questions if they have any.

Cybersecurity is something that many consumers and business owners place on the back burner. It’s until they are targeted when they realize the importance of creating a secure digital environment. If you’re skeptical of cybersecurity and the benefits it offers, here are a few undeniable reasons you should care.

Hackers are Developing New Infiltration Techniques

Just because your computer or network is secure now doesn’t mean it will remain secure. In McAfee’s 2018 Threats Predictions Report, cybersecurity analysts reveal that hackers are developing new attacks to damage and disrupt their victims’ devices. One such disturbing trend is the use of hired hackers. Rather than doing it themselves, nefarious individuals and entities are hiring hackers to infiltrate victims’ networks.

More Devices Are Now Connected to the Internet

Statistics show that the average U.S. household has seven internet-connected devices. From washing machines and refrigerators to TVs, video game consoles, smartphones and more, countless devices now support internet connectivity. A smart TV, for instance, typically supports app downloads while a smart refrigerator may notify the user when he or she is out of milk.

This collection of internet-connected devices, known as the internet of things (IoT), creates new concerns for cyber crime. If a device is connected to the internet, a hacker can potentially access it. And if that device is connected to a local network as well, a hacker may be able to access other devices on the same network.

Cryptocurrency Allows Hackers to Cover Their Tracks

In the past, when hackers extorted money from victims, they would seek traditional forms of payment. This created a digital trail that authorities could follow to find the person or entity behind the attack. Now, however, hackers are using cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and Litecoin to cover their tracks. If a hacker deploys ransomware on a victim’s computer, for example, he or she may demand payment in Bitcoin to prevent authorities from finding them. Since cryptocurrency isn’t regulated by governments or banks, it’s painfully difficult to track transactions.

The Cost of Cyber Crime Is Increasing

Victims of cyber crime face heavy financial costs, which are expected to increase in the future. According to a study conducted by Juniper Research, cyber crime will cost businesses more than $2 trillion by 2020. When a business is hacked, experiences a data breach or other cyber crime, it must spend money to find and repair the vulnerability as well as mitigate any damage that occurred.

Rates of Cyber Crime Is Increasing

Of course, the frequency of which cyber crime occurs is also increasing. One study found that 27 percent of all global internet users have encountered a cyber threat. In India, nearly half of all users have encountered a cyber threat. As cyber criminals see the profit in their illegal activities, other nefarious individuals will explore the dark world of cyber crime.

Effective Cybersecurity Solutions Are Available

The good news is that you can protect yourself and your data from cyber crime by using the right cybersecurity tools. A virtual private network (VPN) like those ranked at Bestvpnrating.com, for example, encrypt your internet traffic so that hackers can’t see what you are doing. Any data you send or receive is scrambled, and only the website to which you are connected can see your activity.

Using anti-malware software can also protect you from cyber crime. It’s designed to detect and protect against the deployment of malware. When combined with other cybersecurity measures, it’s an effective tool to lower your risk of being hacked.

All consumers, business owners and professionals should make cybersecurity a priority. Cyber crime isn’t going anytime soon. As revealed here, it’s expected to increase in the years to come. By taking a proactive approach towards cybersecurity, though, you can keep cyber threats at bay.

Your commercial building is a major investment that will undoubtedly require a decent amount of upkeep and maintenance over the life of your commercial endeavors. When it comes to making sure your building will facilitate all your operational needs, it is important to identify and eliminate any deficiencies that may become a hindrance to your daily operations. Failure to do this can quickly become a nightmare for a business owner that did not take the time to be concerned with the physical condition of a commercial building before making a purchase offer and acquiring the property. The following are some deficiencies that you should be on the lookout for to ensure your commercial building is fit for use.

Primary Deficiencies

In general, a commercial building will tend to harbor three types of primary deficiencies. These deficiencies are typically referred to as MEP deficiencies. MEP refers to mechanical, electrical and plumbing issues associated with your commercial building. Components and systems involving these three types of processes need regular upkeep to ensure that the systems involved in such processes do not become deficiencies within your commercial building. Maintaining the systems involved in these areas of your commercial building’s daily operation will contribute to the comfort of employees who work in your commercial building and also those clients who visit your building to do business. These measures will also help to ensure that your commercial building is a safe place to work and do business.

A Property Condition Assessment

A property condition assessment (PCA), is an evaluation of the total physical condition of a commercial property. The review of such a property begins with an assessment of any available property documentation. Next, there is an on-site evaluation of physical components and systems. The evaluation continues with a rundown of cost schedules. There is also a segment of this assessment that concerns itself with the regulatory issues associated with the physical state of a commercial property. The final report should expose any life safety issues that need to be addressed. Again, safety for employees and clients should be one of your primary concerns when providing access to others into your commercial building. The last thing you want to face is a totally avoidable lawsuit for failing to have a comprehensive view of what the physical condition of your commercial building happens to be and not taking the time to address underlying deficiencies you did not know were a clear and present danger.

Concerns About the Roof

Every commercial building has a roof, and a roof will often need to undergo some type of quantitative audit. The goal of such an audit is to do a walkthrough of the roof and determine any structural or material problems that produce deficiencies that need to be addressed. Since this can be an expensive problem to have to deal with, a roof inspector should be able to provide you with options that are both sound and cost-effective. It may not be necessary to completely reconstruct an entire roof for your commercial building. An auto CAD assessment of your commercial building’s roof may be useful when trying to precisely identify only those regions of the building’s roof that exhibit deficiencies.

Do Your Due Diligence

When it comes to purchasing a commercial building, you must first know the physical condition of the building before you can even make a value-based offer. Without knowing the inherent deficiencies, you cannot be certain if your offer price is reasonable. Nor will you know how much of a financial problem you are making for yourself down the road. You may not know if the concrete has settled too much and is starting to crack. You would not be aware of how serious the electrical problems in a commercial building are either. So, assessments of the physical condition of a building comprises your due diligence for locating deficiencies before getting in over your head with a commercial building that is more trouble than it is worth. Just as you would not want to buy a property site unseen, you would not want to buy a commercial property where the physical condition of the property and the building are not well documented for your review. Such information is critical when negotiating—especially if your goal is to bring up reasons to lower your purchase price offer to preserve more of your capital for other investment interests.

Far too many creative people are far too concerned about the integrity of their idea when they imagine presenting that idea to a manufacturer, an intellectual property attorney or even a business partner. Ideas so well protected are unlikely to prosper in the marketplace, because unless your idea is turned into a product or a service and gets distributed far and wide, it’s never going to advance beyond what it is: Just an idea.

However, if you take the proper legal and financial steps, you can improve the chances your new innovation will succeed. It’s not as complicated or as expensive as you might think. If you have an idea that you believe might qualify as a future property or business asset, here are some of the steps you should take to protect the value of your hard work.

Identify Your Idea

Before you take steps to protect your work, you need to identify how and why it qualifies as intellectual property. This kind of work is often performed by experts at companies like InventHelp.

If your idea is something that can be fixed in a tangible medium like a book, sculpture, film or dance, it may qualify for copyright protection. If it is a logo, business name, slogan or tag line, you may find it can be protected under federal trademark law.

If your idea is a mechanism, formula, process or an improvement of some kind to an existing product, you may have an idea that can be patented. The best way to know for sure what kinds of protections are available to you is to consult a qualified and experienced intellectual property attorney.

Protect Your Idea

If your new product or service qualifies for copyright protection, the good news is you get that protection the moment it is fixed in a tangible medium. For example, if you write a book, the moment you save the file or put the words down on a page, your work is automatically copyrighted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976. To obtain full protection for a copyright, it must be registered with the Library of Congress.

For creative professionals who produce a trademark, you can claim protection for your work by affixing the recognizable “TM” symbol to it when you use it in commerce. In order to claim registered trademark status, you must apply for a registered trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Inventors who produce a new mechanism or process must apply for protection from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Patentable inventions, unlike copyrights and trademarks, do not qualify for automatic protection. A patent application must be submitted and approved before the work is fully protected.

Write a Contract

Once your creative work is fully protected, and if your business plan involves enlisting the aid of other companies like publishers, manufacturers, distributors or advertising firms, you should ask your intellectual property attorney about contracting with those firms using something called a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA.

An NDA is an agreement between two or more parties that no proprietary information conveyed by one party to the other may be disclosed publicly. This neatly prevents the party signing the NDA from using any of an inventor’s ideas, innovations or protected works for their own benefit. Violating an NDA can carry hefty penalties and damages which can easily run to the millions of dollars depending on the value of the invention.

Entering into an NDA is often the first step in a partnership of sorts between say, an inventor and a manufacturer. It prevents the manufacturer from collecting all the details of the invention, shutting the inventor out and selling the product on their own without paying appropriate royalties.

Privilege

If you decide to hire an intellectual property attorney, it would be in your best interests to place everything related to your inventions and creative works in their hands at your earliest convenience. This does two things. One, it creates credibility for you since you have a record of your work. Second, everything you entrust to your attorney is protected by attorney-client privilege, which is sort of an automatic non-disclosure agreement.

Ideas aren’t worth much. Turning ideas into something that makes money, on the other hand, is what builds wealth. Protect your work, and then make sure the world knows about it. That will lead to sales and royalties, which will make all the hard work worth it.

Electronic commerce has come a long way since its origins in the mid 1990s. Banks and financial institutions have a wide variety of options for businesses and web developers to install reliable and industry-standard payment systems, browsers are far more standardized than they were even as recently as five to ten years ago, and content management systems make it easier than ever to get an attractive and functional site working without re-inventing the wheel or investing an inordinate amount of time or money in development.

For those business owners more interested in turn-key solutions, there are numerous providers offering e-commerce management services where the store is already built, the payment systems are already in place, and all a business needs to do is fill the shop with their products. These kinds of “shop-in-a-box” services are growing more functional and more standardized by the day, and their popularity is growing as a result. There’s a fair amount of learning involved. “If you think you’ve reached a point in your career where you have nothing new to learn, you’re wrong, and you’re probably going to fail,” says Ollie Smith from merchant account processing comparison site ExpertSure.

With all these options, how can a business know which is the best way to proceed? Here are some things to consider.

Business Logic

One thing any business owner will need to keep in mind if they plan to set up their own e-commerce site without using a turn-key provider is the programming for their server. Web pages alone can’t process the business logic necessary to maintain security or obtain authorization from a merchant payment processor.

Programming e-commerce business logic isn’t particularly difficult or time-consuming. In fact, most of it is rather standardized, even if the site shares a client-side payment option with mobile apps or other kinds of in-product payment processing. But it does require a minimum of two development tiers. One is the client itself, which presents prices and options to the customer. The other is the server, where the client’s purchase is processed and forwarded to the payment processor for authorization.

Digital Security

Another detail that will facilitate electronic commerce and possibly even give a new company’s store a search engine boost is the installation of an SSL certificate. Any site giving customers the option to pay by credit card must have a certificate installed in order to offer those customers a secured connection when they make their purchase. In almost every case, such a certificate can be provided by the web host where the site is installed.

All-In-One

If the details aren’t particularly important or if your company is interested in getting a store up and running in the shortest possible time, a provider like Shopify, Wix or Squarespace is often a better choice. Companies like Wix and Squarespace not only offer web hosting, site design tools and e-commerce integration, but they have numerous pre-built components anyone can use to build a site in short order.

Shopify can do roughly the same things Wix and Squarespace can, but its offerings are more geared directly towards a catalog-like storefront, while the other two providers could be utilized to build a general-purpose web site without necessarily including a retail option for guests.

Building a good e-commerce site and generating revenue with it is a significant undertaking, and should be approached with the same seriousness as building a brick-and-mortar shop.

While you won’t have to deal with light fixtures and making sure all the employees have keys, every task common to retailers will need to be addressed, and you’ll have to find a way to get traffic to your store if you plan to sell much. The good news is, there are viable options for all these goals. It’s really just a matter of choosing the right option for your business.

Warming up will not only help improve your performance during your workout, but it will prevent injuries as well. Although warming up sometimes feels like a waste of time, it’s important that you always do it. A lot of people choose to skip this part and instantly jump right into their workout when they’re in a hurry. However, you should know that exercising is healthy only if you do it in a healthy way. In order to improve your athletic performance and avoid injury, you will have to learn how to warm up properly.

The first thing that you should learn is exactly what types of exercises should be included in a warm up. A lot of people don’t know how to warm up correctly, and should improve this process. In most cases, your warm up should consist of stretching and cardiovascular exercises. By stretching, you will warms your muscles and prepare them for the movements that are part of the activity that follows.

On the other hand, cardiovascular exercises will help bring your heart rate up, increase your body temperature, and increase circulation, which will ultimately improve your performance. During the warm up process, it’s also a good idea to perform some explosive strength exercises, like jumps or sprint drills. However, note that you should only they should be performed after stretching and cardiovascular exercises. Strength drills are known for helping prevent injuries.

The main reason why warm ups are so important is that they prepare your body for exercises by gradually increasing both your circulation and heart rate. Because of this, your joints will become loosened and blood will flow to your muscles more efficiently. Stretching will also prepare your muscles for upcoming activities as well as reduce the risk of injuries. Some of the best stretching exercises include knees to chest stretches, side lunges, forward lunges, and thigh stretches. It’s also worth mentioning that simple exercises like walking or running in place will also stretch your muscles. The warm up process also represents a great way for a person to mentally prepare themselves for the upcoming workout.

Some people do passive stretches before exercising, which will actually make you less prepared for the upcoming workout. Passive stretching refers to exercises that involve using an outside force other than your own muscle to move a limb or joint beyond its active range of motion. Keep in mind that passive stretches will only make the muscles you stretch weaker for the next few hours. Instead of helping you avoid injury, this type of “warm up routine” will actually increase the risk of you getting injured.

Instead of doing passive stretches, you should only perform a dynamic warm up routine that involves actively and progressively introducing exercises that will engage all the muscles that you will use in the upcoming workout. Dynamic stretches safely increase your muscle activation and mobility, while passive stretching basically forces flexibility onto a joint or muscle.

No matter what type of exercises you include in your warm up process, make sure that it lasts at least 20 minutes. However, keep in mind that the process shouldn’t last more than 30 minutes, since this is more than enough time for your body to get prepared for the upcoming workout.

Just like it’s important to warm up before a workout, it’s also essential that you cool down after. The reason why you should cool down after exercising is because it will help your body to recover. During this process, you should work on reducing your body temperature, stretching out your muscles, and allowing your heart rate to get back to normal. Unlike the warm up process, the cool down routine should last only about five minutes.

Most people who’re in real estate got into the business because they love the freedom. They love being their own boss, choosing their own hours, and creating their own business model. However, becoming a real estate agent is only the very beginning of a career for some. While some dream of becoming realtors, others aspire to start their own real estate business. This is not an easy process. Keep in mind that it will take you a lot of time and effort before you will be able to start your own business.

Of course, the first step towards achieving this goal is becoming a real estate agent. If you’re already one, then you will need to become a real estate broker. Becoming a broker requires some time, since each state requires you to spend a few years working as an agent before you can apply for this position. Only once you become a licensed real estate broker will you be in a position to start your own business.

Before you actually create your own business, you will need to do some planning. Writing a business plan will help you gain more insight on where you are currently and what you should do to reach your goals. Apart from that, you will also be able to show it to potential investors and lenders to show them exactly how you envision to start your business. A solid business plan should have information on all expenses that your business could possibly encounter, as well as how you envision your revenue to grow in order to meet the expenses.

Now that you’ve developed a business plan, it’s time for you to research the market. By doing this, you will know if it’s worth pursuing the target market that you’ve pursued. Proper market research will help you figure out if you have an idea that will work and if the niche you’ve picked has a target audience. By gaining more insight about your competitors, you will also find out how to position yourself within the niche you picked. However, it’s important to do market research early if you want to avoid potential mistakes in the beginning. Following the trends of the market for a while will help you learn what works and what doesn’t work.

In order to have a successful business, you will need to do proper branding. By creating a memorable brand, you will attract more customers. Some of the things that can influence your brand include witty ad campaigns, smart logos, a friendly service, and well-written press releases. Of course, you will need to think about marketing as well.

You’ll need to develop a real estate marketing plan if you want to see your business take off. Marketing in this industry is mostly based on forming relationships. You can do this with the traditional outreach and connection strategy, but in this day and age, it’s really worth having an online campaign. If you want to succeed in real estate, you will need to maintain an online presence. By having a good website that is filled with great content and is easily found on search engines, your business will be available to a lot of potential clients.

You will need to recruit great salespeople if you want to have a successful real estate business. Remember that the people who work for you will be the ones who will make your business either a success or a failure. With this in mind, you should always try to be a good boss. This means that you should reward people when they perform well. Treat every employee with respect and make sure that they realize their hard work never goes unnoticed. Whenever you acknowledge someone’s effort, they will be encouraged to work harder.

As an employee, you need to inform yourself about all the rights you have. This will help you learn how to protect yourself from bad workplace conditions and discrimination. The U.S. Department of Labor is responsible for establishing these rights and can provide access to information for improving an employee’s life.

Rights to a Safer Workplace

There are three main safety rights – the right to know, right to participate and right to refuse. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is in duty to provide you with these rights and investigate the violation of them.

Your right to know is focused on getting information about what hazards are presented on the job and how can they affect you. You should be provided with this knowledge during the training session or throughout the working process. The Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System can provide you with information on safety hazards of included chemicals in your workplace.

The right to participate means that you’re eligible for taking part in safety activities linked to your workplace. This refers to having the rights to be a health representative or a member of the safety committee. This section also includes rights to report unsafe work conditions without a concern of losing your job.

The right to refuse comes to action when you think that the work is dangerous enough to harm either you or your coworkers. In this case, you should inform your supervisor and state why you think safety is an issue within the workplace. The supervisor is then required to investigate your statement and resolve the issue. If the problem remains unsolved, you should call a health and safety inspector.

Workplace Injuries

If you’ve suffered an injury on the workplace, you have the right to get health coverage for all medical treatments that follow. If you get injured while at work, you should immediately notify your employer. The best way to protect your legal rights is to report your injury as quickly as possible. “It never hurts to report the injury when it happens. It is better safe than sorry”. advises lawyer Neal Strom. In this case, your aim is to settle a fair compensation and you’re likely to search for a good attorney. With a legal entity by your side, you’ll increase your probability of reaching a settlement.

If you’re unable to arrive to work because you’re sick, you may refer to Department of Social Protection. They can benefit your illness if you’re covered by the appropriate class of social insurance. Yet, if you don’t satisfy their conditions, you may qualify for Disability Allowance. They could provide you with payment if your condition is based on a physical or mental disability that is expected to continue at least a year.

Rights to Equality

Despite your gender, race, sexual orientation or disabilities, you have the right to work in an environment that is free from harassments. This law is enforced by The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and demands the employer to maintain the workplace free from discrimination. Every worker has the equal opportunity for the benefits, promotions, fair treatments and wages that his workplace provides.

Parenting Rights

If you’re a female employee with a baby on the way, you’re eligible for a maternity leave. You should also be provided with the maternity pay, since this treatment is necessary. Employees who’ve adopted a child also have the protection from dismissal and detrimental treatment, especially if the child has to be under supervision.

Not every worker is entitled to statutory employment rights. These rights are only applied to workers that work for a company or an individual employer. If you’re self-employed or working as a freelancer, you don’t have the access to statutory rights, but you still have the rights to a minimum wage as well as to protect yourself from discrimination. Some professions also aren’t eligible for statutory rights. For example, if you’re a police officer, merchant seamen, trainee doctors or an armed force employee, you aren’t eligible for statutory rights.