There are plenty of people in professions that don’t even cross our minds but hold great value. Construction workers are sometimes what people call silent heroes. They do all the heavy lifting and dangerous tasks that others may not have the skills to do. Not to mention how dangerous the machines and the materials required for construction may be. They are more often than not in danger of serious, or even fatal, injuries. Because construction work is a challenging job, there are four important things every construction worker needs to fully understand so that everything about the job is clear for both the construction worker and the company or employer they are working for. These include obligations on employers as well as employees and each party’s rights. Being aware of these things makes working much safer and perfectly fair for both the employer and employee. So, here are the four most important things a construction worker should know.
1. Make Sure the Work Environment is Safe
Even though being a construction worker requires physical strength as well as understanding that the job is dangerous, every employer must ensure the safety of the location and the employees working on the site. As a worker, you have the right to check out the safety precautions and learn all the information about the construction site you will be working on. If the construction worker doesn’t feel safe, they have the right to report this and explain the dangers they will be exposed to on this site. If the claims are legitimate, the worker may not work on this site. The safety precautions in the construction site include high-performance machines, safe materials, being provided safety uniforms to ensure protection in case of accidents or any harm that may be caused by the materials or tools used. This, and ensuring the site itself is safe for the working conditions.
2. Injuries Are Compensated for
Accidents are never predictable. Safety precautions are taken to avoid them, of course, but injuries are still inevitable. A construction worker has the right to be compensated for the injury. The compensation is decided based upon the level of the injury. The valuable advice offered at Injury Lawyers Perth confirms that if a construction worker gets injured while working, they should be compensated generously, and this is an obligation on the employer. Some injuries can be the reason a worker can’t do construction work anymore, which means this worker should be compensated enough to cover the consequences of his inability to work in the field again. Another thing that workers must know is that if they have families, their families are entitled to generous compensation as well.
3. Working Extra Hours IS Not for Free
Construction workers have a number of working hours that they get paid for. The number of hours is what they signed for in the contract. If a construction worker exceeds these working hours, they are entitled to get paid for these hours. Workers must make sure they are being paid for their extra work to ensure a fair work environment. Everyone has clear work hours and construction workers are no different. In fact, the work they do is challenging enough, which makes them entitled to fair pay for working more than what is required.
4. Engineering Knowledge Is a Highly Required Skill
Since being a construction worker requires building, measuring, and mixing materials, among other requirements, the construction worker must have good knowledge in the engineering field for producing safe, accurate measurements and materials. Many of the tasks that construction workers are asked for include building blocks, houses, offices, in other words, buildings where people either live or work at. These buildings must be perfectly safe for their residents. If any of the materials or measurements went wrong, many lives will be at stake.
No matter what a person’s job is, every employee has obligations as well as rights. People work to earn money, and it’s only fair to make sure each party understands the rights and obligations the job package includes. A construction worker’s job is one of the most needed professions out there. The work they do needs a lot of physical and mental strength, plus the ability to tolerate harsh work conditions like standing for too long, working on super high levels, and using materials that may cause breathing issues as well as skin injuries. These are the reasons why construction work requires highly skilled people in areas other jobs do not, and why construction workers must know exactly what they’ve signed up for.
