Employee Legal Awareness Day is not a traditional holiday. It is not a day during which something is celebrated. Instead, it is a holiday that serves only to remind all of us that employees have rights and should take the time to learn more about their rights.

It is also a day for employees to educate themselves about some of the legal matters that might concern them. And the best place to start is by learning about the policies of the company and giving the employee handbook a good look. That is something that we recommend all employees do on this holiday when it rolls around on the 13th of February.

The History of Employee Legal Awareness Day

Although we are unsure of the exact date when Employee Legal Awareness Day was created, we do know that it was invented by Paul Brennan, an Australian lawyer who wanted to create awareness about the legal issues that could develop between employees and their employers.

This is a holiday that continues to serve that purpose and help employees strive toward being more legally competent as far as their work is concerned. This day was once just a holiday observed in Australia, but it is now one that is observed around the world.

Important Facts About Labor Rights

We cannot talk about a holiday dedicated to employees educating themselves on their rights without adding a section on labor rights. Below are some of the things that we learned during the course of our research that we felt were really interesting.

• Women’s nominal wages are approximately 20% lower than men’s.
• All across the world, there are 85 million children working in hazardous conditions, many of whom are being physically or sexually abused by their employers.
• Over 216 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 are involved in child labor all over the world.

Observing Employee Legal Awareness Day

First and foremost, every employee everywhere needs to learn the rights they possess, and how those rights juxtapose against their responsibilities as an employee. This starts with reading the employee handbook and then doing a little bit of research into labor laws.

Only then will employees be able to understand their rights in the organization where they work. While doing so, they can spread the news about this holiday using the hashtag #EmployeeLegalAwarenessDay on social media.