View article

It has long been acknowledged that employment relations are redolent of power, with individuals necessarily becoming subject to and dependent upon their employers. 1 This asymmetry has led scholars to note that the human rights of employees may be one of the areas of interest to business and human rights scholarship. 2 Indeed, in a most elementary sense, businesses may violate rights individuals have as employees, such as the right to be remunerated for their work. Additionally, employers may have an impact on the rights one enjoys as a human being, irrespective of their employment, such as freedom from discrimination. In the broadest sense, one may argue that businesses have a detrimental impact on human rights when they do not involve their employees in decision-making processes related to managing the business. Grouped under themes such as ‘workplace democracy’, 3 ‘employee involvement …