Employment Information

The realm of human welfare or social work has some particular specialties that include primarily children, family, education, public health, physical and psychological well-being and drug addiction. It has been seen that the scale of job prospects related to social welfare has only increased over the past years, this has even been validated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics that a social worker had around 642,000 jobs in hand back in 2008. The graph has certainly aggravated presently.

Since majority of individuals working in the circle of social betterment has some concerns regarding the industry they wish to be associated with, it has even been evaluated that around 54% of individuals were then working in the health and human welfare industries while the remaining 31% worked in government sponsored agencies at various levels. With this entire report of job opportunities available for people working in the social development continuum, it explicitly indicates that job prospects are at no dearth, when it comes to looking for a stable and financially secure professional career.

The nature of a profession such as social welfare services is such that employees are assigned to work in cities as well as suburbs. It is expected for a social welfare employee to find a job in rural vicinities, as the space to exhibit their professional concerns and skills is more extensive as compared to an urban area, which is already quite developed. This indicates that social welfare is a profession, which comes with a lot of responsibilities and challenges.

Earlier, it was believed that not all specialist areas of social betterment thrived in terms of job opportunities, and not all offered the same amount of professional working security. However, today, all areas of social work are increasing job opportunities, particularly by the private social welfare organizations. In fact, the increase of employment in this industry has been around 22% which is promising. This is likely to increase with the time owing to the aging child boomer populace which will, over the span of time, demand better health and social services.

Apart from the physical stability, mental & psychological stability and drug addiction are areas which are rapidly augmenting with job prospects. An increase of 20% has also been predicted by specialists as there is going to be a strong demand of services to counter such deteriorating circumstances.

Last but not the least, children and family along with education are areas that are actually excelling areas in the field of human welfare and betterment. In order to bring about a change, an anchor lies in the hand of social services, augmenting the protection for children and their families while at the same time, emphasizing on the local prevalence of education is what is going to instigate a progressive developmental scale in the society. Some of the specialized areas elaborated on indicate the fields that can be explored by social welfare employees to bring a progressive change in the society.

Anyone that has ever been arrested or convicted of a crime in Canada and the United States is at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to gaining and keeping a job. A person’s criminal record is readily available to the general public and can be easily accessed by anyone that wishes to check it, including current and potential employers. In today’s computer age, all it takes is the click of a computer mouse to access a wide variety of information on any individual, including details of their criminal record history.

It is standard procedure for many employers to conduct criminal record checks on all job applicants before hiring. It stands to reason that a prospective employee with a criminal record has less chance of being hired than a comparable candidate without a criminal past. Many employers would be hesitant to hire a candidate when it was revealed that he had a criminal record. Even if the charges on record are viewed as minor, they may cause employers to question the prospective employee’s character, as well as their honesty and judgement. In many professions, possessing a criminal record would all but eliminate any chance of being hired. Some jobs require that employees be bonded; however, bonding companies are cautious when insuring a person with a criminal record and typically charge employers more-often more than the employer is willing to spend.

Fortunately, it is possible, in most cases, to have a Canadian criminal record removed with a pardon. A criminal pardon will ensure that all of a person’s criminal records and charges are separated from other personal records and rendered inaccessible to individuals and organizations such as employers, educational institutions, volunteer organizations, and bonding companies; in essence, it is sealing the criminal record. In addition, anyone who has been convicted under Canadian law can apply to the Canadian government for a pardon once their sentence is completed and a certain period of time has passed.

There are many advantages in obtaining a criminal record pardon, especially for those seeking employment or career advancement. The Canadian Human Rights Act protects individuals who have received pardons from discrimination, particularly from employers and landlords. The Criminal Record Act eliminates the need for employees to reveal pardoned convictions on government employment forms. By using the professional services of a firm that specializes in obtaining pardons, the complicated pardon process can be completed in as little as 8 months.

Competition in today’s job market is tough, and employers are more meticulous and discriminating in the selection process than ever before. They have ready access to all types of data when researching the backgrounds of potential employees. Having a criminal record puts a prospective employee at a crippling disadvantage. For individual’s seeking employment, obtaining a criminal pardon can do more to improve their employability and career prospects than anything else they might do. For employees who live with the constant fear that at anytime their undisclosed criminal record could be revealed to their employer, causing embarrassment and wreaking havoc on their careers, obtaining a criminal pardon could offer peace of mind. A Canadian criminal pardon levels the playing field for those with criminal pasts, enabling them to find success and security.

A contract of employment is an agreement between an employer and an employee. This contract states your rights and duties as an employee as well as the rights and duties of your employer. These rights are known as -terms’ of contract. The contract doesn’t have to be in writing, but you’re entitled to a written statement of the main terms within two months of starting work.

Your contract of employment should be made up as soon as you accept a job offer and both you and your employer are then bound by its terms until the contract ends or until the terms of your contract are changed.

There are many aspects that have to be covered within your contract of employment so we will start with the basic information which is your job title and job description. Your employer technically doesn’t have to provide you with a job description but it is best that you try and get one as it will give you something to refer back to if you feel you are being forced to do unreasonable tasks, it will also state all of your responsibilities, including any extra ones that you may not have been aware of. Your contract of employment will also state your date of employment. This date of employment is the date that you officially become an employee of this particular employer. As well as showing the date that you officially become and employee, your contract, if not permanent, should state when your employment will end.

Two other aspects that will be placed within your contract of employment is your rate of pay and your hours of work. Your rate of pay will state how much you will be paid per year, before tax has been taken off, and when you will be paid, usually either monthly or weekly. When it comes to your hours of work it is important that you check you’re weekly hours and thoroughly read through your contract to see where you stand with overtime. Some contracts limit the amount of hours that you are able to work a week so checking your contracted hours is important to make sure that you are able to work the amount of hours that you agreed to.

Other aspects that should be placed within your contract of employment is your holiday entitlement and holiday pay. Most full-time workers have a statutory right to 24 days’ paid annual leave, and from 1 April, 2009 this increases to 28 days. There are merely just a few employees that might not automatically be given these rights. As well as having information about your holiday entitlement you will also need sick pay information. This part of your contract of employment will inform you about the amount of pay you are entitled to if you are enable to work due to illness If there are no terms or conditions related to pay due to injury or sickness, the work contract must say so.

Every aspect and detail of your employment should and needs to be stated within your contract of employment. If you feel that any part of your contract of employment is breeched at any time during your employment it is important that you seek professional help to find out where you stand legally.