There are tons of rules and laws based around work life, employees and employers, so it's important to understand most, if not all, of them before you enter a place of work.

Drug testing

Recently, employers have become more and more interested in the relationship between their employees and recreational drug use. Their concern is (justifiably) aimed towards any staff taking drugs in the workplace, as this may hamper their work performance and negating safety measures. These tests are pretty understandable for teachers, lorry drivers or dentists, but some people feel very strongly about the infringement of their private lives, as the drug tests are known to have detected drugs, such as cannabis, that remain in the human body for up to a month after use. A drug test should never just be sprung on an employee and should only be carried out following a consultation.

Across the Atlantic, nearly half of employers carry out mandatory drug tests in their recruitment processes or have staff tested at random. It's starting to swing that way over here too, with more and more companies doing the same. This could be due to the type of work that they are carrying out, a company's stance on drug use or, more likely, the fact that it prevents high insurance premiums for the business. No matter what the employer's policy is, they should have a written policy on drug testing or have them done completely randomly without targeting specific employees just because of suspicions.

Unfortunately for some, drug testing cannot be avoided, tricked or beaten, unless you happen to carry a spare carton of wee to work with you (which should be a sackable offense in itself!) Some Internet-ordered products claim to be test-foolers, though there is no real consistent proven method. The means of detection are continuously improving and becoming more accurate, making it harder and harder to blag your way through it.

If you fail the drug test, it does not necessarily result in a dismissal. Some companies will offer support, either through counselling or help group, especially if they have suspicions that you are a heavy user or addict. The employee may also be moved to a different department, depending on the work that they do. However, employers are in no way obliged to provide this support and a dismissal would be well within their rights. If you test positive without having actually taken any drugs, it's time to speak to your employer or, failing that, take legal action as drug tests are always subject to debate regarding accuracy.

Monitoring

There is a huge debate regarding employee monitoring as some believe that the practice of 'spying' on staff may leave employers morally bankrupt. However, minus a few minor nit-picks, employers are well within their rights to monitor almost all employee activity regarding their business, by using one or more of these methods:

• Opening your email or using software to read it remotely
• Looking through your Internet browsing history
• Checking phone logs and texts or recording calls
• Using CCTV and other security monitoring practices
• Retrieve information on your from credit reference agencies
• Drug/alcohol testing

Though employers must have made all reasonable effects to let staff know that their activity and ways of communication will be monitored in the workplace, the regulations in place aren't really heavy enough to deter interested or concerned companies. All of these scenarios would allow unfortified monitoring, for example:

• In the interests of national security
• To detect or prevent a crime or criminal activity
• To check that procedures are being followed accordingly
• Listening to phone calls to check for quality of work
• To check that emails and phone calls are relevant to the business
• To check for personal usage of Internet, email and phones
• To check that electronic systems and services are working correctly

So expect the worst if you job involves using a computer, the Internet or making phone calls. An employer's monitoring policy should be included in the contract of employment that you signed before starting working for them and failure to adhere to these clauses could result in disciplinary action or dismissal. Secret monitoring, such as hidden cameras, recording devices or 'bugs', are often illegal so be wary. Data Protection law states that secret monitoring is not to be allowed in private areas, such as employee toilets, unless there are suspicions of criminal activity, such as drug taking or dealing.

Discrimination

Workplaces are expected to follow rules, regulations and laws that prevent inequality, judgment and discrimination. It is against the law for an employer or colleague to treat you differently (betterorworse) than your colleagues because of sexuality, age, religion, race, disability, gender or nationality. When there are obvious differences in treatment due to any of these traits, it's known as direct discrimination. Indirect discrimination is more subtle and comes in the form of biased job descriptions or unintentionally insensitive rules set by the company.

Some types of discrimination include:

• Racial discrimination
• Age discrimination
• Religion/belief discrimination
• Nationality/place of birth discrimination
• Gender discrimination/equal rights
• Sexuality discrimination
• Disability discrimination

If you believe that you are being discriminated against for any reason, it's best to speak to the offending person informally at first. Perhaps they are unaware of their behaviour and you could solve the problem by talking to them privately. Failing that, try to get a neutral third party involved and ask if they could oversee a meeting between you and the offending person. Before this meeting, make sure you keep a written record or diary of any evidence you have of the discrimination. This will help to back your claims up.

If this meeting doesn't help to resolve matters, try contacting the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Services (Acas) as they provide free, private and confidential advice regarding issues at work. You could telephone them on 08457 47 47 47 or have a look at their website for more advice.

If you are still having issues, you may have to take things higher. If you take your case to an employment tribunal, you may be awarded compensatory damages and you may also avoid having to go to court. To successfully take a complaint to tribunal, you must apply within three months of the issue and be sure to take legal advice.