Every person in employment in the UK is protected by laws and regulations designed to stop employers treating their staff unfairly.

Employment laws even provide us with protection from things like discrimination during an interview. An employer can get into trouble if they do not consider you for a job because of sex, race, disability, religion or belief or sexual orientation.

In some cases, your rights as employee at a firm increase the longer you work there.

Many employees in the UK are protected by Working Time Regulations. These are in place to stop employers making us work for unreasonable periods of time during the day, week or year.

Regulations include:

• A minimum of four weeks paid holiday a year.
• Employees working for more than six hours are entitled to a 20 minute break.
• Employees aged 16 to 18 and working more than four hours are entitled to a 30 minute rest break.
• Employees can work for a maximum of 48 hours per week (unless the employee agrees to work longer hours).

Young people under 16 years old are not protected by these regulations, but by even stricter rules in the Children and Young People's Act 1933.

You are also entitled to a minimum wage if you are 18 or over. Since October 2003, workers have been entitled to:

• A minimum of £3.80 per hour if you are aged between 18 and 21 (inclusive).
• A minimum of £4.50 per hour if you are aged 22 or over.
• The minimum wage applies to both employees and contract workers.

Redundancy can come as a shock if your employer selects you. Redundancy usually happens when an employer decides that your job is no longer needed. If you are made redundant after working at a firm for more than two years, you are entitled to statutory redundancy pay. This usually means that your employer must give you a week's pay for every year you have worked there.

If you are unsure of your rights during redundancy, get in touch with your local Citizens Advice Bureau or click on the links we've provided.

People who feel they have been dismissed unfairly may be able to make a complaint to an employment tribunal. This is a special kind of court that helps sort out disagreements between an employee and an employer.

Tribunals can also help settle disputes over, for example, unlawful discrimination or arguments about equal pay.

A tribunal can order an employer give you your job back if it finds you were dismissed unfairly, though it is much more usual for tribunals to award compensation. The amount of money people get if they're successful varies from case to case, but any money awarded is calculated so as to reflect such things as loss of job security and likely loss of future earnings.

If you are not sure of your rights at work, ask your employer if they have a staff handbook on your terms of employment. You can also contact your local Citizen's Advice Bureau office. Full details of your rights at work are detailed in the links we've provided.