It’s no secret that many millennials are having a hard time finding full-time work with the kind of salary and benefits package their parents enjoyed. Natalie MacDonald, an employment lawyer at Rudner MacDonald calls it the “Uberization” of the workplace.

“The workplace is in revolution right now, and the casualties are the millennials,” MacDonald said in an interview with BNN. “They’re the ones being given temporary, contract, and part-time work, and it’s all at lower pay.”

MacDonald said this workplace shift is not only bad for millennials, but it’s bad for the economy.

“When people don’t have the money, they’re not spending,” she said. “It’s also not good for the social sphere because they feel they’re living in a type of welfare state.”

MacDonald said it’s also hard on millennials’ morale because they tend to be living with their parents more and more.

But the most important thing young workers can arm themselves with is the knowledge of their workplace rights.

Here are the top five things millennials need to know:

1. Part-time, freelance and temporary workers may be entitled to all the same rights and protections as permanent, full-time employees.
   That means these workers may be entitled to the same regulations as full-time employees when it comes to overtime pay, statutory holidays, and reasonable notice for termination.
    
2. If a worker’s contract expires, and their employer did not negotiate an extension of the contract, but the worker continues working, they likely become entitled to all the same rights and entitlements as an employee. 
   For example, if someone signed a six-month contract, that person likely becomes a full-time employee the minute they work one day over their contract. The worker then becomes entitled to all the same rights and protections as a permanent, full-time employee.
    
3. There is no law that states part-time, contract, or temporary workers are not entitled to benefits.
   This is something that can be negotiated between an employee and employer, and benefits can be allocated to both part-time and full-time workers.
    
4. If an employee works under a contract for indefinite duration, with no end date, and there is no clause within the employment contract that states what the employee will be entitled to upon termination of employment, the employer must give the employee reasonable notice of termination.
   Reasonable notice must take into consideration the employee’s age, length of service, character of position, and the availability of similar employment, among other factors. If someone feels they were illegally or unfairly terminated, MacDonald suggests they immediately seek the advice of an employment lawyer who can determine if the termination was fair and reasonable. The worker may be able to sue the company if they were unfairly terminated.
    
5. Beware of the language employers use when discussing your type of employment.
   Employers who designate an employee as an independent contractor, but exercise complete control over them, and expect them to perform as a full-time employee, may find themselves on the hook for a severance package, if that worker is found to be an employee.  Alternatively, the worker may be found to be in a dependent-contractor relationship – meaning they are dependent upon the organization for full-time work. If this is the case, the employer must give the contractor all the same rights and protections as a full-time employee.