The Employee Relations Law Journal (Empl. Relat. Law J.) is committed to protecting the privacy, dignity, autonomy, and confidentiality of individuals whose personal information, records, or other identifiable data may be included in research submitted for publication.

All authors are responsible for ensuring that appropriate informed consent is obtained and documented whenever required by applicable ethical, legal, institutional, or professional standards.

Confidentiality and Privacy

Personal data and information obtained from individuals must be handled with the highest levels of confidentiality, discretion, and care. This includes information obtained through professional or confidential relationships, such as doctor-patient relationships, client-professional relationships, employment relationships, interviews, surveys, institutional records, or other sources containing identifiable personal information.

Authors must take appropriate measures to prevent unauthorized access, disclosure, or publication of personal information.

Informed Consent for Research

Where research involves human participants, authors should obtain informed consent in accordance with applicable ethical and legal requirements. Participants should receive sufficient information about the purpose and nature of the research, their participation, potential risks and benefits, and their rights before providing consent.

Participation should be voluntary, and individuals should not be subjected to undue pressure or coercion.

Consent for Publication

Where a manuscript contains identifiable personal information, photographs, case details, medical or professional records, or other material that could reasonably identify an individual, authors must obtain appropriate consent for publication where required.

Identifying information should be omitted or anonymized whenever it is not essential to the scholarly purpose of the publication.

Confidential Professional Information

Information obtained through confidential professional relationships must be treated with particular care. Authors must not disclose confidential information obtained through relationships such as doctor-patient, lawyer-client, employer-employee, counselor-client, or other protected professional relationships without an appropriate ethical and legal basis.

Where such information is necessary for publication, authors must ensure that appropriate consent, authorization, and ethical safeguards are in place.

Institutional and Ethical Approval

Where applicable, research involving human participants or identifiable personal information should receive approval from an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB), Research Ethics Committee, or equivalent authorized body.

Authors should provide relevant ethical approval information in the manuscript and may be required to provide supporting documentation to the Editorial Office.

Withdrawal of Consent

Where applicable, participants should be informed of their rights concerning participation and withdrawal in accordance with the approved research protocol and applicable ethical requirements.

Once material has been submitted or published, withdrawal of consent may be subject to the journal's legal, ethical, and publication requirements, particularly where removal could affect the integrity of the scholarly record.

Editorial Review of Consent

The Editorial Office may request evidence of informed consent or consent for publication when necessary. Failure to provide appropriate consent where it is required may result in rejection of the manuscript.

If a significant consent or confidentiality concern is identified after publication, the journal may take appropriate action, including correction, removal of identifying information, expression of concern, or retraction, depending on the circumstances.

Compliance With Ethical Standards

The journal expects authors to follow recognized ethical principles and relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and, where applicable, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) concerning privacy, confidentiality, informed consent, and protection of research participants.