Define Employment at Will

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The Answer is Employment at will is an unwritten contract created when an employee agrees to work for an employer but no agreement exists as to how long the parties expect the employment to last.Essentially at-will employees can quit any time they want and a company can terminate an at-will employee for no reason.
The courts have made certain exceptions to the employment-at-will doctrine.One of these includes permitting employees to bring claims based on representations made in employment handbooks.Employers can do certain things to help protect against litigation for wrongful discharge based on a breach of implied employment contract.Statements in documents such as employment applications and policy manuals that suggest job security or permanent employment should be avoided if employers want to minimize charges of wrongful discharge.Telling a person during a job interview that he or she can expect to hold the job as long as they want could be considered a contractual agreement and grounds for a lawsuit.A person should not be employed without a signed acknowledgment of the at-will disclaimer.In addition,the policy manual should have it clearly stated in bold,larger-than-normal print,so it is very clear to the employee that this is an at-will relationship.Other guidelines that may assist organizations in avoiding wrongful termination suits include clearly defining the worker's duties,providing good feedback on a regular basis,and conducting realistic performance appraisals on a regular basis.

Define Employment at Will

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