Your freedom to fire your boss or employee
with
Moruf Kolawole Nasir
(Experienced HR professional)
nmkolawole@gmail.com; jarushub@gmail.com
Employment relationship, just like every other relationships is never a do or die; or by fire by thunder affairs. There is some element of liberty/freedom to choose whether to continue with the relationship or not. This is known as ‘Employment at-will’.
In Payne V, The Western & Atlantic Railroad Company 1884, Justice Ingersoll of the Tennessee Supreme court defined Employment at-will in this way “….either party may terminate the service, for any cause, good or bad, or without cause and the other cannot complain in law”.
This definition allowed employers to change employment conditions, whether it was to hire, transfer, promote, or terminate an employee, at their sole discretion .It also allowed employees to leave the job at any time, with or without notice. In the absence of a legally enforceable employment contract, this definition was unaltered for more than 70 years.
Although, there have always been exception to at-will employment based on employment contracts, beginning in 1959 the doctrine began to be eroded by both court decisions and statutes. This erosion resulted in several exceptions to the at-will concept, including public policy exceptions, the application of the doctrine of good faith and fair dealing to employment relationships, and the concepts of promissory estoppel and fraudulent misrepresentation.
Despite the erosion, the right of either party to discontinue the employment relationship remains unfaltering albeit in more humane manner. Every offer of employment explicitly carries the clause “….. either side can terminate employment by giving the other side one month’s notice or one monthsalary in lieu ” it is mostly put this way. Unfortunately whenever it is time to uphold this provision, cry of foul play takes the air either by employer or employee.
To avoid abuse, the labour law addresses this, although the labour law provision is a worst case scenario as companies’policies present this provision in a more favourable way to both parties.
By labour law provision, one day notice is required if the employment relationship has not lasted more than three months; One week where the relationship has continued more than three months but less than two years; Two weeks where the contract has continued for more than two years but less than five years; and one month where the contract has continued for five years and more. This however does not undermine the fact that companies adopt a different notice period in their policy-most times one month notice for all staff after confirmation of appointment.
However, all wages payable in money are expected to be paid on or before the expiry of any period of notice. This is where conflict always ensues.
In concluding this exposition on ‘Employment-at-will’, we will discuss two real life cases that are on-going on this subject matter. It happened within our ‘neighbourhood’ – two of Jarushub ardent followers. In one of the cases the employee was fired, and in the second the employee fired his employer. Unfortunately in both cases, the employees are at the receiving end.
Keep a date with HR Desk next week for the cases. Please note that the identities of the parties will be concealed. Advice and suggestions are welcome from you all.
Always remember “In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn”.
Other cases from HR DESK
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12 Reasons Why Employers Fire Employees
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I am being deprived of my annual leave, what should I do?
HR DESK: My employer cuts my pay, what should I do?
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[…] continuation of our last week’s article on employment-at-will, below are the case studies as promised, and my comments in respect of each of the […]