Employment-At-Will Essay Paper

Employment-At-Will Essay

Name

Institutional Affiliation

Pros And Cons of The Employment-At-Will Doctrine

The Employment-at-will doctrine gives both the employer and the employee equal footing and the liberty to terminate employment for a bad cause, good cause or no cause at all as long as there is no legal contract of a specified duration or obligation attaching either the employer or the employee (Stone, 2007). However, the Civil Rights Act (1964) prohibits wrongful discharge based on religion, sex, race, age, and national origin.
Employment-at-will is beneficial to both employees and employers. It gives employees a degree of freedom and autonomy to pursue their interests, hobbies, and careers any time they want to. In the instances where the employers want to retain employees, they implicitly promise long-term employment and promotions. As a result, employees enjoy job security, rising wages, and other employment benefits such as job satisfaction (Irikefe, 2010). Employers benefit from the employment-at-will doctrine because they are not saddled with cumbersome restrictions on hiring and firing that hinder the management’s ability and flexibility to staff their departments.

Similarly, employers and employees face certain demerits arising from the employment-at-will doctrine. The employment-at-will doctrine does not protect against favoritism, reliable wage package, or dismissal. It does not impose a justiciable right to protect workers’ health, honor, dignity, and fair treatment. Employees are vulnerable to unannounced cuts in benefits and pay, intermittent work, and arbitrary dismissal because employers can change the terms of employment at any time (Stone, 2007). The Employment-at-will doctrine denies the employers a chance to get vital information from the workers because they fear losing their job if they offset the bosses. Also, workers barely put effort into solving work-related problems. Instead, they stealthily enter a job-search mode and may resign at will. Employers can lose potentially valuable workers, especially those excited by the freedom to explore and look for greener pastures.

References

Irikefe, U. (2010). Impact of Employment-at-will Clause on Employees and Employer. Journal Of Business Studies Quarterly, 2(1), 29-35. Retrieved 21 December 2021, from https://www.proquest.com/docview/1009907512.

Stone, K. (2007). Revisiting the At-Will Employment Doctrine: Imposed Terms, Implied Terms, and the Normative World of the Workplace. Industrial Law Journal, 36(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1093/indlaw/dwl042