Is "At-Will" Employment Legal? Seeking Advice on Supporting or Opposing Its Inclusion

Understanding "At-Will" Employment

A conventional term in employment is "At-will." Is this term legal? Top management of my company is trying to include it in the appointment letter for further recruitment. They want my opinion in this regard.

Now, what should I do, support or oppose?

An employee under the terms of employment with the company's "At-will" policy is not under a contract with the company. An at-will employee can be "fired" at any time for almost any reason; although employees also have the similar right to quit the job at any time without further notice to the employer.

How to Determine if "At-Will" is Appropriate for Appointment Letters

How do you know "AT-WILL" is the best term to fit into the appointment letter without knowing the basic rights of such an employee?

Lay-off for At-Will Employees

Though the employer has unmitigated rights to sack/fire the employee, the lay-off falls under the minimum requisition of notice period to the employee only in case of (i) no bias towards race, caste, creed, sex, marital status, religion, and country-specific reasons.

Employee Right to At-Will Termination

Here, the employee termination policy has to be different, stating that firing should be done only in case of performance or behavioral aspects and not due to unnecessary causes.

Most importantly, employers have new employees sign a form stating that they are being hired on an "at-will" basis. It should also be made a point that not only the employee signs this form but it should also be signed by the employer, which implies verbal and written protection against legal remedy to help protect the loss of time.

Hope the above will definitely help you inquire before you suggest anything on at-will employment.

Further to the detailed inputs of Sharmila Das, just a word of caution for you—presuming your location is Bangladesh. Though what she mentioned is, by and large, the general legal position in most countries, I suggest rechecking its validity/veracity as per your country's laws—just to be sure before you advise your top management. All the best.

Regards,
TS

Thank you, Sharmila Das and Tajsateesh, for such a valuable reply.

In our country's Labor Law Act of 2006, there is no statement regarding "At-will" employment for any type of job in any organization. This absence has led to confusion regarding this term and its respective conditions.

Do you believe that "At-will" employment is ethical from an organizational perspective?

Regards,
Asif

I think it's first important for us to understand the 'logic' and the 'reasons' for your management to suggest this in the first place. Can you please elaborate on the 'why' part of the suggestion from the management perspective? This includes the 'background of the circumstances/situations' of how this suggestion got raised. Obviously, it looks like this emanated as a 'solution' to some situation. Any suggestion without knowing these parameters could be misleading or misplaced for everyone involved.

Regards,
TS

The employee, along with the employer, should practice effective accountability in terms of ethics. Many employers tend to favor at-will employment for its perceived stability, without fully considering the impact on employee integrity. Instead, employees should take pride in their workplace. When they are treated as valued members, they are more likely to work efficiently, reduce risks, and have better loss control.

Please remember, the best approach is to adhere to the rules outlined in law books and carefully consider the implications of at-will employment.