Re:Questions to ask a company during a job interview
by kube-system on Monday September 09, 2019 @03:48PM
(#20921710)
It is very common for employment offer letters in the US to clearly specify that employment is offered at will. This status has slightly different exceptions by jurisdiction, but in general, it means the agreement can be terminated at any time by either party.
Most people summarize this as "you can be fired for no reason", because that's the most commonly discussed scenario. But, your employer doesn't have to terminate your employment to terminate your employment agreement.
http://www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/at-will-em...
> At-will also means that an employer can change the terms of the employment relationship with no notice and no consequences. For example, an employer can alter wages, terminate benefits, or reduce paid time off.
Now, they can't do this retroactively, but they can do it with zero notice.
Even if it's only verbal, it's a contract; contract law applies, and if you can prove the conversation happened, you can enforce the contract in law.
This is the same in the USA and in the UK. But of course, it's much better to get a written contract before starting work (or moving home, if that's what it comes down to).
And (of course) it's much harder for an employee to enforce a contract against an employer than v.v. Contract litigation can be very expensive.