Employers' Right to Hire and Fire - Essay Example

Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : Employers right to Hire and Fire Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx @2010 Introduction It is the right of the employers to make decisions that pertains to their organizations including hiring and firing of employees. This can be an effective way of managing the organization but on the other hand, it can have bad effects to both the organization and the personnel. Some cases may however require intervention of another party so that the employees do not suffer in hands of the employers. Some of the third parties that may intervene on such matters include the government through the courts, labour unions and other agencies working towards employee protection. All countries have labour laws that govern hiring of employees, their working conditions and the firing process. These laws intervene where the employees are denied justice in hiring and firing. The third parties apply the labour laws as interventions on behalf of the employees (Repa 2010). This paper is a discussion of the rights of both the employee and the employer and whether the intervention by the third party should be allowed. Employers’ managerial prerogative This defines the rights that are vested on some employers where they can give instructions on all matters concerning the work done in the organization. Such employers bear powers that enable them to dictate the nature of the employment relationships and how work will be done just by issuing orders. They also have powers that give them right to state how certain work will be done and by who, and also to hire and fire the employees. However, such powers are features in two contexts. The first one is where they are stated by the nature of employment contract. Some contracts may have no room for application of labour rules that may protect the employees or limit the rights of the employers. According to Storey, (2003) employees may sign contracts that are characterised by a certain form of direction and supervision. The contract may be place the employee in a position that subjects him or her to supervision and directives from the employer. Another context may be in the nature of duties that a certain employee performs. Apart from an employee’s duties of performing the actual job, he may also be having other subsidiary duties such as duty of obedience and loyalty. Duty of obedience means that the employee is obliged to hearken to any order from his employer regarding how he is working, time of work and his performance. Therefore an employee’s work aspects such as how, when and where are connected by his duty to obey. But in the normal managerial authority gives the employers right to make independent changes in the job description of the employees without overstepping his or her fundamental rights. Employers’ rights in hiring and firing Improper hiring and firing by the employers may have negative impacts on the employees and at the same time on the performance of the organization. However, it is the duty of employers to hire the right people for their work and fire those who are not doing it according to the company’s required standards. However, failure to practise their rights properly may result to bias and oppression to the employees. When it comes to hiring, the employer should not discriminate the applicants due to their sex, race or nationality. However, the employer has the right not to hire anyone who is not qualified for the stated job. However, the employer must prove that the person does not have what it requires taking up the job. Employers do not have the right to deny a chance due to physical disability if at all the person meets the required qualifications. Employers also have the legal right to hire someone who is having problems with drug taking. They therefore have the right to ask for a pre employment drug test before hiring. However, this does not guarantee them right to refuse someone who had an earlier drug problem and he is overcoming it. If the drug problem no longer exists, this should not allow the right not to hire qualified individuals. When it comes to firing, employers have the legal right to fire any employee who is not performing his duties in a satisfactory manner. However, for other reasons such as poor work habits and insubordination, the employee should be given a chance to improve. There are other circumstances where the employer has legal rights to fire immediately. For example where an employee performs actions that may jeopardize the safety of the organization and other employees, the employer has the right to dismiss him or her immediately. The grounds for firing must however be explained to the employee before dismissal. Employers also have rights to fire employees for legal reasons provided in their employment contract. Where employees are employed on the basis of contract, they have to sign over reasons that may call for firing. If such a reason occurs, the employer has the right to fire (Heery & Wood 2003). Employee protection from unlawful managerial decisions Even if some employment policies may give the employer rights to hire and fire at will, some rights of these rights may be overstepped by third parties to protect the employees against unlawful dismissal. Overstepping occurs when an employer issues directives which are outside the scope of his legal authority. This is because the employees also have rights when it comes to hiring and firing by the employers. There are laws that protect the employee from such dismissal by the employers. These are stated by the government, labour unions and industrial tribunals. According to Fleischer (2004), these interventions are justified because if all the decisions concerning the employees may be left in the hands of their employers, most of them would suffer from discrimination. Employees need to be guaranteed right to job security. This is a factor that can even motivate them while at work. In some working environments, the employees are at fear of losing their jobs at any time. This is where the employer has a right to fire at will. Employees therefore need to be protected from such conditions (Davis & Burrows 2003). Labour laws are therefore rulings that guide matters concerning the working people including the relationship between the employees and the employers. These laws are different in various governments but they all address the employees’ rights at work and throughout his contract. An example of agencies that protect employees is the International Labour Organization (ILO). According to section 58 of the ILO, an employee cannot be fired without a legally approved reason and before firing, he or she should be given a chance to defend himself/herself. The laws further sates that any form of discrimination on the employees on grounds such as race, sex, and age is unacceptable. Therefore, following these laws, an employer cannot exercise his free will when it comes to hiring and firing of employees (Johnston 2003). Trade laws in many countries state that there should be no discrimination when it comes to job applications. Interviews should not include questions about the race and sex of the applicant. The laws also states that before hiring, the employer should investigate the background of the employees to avoid claims of negligent hiring where the employee may have potential of injuring others or their property (Repa 2010). During employment, the employees are protected by the Trade unions. These are formed by the employee as a requirement by the government to ensure better working conditions for the employees. The trade unions also protect the employees from managerial decisions concerning firing. They ensure that firing is done in a manner that it does not violate the rights of the employees (Cooper 2002). In the United States, the employees are protected by the Civil Rights Laws of 1964 which also contains the public policy. This protects both employees who have a contract of employment and those who do not have. The two classes of the employees cannot be dismissed without lawful reasons to do so. The employees are also protected by the public policy from termination at will by the employer. One of the policies that protects against at will dismissal is the workman’s compensation. Employees file the workman’s compensation claim that protects them from being terminated. Employees who may be fired for reporting illegal actions by the organization are protected by the whistle blower statute. Therefore, an employer cannot fire before considering the requirements of the public policy (Palmer 2007). Conclusion Rights in employment are very important to both the employees and the employer. However, there should be limits to ensure that one side does not suffer in the hands of the other. Giving the employers rights to hire and fire at will may result to discrimination and this may oppress some employees who fall victims of employers powers. In all forms of organization, it is important to have rules which govern hiring and firing. This is because employers are humans who may have hatred and bias towards some employees. Such aspects may result in discrimination when it comes to hiring and also firing due to dislike. Being an employer, one deserves the rights to hire and fire, but at the same time, employees need to be protected from discrimination when it comes to this. The objectives of the labour laws are therefore to protect the employees from unlawful practises of hiring and firing and should be justified. Bibliography Cooper, R., 2002, 'Trade Unionism in 2001'. Journal of Industrial Relations. vol. 44, pp. 247-262. Davis, K., & Burrows, G., 2003, 'Protecting Employee Entitlements', Australian Economic Review, vol. 36, pp. 173-180. Heery, E., & Wood, S., 2003, 'Employee Relations and Corporate Governance', British Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 43, pp. 477-479. Johnston, G., 2003, The International Labour Organization: Its Work for Social and Economic Progress, SAGE, London. Palmer, G., 2007, Employment Relations, Palgrave Macmillan, Meulbone. Storey, J., 2003, Managerial prerogative and the question of control, Routledge, Boston. Fleischer, C., 2004, Employer's rights: your legal handbook from hiring to termination and everything in between, Willey, New York. Repa, B., 2010, Your Rights in the Workplace, Nolo Publishers, California. Read More