Ever since you founded your company, it has been your top priority. You want to set things up so that your company is in the best possible position for future success.
One potential problem that you foresee is that employees may quit unexpectedly, leaving you without the necessary workforce. As a result, you want to require that all employees give two weeks’ notice before they quit. This gives you time to find a replacement employee. Are you allowed to make this requirement?
You need to put it in an employment contract
You can ask employees to sign a contract stating that they will give two weeks’ notice if they quit. You could even use a longer timeframe if you would like. As long as the employee is aware of the clause in the contract when they sign, they do have to abide by it if they quit. Failing to provide notice would give you legal options as an employer. That employee would have violated their contract and financially harmed your business by leaving without warning.
But if you don’t have contracts for your employees – most employers in the United States do not – then they are just at-will employees. They are not required to give any notice before they quit.
Some employers will simply state in a company handbook or employee rulebook that the company has a two-weeks’ notice requirement. As an employer, you can draft any employee handbook that you would like, but that does not mean that the employees are legally required to follow it. They still wouldn’t have to provide notice unless they signed a legal contract.
It’s very important for employers to understand all of their legal options, their obligations and the rights that their employees have.
