Oral Employment Contracts

Oral employment contracts or “verbal contracts” for employment have generally been enforced by courts under the legal doctrine of “implied contract” for employment. A standard employment contract will arise from at will employment agreements which are readily voidable by either the employee or the employer at any time and for any reason. 

How Enforceable are Oral Employment Agreements?

These “at will” agreements generally arise verbally or “in words” between the employer and employee detailing the employment relationship which are not reduced to a formal writing.  Written employment contract are rarely used within the general “at will” employment environment existing in the world today such that verbal or oral agreements concerning employment are relatively common.  Yet and still, oral contracts for employment are often recognized and upheld by courts as contracts implied by law that arose in equity.  An implied employment contract is an agreement or covenant of good faith which may or may not have been reduced to a writing, which may be in whole or in part “implied by law” or recognized by the courts as a validly existing agreement between the parties based on recognized legal doctrines of equity, sound public policy, fair dealing and the performance of the parties in fulfilling their oral agreement.

Breaches of Contract and Disputes

The best advice any employee aggrieved by an employer who has terminated him or her employment in breach of promises given by an oral contract is to seek out the advice and assistance of an employment attorney.  Do not listen to employer claims that the terms of the oral contract between you will never be upheld in any court.  The truth is that the oral employment contract may just be enforceable but only an experience attorney could properly make that evaluation and take the correct steps to preserve and protect all of the employee’s rights in the matter.

Legal Help

An attorney may also be able to engage the former employer in settlement discussion that may avoid a lawsuit and readily resolve the dispute without going to court while still providing an enforcement of the former employee’s contractual rights as reasonable in law and in equity.