Employers usually provide written policies and procedures they expect their employees to abide by, so when one violates them, they could have grounds to file legal action for breach of contract against the company.
Causes
Before taking legal action against breach of employment contract, it may be beneficial to first try and resolve it via grievance or mediation – particularly for contract employees. However, if the breach is serious and significant in nature or has caused harm to anyone involved, internal solutions or mediation may not provide enough resolution to meet your satisfaction.
Breach of an employment agreement by both employers and employees can occur both verbally and written agreements, as well as an implied term or two of a contract. An employer could breach an employment agreement by not paying wages as agreed, or by permitting employees to switch employers before their agreed upon termination date has passed; when this happens, workers could potentially receive expectation damages compensation; which equals what they would have earned had they remained employed with their original employer.
Remedies
Courts often grant remedies when one party breaches an employment contract. These will vary depending on the nature and severity of the breach; for instance if your employer terminated you early or without proper notice, compensatory damages may be available to “make you whole”. Typically this type of compensation takes into account your expected future earnings.
Specific performance is another common remedy used by courts when breaches cannot be quantified monetarily; such agreements include non-compete and confidentiality agreements. It provides for court-mandated obligation to carry out contract terms. Usually used when breaches can’t be quantified monetarily (such as non-compete and confidentiality agreements).
Non-breaching parties often receive both financial compensation as well as costs related to a breach, such as the expense associated with hiring replacement staff. In cases of material breaches, courts can grant injunctive relief in order to stop further violations; for example, stopping an employee from violating a non-compete agreement after their employer files suit against him/her.
Litigation
Many employment contracts contain clauses detailing what should happen if any of their terms are breached, so employees who feel wronged by any breach can pursue legal action through employment tribunals or civil courts to recover any financial losses and obtain injunctive relief against continuing breaches.
Damages awarded in breach of contract cases often consist of two forms of compensation – compensatory for actual financial losses and expectation damages to compensate employees who would have received wages had their employer fulfilled the contract terms; in cases of deliberate breach or malice additional aggravated damages may also be awarded.
Breach of contract claims may take time and lead to lengthy litigation proceedings, especially for fixed-term contracts. Employees could experience significant financial loss during this period; for those without sufficient savings in place to support themselves during this period this can be especially devastating; it’s therefore essential for these employees to have adequate backup plans should their breaches of contract not be resolved satisfactorily.
Settlement
After being the subject of a breach of contract, your legal rights depend on its type and severity. Minor breaches may be rectified through informal discussion or mediation; if something promised but never received was broken (wrongful dismissal), or you were terminated from employment without due cause (wrongful termination), further legal action may be warranted.
After being breached of contract, two possible forms of reparations are compensatory damages and specific performance. Compensatory damages aim to make non-breaching parties whole again by covering direct losses such as revenue and indirect costs like business disruption; specific performance is an effective court remedy designed to compel one party of a contract to fulfill its terms; it may be required if its terms are so specific as not enough can be compensated financially.
