NEW DEVELOPMENTS CONCERNING WRONGFUL CONSTRUCTIVE TERMINATION

In America the non‐union employment relationship is defined by the rigid doctrine of employment‐at‐will. It is thought to have evolved from the master‐servant relationship which was a personal relationship. With the emergence of industrialisation in the nineteenth century, the personal relationship was essentially replaced by a commercial relationship. This commercial relationship needed definition commensurate with the definition of tasks and responsibilities within the factory's structured management and assembly line type processes. By 1877, employment‐at‐will became a generally accepted position in the American courts. “This doctrine embraces a rule declaring that employment for an indefinite term may be terminated at any time for any reason or for no reason by either the employee or the employer without legal liability” (Seidman, 1993:44). “Bosses could fire workers for any reason — as long as the firing is not discriminatory or retaliatory” (Iwata, 1994).