[TKramar]

Originally Posted by msaRick

Considering it takes alot of money to find a replacement, I don't think an employer would fire you for no good reason. The reason maybe to cut costs, or becuase they don't like you, or because they found someone better. But there's always a reason.

Do you think an employer should be forced to keep an employee? And if so, under what circumstances would this be?

If they can pay the replacement less...is THAT a good reason to fire the worker currently doing the job up to standards?

[Lilybeans]

Originally Posted by cagman

right to work also means that any of those BS "noncompete" agreements these cooporations make you sign are pretty much non-enforceable. Unless you are involved in trade secrets of some sort, you can toss those things in the garbage in FL.

No, you can't. They are legal.

[Lilybeans]

Right to work is the way things should be. Employers should not be held hostage to union. No one forces an employee to work at a specific job. If you don't like, go work somewhere else. If all the employees leave, then the employer will be out of business.

It seems pretty common sense to me.

[cfIfan]

1. From my point of view, being from the UK where you have to give notice, Florida's ethics in terms of right to work, does keep employee's on its toes. In the UK you see alot of employees take liberties which they wouldnt here simply because there you have various warnings and then a proceedure and finally a notice period if they do decide to get rid of you. In many instances i think its a good. Personally im self employed and have never liked taking orders, but thats because im a type A personality. I like to be in control of my own destiny, and if my business were to ever fail, i have only one place to lay the blame. On me. Im sorry you do feel aggrieved about the situation Mary Poppins, and although we may be from the other side of the pond and i can understand what you mean, im of the opinion that, yes i understand why you should have a contract with your company to protect them. If im understanding you, you obtained your visa through your company sponsering you. In which case they have made a substantial effort and investment in you which you should honor if that is the case. But on the other hand, when you move to another company, you have to accept their rules and ways of doing things. Otherwise, perhaps England would have been a better fit for you. You have to take the good with the bad.

[marypoppins]

Originally Posted by cfIfan

[list=1]Im sorry you do feel aggrieved about the situation Mary Poppins, and although we may be from the other side of the pond and i can understand what you mean, im of the opinion that, yes i understand why you should have a contract with your company to protect them. If im understanding you, you obtained your visa through your company sponsering you. In which case they have made a substantial effort and investment in you which you should honor if that is the case.

Hi from one Brit to another

I'm not aggrieved personally about the situation, I'm just one of those people who stand up for the underdog, and comparing the work ethics of the UK vs Florida, I think employees get a rough deal here generally.

Yes, my company sponsored me, and without that I wouldn't be here, so I am grateful to them for that. I don't believe however, that their investment in doing so was substantial in a financial sense. I know this because they made it clear from the outset that they would only meet the immigration costs for me, not my spouse, and he would have to pay all his own legal fees etc. We used the same immigration attorney for both of us and was surprised to discover the costs were only $800 for each of us. So, no massive investment from my employer there.

Also, I paid my own air fare to get here, found my own accommodation, then had to wait 2 months to start work due to waiting for SSN. During that time, no help from my employer at all, was basically told "That's your problem"

As for the contract, they have it written in that if I leave within 2 years I have to pay them $20,000 on a sliding scale, depending on how long I've stayed there. I'd say that's pretty much one-sided wouldn't you?

Now before anyone says 'you knew what you were getting in to'.....yes I did. And actually I don't regret it. It's working out OK for me. In fact, my 2 years is done in June and I have no plans to leave this employer. If I want to continue living here, then I guess it's better the devil you know.

I responded to this thread to comment about the "at will" situation, not so much my own situation. I understand what you're saying cfIfan, about how the employment laws in the UK get abused by many, and I agree with you on that. But I just feel bad for genuine hard working people here who live in constant fear of losing their job. It shouldn't be like that. Well, just my opinion anyway.

[cfIfan]

Always nice to meet a fellow Brit. OH FYI my friend owns a pub on 192 and has told me of a place where you can get real English sausages....lol i had bangers and mash last night so am a very very happy boy....lol

I do appreciate what your saying. And it is a raw deal for them, but there are plenty of other states to go to that arnt like Florida. I think it keeps people on their toes. For me, i wouldnt want that which is why im self employed. The only person you can rely on not to cheat you is your self. Whilst i understand what your saying about the whole visa thing aswell, i would say take a look at alot of threads about Brits wanting to come over here. It isnt cheap and can be a very long drawn out proceedure, for many over 5 years. So by the sounds of it, it was a relatively quick process for you.

Originally Posted by marypoppins

Hi from one Brit to another

I'm not aggrieved personally about the situation, I'm just one of those people who stand up for the underdog, and comparing the work ethics of the UK vs Florida, I think employees get a rough deal here generally.

Yes, my company sponsored me, and without that I wouldn't be here, so I am grateful to them for that. I don't believe however, that their investment in doing so was substantial in a financial sense. I know this because they made it clear from the outset that they would only meet the immigration costs for me, not my spouse, and he would have to pay all his own legal fees etc. We used the same immigration attorney for both of us and was surprised to discover the costs were only $800 for each of us. So, no massive investment from my employer there.

Also, I paid my own air fare to get here, found my own accommodation, then had to wait 2 months to start work due to waiting for SSN. During that time, no help from my employer at all, was basically told "That's your problem"

As for the contract, they have it written in that if I leave within 2 years I have to pay them $20,000 on a sliding scale, depending on how long I've stayed there. I'd say that's pretty much one-sided wouldn't you?

Now before anyone says 'you knew what you were getting in to'.....yes I did. And actually I don't regret it. It's working out OK for me. In fact, my 2 years is done in June and I have no plans to leave this employer. If I want to continue living here, then I guess it's better the devil you know.

I responded to this thread to comment about the "at will" situation, not so much my own situation. I understand what you're saying cfIfan, about how the employment laws in the UK get abused by many, and I agree with you on that. But I just feel bad for genuine hard working people here who live in constant fear of losing their job. It shouldn't be like that. Well, just my opinion anyway.

[marypoppins]

Originally Posted by cfIfan

Whilst i understand what your saying about the whole visa thing aswell, i would say take a look at alot of threads about Brits wanting to come over here. It isnt cheap and can be a very long drawn out proceedure, for many over 5 years. So by the sounds of it, it was a relatively quick process for you.

Oh yeh, tell me about it! It's certainly very difficult for Brits to move over here isn't it? I'm very lucky, and I know it. I'm an RN so never really need to worry about being out of work. I take my hat off to those who invest their life savings or sell their UK homes just to get over here, especially on the evil E2 visa. I couldn't live like that, never knowing if I might get bounced back over the pond. Like I said, I'm very lucky.

[cagman]

Originally Posted by Lilybeans

No, you can't. They are legal.

good luck finding a judge that agrees with you.

again, unless you are at a high level and involved in trade secrets, they are worthless and only written to scare employees. It usually works.

this is typical of what is going on in this country right now. the balance of power has tilted so far to the side of buiness, and the people seem to do nothing about it. And then they wonder why their standard of living continues to drop.

Profits are up and employee pay is down, just the way cooporations like it.

[UB50]

"Right to work" keeps salaries very low in Florida.

[msaRick]

Originally Posted by TKramar

If they can pay the replacement less...is THAT a good reason to fire the worker currently doing the job up to standards?

Yes, that's quite a good reason acctually, assuming the replacement can produce at the same quality. A manager's responsibility is to maximize value for stockholders and owners first, then look out for employees second. Thankfully, the two often go hand-in-hand.