I was hired to work as a secretary for a company for two years. When that contract expired I continued to work for another 15 months without a contract. I recently found another position with better benefits and a higher salary, and accepted that position. I know that generally it is appropriate to inform one’s employer of one’s intent to quit so that they have time to find a replacement, but I am hesitant to do so out of concern for my present employer’s reaction.

Q: Am I obligated to tell my employer that I will not be returning in a couple of weeks? If so, how much advanced notice must I give?

A: A day worker (sechir yom — an employee paid for his time rather than for the completion of a task) is permitted to quit in the middle of his term of employment. This is because Hashem refers to us as His servants, which implies that we are not enslaved or forced to remain an employee of another (C.M. 333:3). The allowance to quit is limited to where quitting does not cause a loss to one’s employer, but if quitting will cause one’s employer a loss, he may not quit in the middle of his term of employment (C.M. 333:5). These parameters are in force when a sechir yom wishes to cut short his term of employment, but your inquiry involves a circumstance in which you wish to quit without having a term of employment since you do not have a contract. The issue is whether you have to be concerned that you will cause your employer a loss by not informing him in advance of your intent to leave.

Basis for such concern may be derived from the halachah that a tenant who leased a home without a contract must give notice to the owner of his intent to move so that the owner should be able to find a replacement tenant. In the event the tenant does not give advanced notice, he is not permitted to move out of the property (C.M. 312:7).

Some authorities contend that this enactment regarding rental properties does not serve as precedent concerning employees who wish to quit (Divrei Malkiel 3:151). Others argue that the halachah regarding rental properties is an instructive precedent since the underpinning of both cases is the responsibility to prevent others from unnecessarily suffering a loss. Accordingly, when quitting without giving advanced notice would cause one’s employer a loss, the employee may not quit. The amount of advanced notice would have to be determined on a case by case basis (Chazon Ish, B.K. 23:2).

Even the opinion that contends that the halachah regarding rental properties does not serve as precedent for employment matters would agree that it is proper to take steps to prevent an unnecessary loss to others. This would certainly apply to an employer to whom one owes a debt of gratitude for one’s employment. Therefore, one should inform his employer with enough advance notice for him to find a replacement employee and if necessary train him for the position.

[When there is a legal or contractual obligation to give notice before quitting, one must certainly comply with those obligations.]