Contracts of employment: Employee entitled to notice pay despite working for competitor

An employee's contract of employment continued after an exchange of letters between the employee, giving one month's notice of termination, and her employer, confirming that it did not want her to work out her notice period and that her salary would be paid in lieu at the end of the notice period, holds the Court of Appeal in Hutchings v Coinseed Ltd [1998] IRLR 190. The Court goes on to hold that in all the circumstances, especially the fact that there was no allegation that the employee was in breach of the confidentiality clause in her contract or otherwise acting in bad faith, she did not act in repudiatory breach of her contract by starting work with a competitor a few days later.