Contracts of employment: Term implied to entitle employee to permanent health insurance

In Aspden v Webbs Poultry & Meat Group (Holdings) Ltd [1996] IRLR 521, the High Court implies a term into an employee's contract of employment providing that, save for summary dismissal, the employer would not terminate the contract while the employee was incapacitated for work. This is in order to give effect to the mutual intention of the parties that an express contractual term, providing for dismissal in the event of prolonged incapacity, would not be operated so as to remove the employee's entitlement to benefit under the employer's permanent health insurance scheme.