Breach of contract
A provision of a contract of employment preventing the employee from working for any other business during the term of the contract could be enforced by an injunction limited to restraining the employee, during the remainder of a period of garden leave, from being employed by or advising a competitor of the employer, holds the Court of Appeal in Symbian Ltd v Christensen.
A contractual discretion whether or not to award an equity trader any, and if so what, bonus, which was "dependent upon individual performance", was one that had to be exercised both by reference to an assessment of performance of the trader's contract and not irrationally or perversely, holds the High Court in Clark v Nomura International plc.
In Wincanton Ltd v Cranny and another, the Court of Appeal holds that a non-solicitation covenant was, owing to its internal limitations, not too wide as to be unenforceable.
In Clark v Fahrenheit 451 (Communications) Ltd EAT/591/99, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that, where a contract contains no express notice clause and it is implied that it can be terminated by giving a reasonable period of notice, what is a reasonable period of notice is a question of mixed fact and law and depends on the circumstances.
Section 3 of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, which applies as between contracting parties where one "deals as consumer" to prevent the other from excluding or restricting any liability of his or hers for breach of contract, extends to contracts of employment, holds the High Court in Brigden v American Express Bank Ltd.
In Bank of Credit and Commerce International SA (in compulsory liquidation) v Ali and others (No.3), the High Court holds that BCCI's dishonest conduct was sufficiently serious to amount to a breach by the bank of the implied term of mutual trust and confidence in the contracts of employment of all its former employees.
A provision of a contract of employment, which entitled the employer to terminate the contract either by giving the employee notice or summarily on paying him in lieu of notice, did not give the employer a third option of giving no notice and making no, or less than full, payment, holds the EAT in Cerberus Software Ltd v Rowley.
In making the Working Time Regulations, Parliament intended that all contracts of employment must be read so as to provide that an employee should work no more than an average of 48 hours per week during any 17-week reference period, holds the High Court in Barber and others v RJB Mining (UK) Ltd.
Damages for wrongful dismissal may in principle include damages in respect of an employee's loss of the opportunity to bring an unfair dismissal complaint, holds the EAT in Raspin v United News Shops Ltd.
In French v Barclays Bank plc, the Court of Appeal holds that a detrimental change in the terms on which a bridging loan was made to an employee who had been requested to relocate was a breach of the implied term of his contract of employment that the employer would not act so as to destroy the trust and confidence existing as between the employer and him.
Employment law cases: HR and legal information and guidance relating to breach of contract.