In Dunn and anor v AAH Ltd [2010] EWCA Civ 183 CA, the Court of Appeal held that an employee was guilty of gross misconduct in failing to report a serious financial risk faced by his employer to its parent company. His contract expressly required such a report to be made, and it was not sufficient that he had reported all relevant matters to his line manager.
A written statement of employment particulars will not necessarily determine an employee's contractual terms and conditions, as this case demonstrates.
In Malone and others v British Airways plc [2010] IRLR 431 HC, the High Court held that the provisions of a collective agreement purporting to set "minimum" cabin crew numbers for different routes and types of craft were not incorporated into individual employees' contracts of employment. In any event, an injunction would not be granted to restrain the employer from reducing cabin crew numbers below the levels specified, and, even if there had been a breach of contract, any award for damages would be for a nominal amount only.
In Bateman and others v Asda Stores Ltd EAT/0221/09, the EAT held that the employer was entitled to change its employees' pay arrangements without their consent because it had reserved a clear contractual right to make unilateral variations to their terms and conditions of employment.