Dismissal

New and updated

• Date:

  1 August 1994

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Misconduct dismissals: Unauthorised "favour" was a breach of trust

  An industrial tribunal's decision that a painter was unfairly dismissed for using company materials to paint guttering at a house not included in the works contract was flawed, holds the Court of Session in McGuire v Brawley Brothers Ltd.

• Date:

  1 July 1994

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Dismissal: Threat of termination was constructive dismissal

  An employee who resigned when her employer threatened to terminate her contract with due notice if she refused to agree to a change in her shift pattern was constructively dismissed, rules the EAT in Greenaway Harrison Ltd v Wiles.

• Date:

  1 July 1994

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Reorganisation: Tribunal takes wrong approach on business reorganisation

  An industrial tribunal's decision that an employee could reasonably refuse a proposed detrimental variation in contractual terms because it was not based on sound business reasons vital for the company's survival was wrong, holds the EAT in Catamaran Cruisers Ltd v Williams and others.

• Date:

  1 February 1994

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Hellyer Brothers Ltd v Atkinson and Dickinson

  In Hellyer Brothers Ltd v Atkinson and Dickinson [1994] IRLR 88 CA, the Court of Appeal held that, because of the peculiarities of the crew agreement system, the employees could not claim redundancy payments because of gaps in their continuous employment.

• Date:

  15 December 1993

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Unfair dismissal remedies: Not practicable to re-engage Tilbury shop stewards

  When deciding whether to order the re-employment of an unfairly dismissed employee, an industrial tribunal only has to make a "provisional" determination or assessment on the practicability of the employer complying with such an order, holds the Court of Appeal in Port of London Authority v Payne and others.

• Date:

  1 March 1993

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Contracts of employment: Employer's attempt to withdraw enhanced redundancy scheme fails

  An employer had no right to withdraw unilaterally its employees' contractual entitlement to enhanced redundancy payments, holds the High Court in Lee and others v GEC Plessey Telecommunications.

• Date:

  15 February 1993

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Judicial review: Pit closures without use of review procedure were unlawful

  British Coal had a statutory obligation to use a review procedure agreed with the trade unions in relation to proposed pit closures, holds the High Court in R v British Coal Corporation and Secretary of State for Trade and Industry ex parte Vardy and others.

• Date:

  1 October 1992

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Frames Snooker Centre v Boyce

  In Frames Snooker Centre v Boyce [1992] IRLR 472 EAT, the EAT held that where any one of a group of employees could have committed a particular offence meriting dismissal, the fact that one or more of them was not dismissed does not make the dismissals of the remainder unfair if the employer is able to show that it had "solid and sensible grounds", which do not have to be related to the relevant offence, for differentiating between members of the group.

• Date:

  1 June 1992

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  De Grasse v Stockwell Tools Ltd

  In De Grasse v Stockwell Tools Ltd [1992] IRLR 269 EAT, the EAT held that the Industrial Tribunal had erred in holding that the appellant employee's dismissal on grounds of redundancy was fair, notwithstanding that there had been no prior consultation or warning.

• Date:

  14 April 1992

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Allsop v North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council

  In Allsop v North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council [1992] 90 LGR 462 CA, the Court of Appeal held that payments made to employees by a local authority as compensation for redundancy under a voluntary severance scheme were unlawful as they exceeded the prescribed limits.