Dismissal
In Hooper v British Railways Board [1988] IRLR 517 CA, the Court of Appeal held that the terms of a negotiated agreement, which provided that a member of staff who was declared fit by his own doctor but did not meet the medical standards required by the Board's doctor "shall be paid the basic rate of pay appropriate to his grade until such time as he resumes work either in his own post or on other suitable work", meant that the employee had a contractual right to be kept on full pay until such time as he was redeployed or reached retirement age.
In Courtaulds Northern Spinning Ltd v Sibson the Court of Appeal considers whether the transfer of an employee, a heavy goods vehicle driver, from one depot to a depot one mile away breached the employee's contract of employment.
In Dietman v London Borough of Brent the Court of Appeal upholds the High Court's ruling that a local authority acted unlawfully when it dismissed a senior social worker for gross negligence without holding a disciplinary hearing in accordance with its disciplinary procedure.
In Elder v Clydebank Co-operative Society Ltd the EAT in Scotland orders a rehearing of a constructive dismissal complaint after an industrial tribunal failed to consider whether an employers' refusal to allow an employee to appeal against a decision to transfer her to another branch amounted to constructive dismissal.
In Rigby v Ferodo Ltd the House of Lords confirms that employees whose wages are reduced without their consent are entitled to claim the full amount of their continuing loss, and are not limited to a claim for the loss suffered during their notice period.
In Caledonian Mining Company Ltd v Bassett and another the EAT holds that an industrial tribunal was entitled to conclude, on the facts before it, that a group of employees had been dismissed within the meaning of s.83(2) of the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 when they were inveigled into resigning by their employers.
Many collective agreements state that they are to be "binding in honour only". In Marley v Forward Trust Group Ltd the Court of Appeal holds that this applies between the parties to the agreement, ie the union and employer, and does not affect the legal enforceability of terms of collective agreements which are incorporated into contracts of employment of individuals.
In Brown and others v Knowsley Borough Council the EAT upholds an industrial tribunal's ruling that a temporary teacher employed by a local authority on an MSC funded course was engaged under a contract for a specific purpose (ie a contract to last only for so long as was necessary to fulfil its purpose).
In Transport & General Workers' Union v Ledbury Preserves (1928) Ltd [1985] IRLR 412 EAT, the EAT held that in a potential redundancy situation there must be "sufficient meaningful" consultation before notices of dismissal are sent out.
In Delabole Slate Ltd v Berriman the Court of Appeal upholds the EAT's decision that a dismissal which occurs as a consequence of a change in terms of employment following the transfer of an undertaking is not a dismissal for "an economic, technical or organisational reason entailing changes in the workforce", and so is automatically unfair under reg.8(1) of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981.
HR and legal information and guidance relating to dismissal.