Unfair dismissal
In DLA Piper's latest case report, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that a police officer who made protected disclosures was dismissed after taking matters into his own hands and becoming difficult to manage because he was not satisfied with the action taken following the concerns that he had raised, and that he was not dismissed for blowing the whistle.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that when determining whether or not an employee has accepted an employer's fundamental breach of his or her contract of employment and therefore lost his or her right to resign and claim constructive dismissal, the passage of time between the breach and the employee's subsequent resignation is only one factor that must be considered.
Krishna Santra, Linda Quinn and Colin Makin are senior associates and Melissa Powys-Rodrigues and Dominic Speedie are associates at Colman Coyle Solicitors. They round up the latest rulings.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that, where an employee gives notice to terminate his or her contract of employment in excess of the contractual amount, the employee will be deemed to be offering additional performance of his or her contract, which will affirm the contract and undermine a claim for constructive dismissal.
In this tribunal decision, the claimant argued that he was unfairly dismissed for taking appropriate steps to protect himself from serious and imminent danger.
In this tribunal decision, an employee's summary dismissal for a single, serious breach of health and safety rules was held to be fair and non-discriminatory.
In DLA Piper's case of the week, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) considered the case of an employee who was dismissed after testing positive for cannabis.
In DLA Piper's case of the week, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) considered a case in which the employer was found to have fairly dismissed someone despite choosing not to follow the findings of an independent appeal panel.
Neil Window is a trainee solicitor, Heather Marsh, Carly Mather, Associate and David Rintoul are associate solicitors, and Catherine Barker is managing associate at Addleshaw Goddard LLP. They round up the latest rulings.
In BS v Dundee City Council [2014] IRLR 131 CS, the Court of Session found that a tribunal failed to address crucial questions in deciding whether or not an employee had been fairly dismissed for long-term absence and had been wrong to assume that the employee's length of service was a relevant consideration. Long service was relevant only insofar as it could lead to the inference that the employee was a good worker who would return to work as soon as possible.
HR and legal information and guidance relating to unfair dismissal.