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Unfair dismissal

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  • Date:
    24 December 2004
    Type:
    Employment law cases

    Constructive dismissal: Last straw must contribute to breach of trust and confidence

    In London Borough of Waltham Forest v Omilaju, the Court of Appeal holds that conduct by an employer amounting to the "last straw" for the purposes of a finding of constructive dismissal must be the last in a series of actions which cumulatively amount to a repudiatory breach of the implied term of trust and confidence.

  • Date:
    12 November 2004
    Type:
    Employment law cases

    Unfair dismissal: Employers must take care in framing disciplinary charges

    In Strouthos v London Underground Ltd the Court of Appeal holds that the EAT was incorrect to infer an employee's dishonesty from the facts found by the tribunal, when dishonesty had not been alleged in the original disciplinary proceedings.

  • Date:
    1 November 2004
    Type:
    Employment law cases

    Soteriou v Ultrachem Ltd and others

    In Soteriou v Ultrachem Ltd and others [2004] IRLR 870 HC, the High Court held that the EAT had not erred in striking out the applicant's claim for wrongful dismissal on the basis that an employment tribunal had already determined on a claim for unfair dismissal that the applicant's contract of employment was unenforceable due to illegality and that, since the claim for wrongful dismissal involved the same contract, the EAT was bound by that finding.

  • Type:
    Employment law cases

    Case round-up

    This week's case law round-up from Eversheds, covering pregnancy-related dismissals and transfers not covered by TUPE Regulations.

  • Date:
    24 September 2004
    Type:
    Employment law cases

    Compensation: No non-economic loss awards in unfair dismissal compensation

    In Dunnachie v Kingston-upon-Hull City Council, the House of Lords holds that Lord Hoffman's comments in Johnson were obiter and, therefore, did not prevent the House of Lords from finding that unfair dismissal compensation should be restricted to economic losses only.

  • Date:
    3 September 2004
    Type:
    Employment law cases

    Public interest disclosure: Meaning of "good faith" in whistleblowing provisions

    In Street v Derbyshire Unemployed Workers' Centre, the Court of Appeal holds that an employment tribunal had been correct to find that an employee's "whistleblowing" disclosure was not made in good faith because, although she believed her allegations to be true and did not make the disclosure for personal gain, her motivation for making it was personal antagonism towards the subject of the disclosure.

  • Date:
    1 September 2004
    Type:
    Employment law cases

    Nottinghamshire County Council v Meikle

    In Nottinghamshire County Council v Meikle [2004] IRLR 703 CA, the Court of Appeal held that putting an employee who was off sick for a disability-related reason on to half pay after a period of full pay was unjustified less favourable treatment where the employer had failed to make reasonable adjustments, which, had they been made, would have resulted in the employee's returning to work before she became liable to have her sick pay reduced.

  • Date:
    1 June 2004
    Type:
    Employment law cases

    Hardy v Polk (Leeds) Ltd

    In Hardy v Polk (Leeds) Ltd [2004] IRLR 420 EAT, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that an employee who is dismissed without notice or pay in lieu of notice is under a duty to mitigate his or her loss in respect of the notice period, and that earnings received from another employer during the (nominal) notice period must be offset against the compensatory award.

  • Date:
    21 May 2004
    Type:
    Employment law cases

    Damages: EDT is end of statutory notice in summary dismissals

    In Harper v Virgin Net Ltd the Court of Appeal holds under s.97(2) of the Employment Rights Act 1996, where an employee is summarily dismissed, that employee's effective date of termination ("EDT") is only extended to the end of the statutory notice period to which he or she would have been entitled, and not to the end of their contractual notice period.

  • Date:
    2 April 2004
    Type:
    Employment law cases

    Unfair dismissal: Tribunals empowered to make awards for non-economic loss

    In Dunnachie v Kingston upon Hull City Council, the Court of Appeal holds that the comments by Lord Hoffmann in Johnson v Unisys, to the effect that the interpretation of (what is now) s.123 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 given in Norton Tool Co Ltd v Tewson was too narrow in limiting unfair dismissal compensation to economic losses, were obiter and did not bind the Court in the present case.

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HR and legal information and guidance relating to unfair dismissal.